I work in a residential foster home. We house about forty children who have behaviors that are too extreme for a typical foster home to manage. I worked there for about a year-and-half now, so it seems like a long time.
On Thursday I put in my notice when I was leaving, so June 30th is going to be my last day with the kids so that by July 14th, I’m ready to move. So the kids all know about it, that makes me less stressed because then it’s not some secret I’m keeping from them. I’ve told them I was leaving for grad school since February when I was interviewing just so that if I did get in that they would be prepared for me to go. And I thought would be a really easy transition out.
But I’m gonna miss my kids. They definitely get on my nerves. A few of them have definitely punched me in the face before, but they are also my little babies, and it’s weird seeing people go from just a complete total mess because of their trauma obviously, and then grow into someone who’s just coping, functional, able to have good relationships, knows what a healthy relationship looks like, can have a conversation with you, can ask difficult questions without screaming or punching you in the face.
So even though I’ve only been on that unit for about six months, I’m still going to miss them. So I’m still nostalgic about that.