Mix 94.1 Mom Blogger Jess C.- I Had the Perfect Little Life

I had a perfect little life, great husband, a wonderful daughter who played in orchestra and was really great at it, a smart, wonderful son, nice apt, nice car, great job.  Yeah it was a perfect life for me.  And then one day I received a phone call.  No big deal, just my sister calling me like normal.  You see, my niece had four kids, a girl and three boys.  And they had been in foster care for some time.  We all thought she would get her act together and get them all out.   That’s what mommies do.  They sacrifice it all for their children.  You find what’s wrong with you and you fix it and become the mom they need you to be.

Except she didn’t, she didn’t fix her life.  She didn’t give up smoking pot.  She didn’t get a good job or even a mediocre job.  She continued to only care about herself.  And there were four little kids in need.  But see I had this perfect life.  Married, two kids and a dog, life doesn’t get much sweeter than that.

We knew we couldn’t sit by though and ignore these kids.  They had nowhere else to go, not together.  I guess there isn’t a huge line of families wanting four kids at once.  So we made the call, the call that would forever change our lives, the call to ask about the children.

At first we were told that only two needed homes.  The younger two were already being adopted by another family member from their dad’s side.  I felt like we were off the hook a bit.  Two kids would be so much easier.  So we were off, off to start the process, a very long and difficult process.  We moved homes, purchased a bigger vehicle, got a new bunk bed, and got a larger table, the whole shebang.  But in the midst of preparing this big moment a snag happened.  The family trying for the little ones was denied.  Now there were four kids up for adoption.  And now we are the only family with their name in the hat.  I sure was happy we had purchased a Suburban.  At least that was ready for all the kids.  Now off to get another bunk bed, more clothes, can anyone tell me what a three year old even looks like???  Now I am close to hyperventilating on a daily basis.  I have to say out loud multiple times a day that I have 6 kids, SIX KIDS.  That is a lot of milk, dish soap, toilet paper, and car seats??  Do I need car seats??  What does a three year old look like?  I actually was going up to strange children and asking them their age. I did end up meeting a lot of 2 and 4 year olds.  What am I going to do?  Oh and did I mention the second youngest is battling cancer?  Like it wasn’t scary enough.

We did it though.  I know what a three year old looks like now.  And I know what kid needs what car seat to run to Walmart with Mommy.  I know how to talk to an oncologist about my son’s cancer testing.  He is now in complete remission, Praise the Lord.  I know how to buy enough toilet paper, for a while I thought they were eating it.  I know how to cook for an army of children.  And I know how to answer all the questions a brood of children get since they all look so different.  But most of I know I have six kids and now, only now is my life perfect!