Monday December 23rd- Family and a Movie-
How I love to go to the movies. It is a time to escape the
outside cold and get lost in the big screen. Whether with my husband for date
night or the whole family I am forced to put down the phones and sit tight
together. The holidays are no exception to hitting the theater more than usual
and gorging on buttery popcorn and a chocolate candy bar. I am one to really appreciate a clean,
enticing flick. I have realized why I enjoy the movies so much.
As a child,
walking down town to the Huish Theater
(owned by my great aunt and uncle) was my escape and thrill for the week.The old reel and curtain opening screen was ultimately cool. I
usually got in free and I usually went with my younger brother, my best friend.
The big screen gave me a glimpse into the outside world, as I could only imagine
scenery or a big city skyscraper out of Utah. My home town did not even have a traffic
light until I was in high school. I relied on imagination of fantasy that someday
I would visit something different than my reality. This brings me to another
point. Being a foster parent for many children and teens, I loved taking them
to the movies to escape the reality of their unpredictable, horrifying life. Can
you imagine having your siblings and parents taken from you because of neglect
or abuse due to the hands of the one and only that are supposed to protect you?
Everything you know, everything you have, everyone removed and put with completely
different people, home, and school. For a short time, referred to the “honeymoon
phase,” a child may be happy to be given three meals a day, new clothes, their
own room with a new pillow, yet it fades into despair and loneliness most of
the time. Foster children have a hard time trusting, attaching, and fitting in
with new peers. In my experience most are not too appreciative of a new family,
food, clothes, they just want to be with their own family no matter how good or
bad it was. It seems this connection takes them back at 18 or before, if they
don't get adopted. These return to their parents or any family that they have
left. So I ask, Is the system working? Is the system of removing children and putting them in a foster home a researched proven method
that works?
"Our nation's public schools reported a record 1.2
million homeless children and youth in 2012, and the weak economy bears much of
the blame. Since the beginning of the recession, the number of homeless
children in America's public schools has increased 72 percent."
At this Christmas season, on Christmas Eve, Eve. I think
about all those kids out there going to bed without their family, without
saying goodnight to their parent, grandma, or brother. I say, goodnight to you,
may God grant you wisdom, strength, and hope to do better, to be better and to
sleep tight. May all the children be granted a chance to be safe? I hope so,
but most of all, know that they are loved.
No comments:
Post a Comment