The Difficult Foster Child

I posted on another board back in 2003-4. Many of the stories I have posted here, I posted there first, but those old stories are difficult/impossible to find there.

I joined the KLSF specifically to post a couple of my stories that actually meant something to certain people. "The Difficult Foster Child" is one of those two. The other is a serial - yet unposted - called "Bill's Boot Camp." I wanted to finish up here with those two stories and I wanted them to have a home where people who looked for them could find them. I'm grateful to Febs & Flospy & Pink & Corncrake et al that they built a place where Abby could come and live happily ever after. I love my little Abby so much and by God, she deserves a break.

Abby is based on an actual person. Too many of the things that happened to Abby happened to this person. She really did escape a bad foster home and really did get adopted by a motorcycle gang for a few months. She really did get tethered to a tree in a lightning storm and told that God was going to strike it with lightning and kill her. She really did sew a Raggedy Ann without a face. I couldn't make that stuff up. I'm not that good a writer.

Those details were borrowed and used by permission. But they don't belong to me - they belong to the person who lived them. That person didn't find a "Carter Family." I wish she had, but she didn't. Bill and Becky Carter were purely figments of my imagination - not part of her reality.

She survived and grew anyway. She became a success in life anyway. She beat the odds. I admire her. The story touched a lot of people who had been turned around by loving foster homes and reminded them how lucky they were to be taken in. She never begrudged their feeling warm and comforted by Abby's happy ending.

I'm hoping that one day before I die, I will be able to read the story without crying - I haven't done it yet, but I never give up hoping.

I hope my friend finds the story here. I hope she reads it and likes it - I changed it a bit from the old version. I hope she doesn't mind that I'm still borrowing from her after all these years.

Humbly, bb

You're 'finishing up'? Does that mean you are no longer going to be sharing stories with us in the future? Perish the thought! We would miss your very talented storytelling skills.

BB,

What a great story it was. Knowing this, I really feel for kids in this situation. So many are tossed to the curb or bounced from one foster home to another and uncared for anyway. Society can be cruel at times. Your story was written with true professionalism. I'm another writer who hopes you stay around.

Pat aka B

Thank you for sharing your account of how you came to write this story.
You are so right about so many children "being thrown to the curb." Not just foster kids either- I have heard of parents doing that to their own children when they found out they were gay or lesbian.
There are some parents who'd much rather see teenage daughter get pregnant by her boyfriend than discover she loved another girl. Tragic

Having worked for child welfare and in the social services field for many years I can see a lot of truth in what you write about the "system". Once a child enters, it can be hard to get out and there are abuse cases occurring. Sad to say but there are adults who manage to hid their ways very well for years before being discovered and children suffer in the meantime. The good thing is that there are also many good foster parents out there who try their darnest to make a difference and they do an excellent job.

I would also hope we can expect to see many more stories from you in the future. I know you have other things in life but one can only hope you can spare a couple of hours a month to continue sharing with us the wonderful stories you write.