Monthly Archives: May 2015

Empowering the next generation of youths in foster care

Earlier this month, 60 young adults ages 18 to 24 traveled to Washington, D.C., for the 2015 Congressional Foster Youth Shadow Experience. It was a wonderful event that brought together young people with personal experience in the foster care system with their congressional representative for a chance to learn from one another.

For two days, they studied issues trending in the foster care world before meeting with their congressman and getting to work. It was an empowering experience for these young adults, and one I was thrilled in which to participate.

Having been in foster care myself for six years, I was there to share my experience with these younger “brothers and sisters” and let them know there are many organizations and foster care alumni ready to lend a hand.

Learning to help the bay

A few years ago, we went sailing with a friend and her husband on the Chesapeake Bay. It was a beautiful day—though no strains of Christopher Cross ran through my head—and an unbelievably calming experience.

Of course, when you do that, you tend to take for granted the quality of the water beneath you. But my friend indicated the Chesapeake was still on the mend … but had made progress thanks to people such as those responsible for the grant below, which will have a positive effect not only on the bay but also on the lives of at-risk youths …

Sail on to read some interesting information …

An unexpected and perfect plan

The plan. We all have one. This idea in our head about how our life is going to be. My plan was wonderful. I was going to marry the man of my dreams. We were going to get pregnant soon after with our first child and then every two years or so after that we would add another little person to our family until we felt complete. Perfection right? But, you see, that was Monica’s plan, not God’s plan.

It took me until about our fourth miscarriage to realize my “plan” wasn’t going to happen. So what do we do now? We want to be parents. The fertility specialist can’t figure my strange body out! Now what? Adopt? At this moment I just needed someone to call me Mommy. And adoption felt so natural to me because it was something I always dreamed of doing later in life.