Summer is here and for foster families and youth it’s an opportunity for travel and new experiences. One foster mom shares how part of what she loves about fostering is the ability to give their foster kids new experiences:
One of the most important reasons why I love fostering children so much is the ability to give the children new experiences. These experiences range from joining a football team to learning how to plant flowers, to going places they have never been to before. A few weeks ago we hopped in the car with our two small children who are four and five years old. After thee hours of “Are we there yet?,” we finally arrived at Wilderness of the Smokies resort located in Sevierville, TN. As soon as the girls saw all of the big water slides poking out of the building and the large resort, their eyes sparkled, and the screeching of happiness erupted from the back seat. We spent hours at the indoor and outdoor pools, water slides, and the lazy river. We went to a pottery painting studio where each of the girls got to pick their own piece, paint it, and then pick up the final product before our vacation was complete. We also went to a drive thru safari and the girls loved being able to feed the deer, buffalo, zebras, llamas, alpacas, pigs, and the list goes on and on. It’s not every day that a person has a full-sized buffalo stick their head in your car window to get some food! There wasn’t much hesitation about the animals and our girls were beyond excited to be that up close and personal with all of these different types of wildlife. We will always have the memories of this vacation that we took together!