The goodbye, Part 4

Missed any of these 'goodbye' posts?
Part 1 is HERE
Part 2 is HERE
Part 3 is HERE.
And Part 4 is right here:


And that was that. Our time with her was suddenly over.

My mom headed home, the kids scrambled about to play, and Mark was holding Addie, so I asked him if I could slip away for awhile. I just wanted a bit of solitude with which to think without interruption. So I got in the car and drove away. I made a few stops- some errands for stuff we needed for Addie, but while I was in the car I cried and talked to God.

He's very understanding, He is.

When I glanced at the clock at 11:15, I wept in earnest. She would never come "home" to our house again.

It was a little later that day that God did something, in His great compassion, that eased the ache in my heart a little.

The phone rang. Mark answered it, and passed it off to me.

A woman was on the other end, and she introduced herself, and as she did, I *knew* who she was. And she confirmed it: she was Baby's new foster mom.

She had seen my note, and at the bottom of it I had included my phone number. So she called me, out of the kindness of her heart, to let me know how Baby was. She told me when Baby had last eaten (and how much), what she was doing at that moment (in the bouncy seat at her new foster home), and how Baby had been smiling and cooing for her already. I was able to tell her how dear this little girl was to our family; how much we loved her, how we hoped she would love her as much as we had.

Then I took the opportunity to ask a few questions, such as: How many other foster children did she have? She answered, "I do one at a time." And then- (and dear readers, I *so* cannot wait to tell you this. I wish I could do so in person)- she told me that she was in her seventies. YES, that's right. I did not mistype. SEVENTIES, people! This is what she told me about that:

"My daughter is a foster parent, too, and she has been involved with training other foster parents. And here I was, a seventy-something granny, off to play bridge three times a week. One day my daughter came to me and said, 'Mom, I know of something you could do with your time that would be so much more meaningful.' And then she encouraged me to become a foster parent. So I did! And I've never looked back. At the end of each day I know that I have done something of value."

I was so touched by her words. And then she said this, "So when you think of Baby, you just think of old granny, here, rocking her."

She shared a bit more about some of the other children she'd fostered over the years (two of which her daughter ended up adopting; they loved them so much!), and then she said that she'd call me again if she had any further questions, but not to worry about Baby a bit. She would be able to keep her for a month or several, as long as was needed until the birthparents were ready to take her back.

I offered a tearful thank you, and told her how *much* her call had meant for my heart. It was so good to "picture" where Baby was, and to know a little bit about who was caring for her.

And now when I think of her, I can imagine her snuggled up in the arms of a loving, doting seventy-year old grandma.

Is your heart as incredibly blessed by that as mine was?

And-- isn't God so wonderfully kind to prompt her to call me, to give me that peek in to where she is now; to remind me of how He has continued His care of this sweet Baby?

Oh, He is good.

***

Next up: I'll be closing this series with Part 5, which will entail some final thoughts on this chapter of our lives.

And then I suppose I'll return to "regular" blogging. It's been so long since I've written a "normal" post that I forget what I write about on this here blog. I'm sure I'll come up with something. It may just take me a bit to get back into the regular swing of things.

Thank you, dear readers, for sharing this journey with me, for offering such encouragement through your comments and emails, so many prayers, and so much love. I am so appreciative.