Lily's Story

How do you know if you were a good foster parent? Past foster kids stay in contact and still come back to visit.

I thought I was pretty tough when I first entered foster care at 15. I didn't like rules, skipped school, stayed out until the early morning, experimented with drugs, and hung out with a rough crowd. My dad had recently remarried and let's just say, that I didn't get along with my new stepmother. My dad put me in juvenile hall and a judge decided to move me to a foster home for awhile.

That's when I met Ron and Lisa. They were a young couple without any kids of their own and it seemed like they would be easy to outsmart. As I was adjusting to this new situation, I barely spoke a word to them in the first few days. Since they lived in the boring country, I didn't see my city friends and I met new friends.

For the first time in a long time I felt like people actually cared about me. Ron and Lisa let me keep the puppy I brought home one day, even though I know they didn't want a dog. I still have pictures of myself falling on the bunny slope when they tried to teach me how to ski. After I got used to them we had fun, and I started to want to do better in my life.

After a year of living in foster care and working with a counselor at Kinship House, I wanted to try living with my dad again. Although it didn't work, I'm now 20 years old and actually graduated from high school and have a full-time job. I still call or go back to visit Ron and Lisa as often as possible, and I know that they're pretty proud of me.