The Other Mommy

Husband and I met Henry and Georgia's mom the other day. We arranged it. We figured we should meet her.

She was nice. Pretty. Young.

It was awkward, but not in the way that I thought it would be. I mostly just felt really sorry for her. I expected to meet her and immediately see flaws and little things that I didn't approve of and didn't like. But mostly she just seems too trusting, too naive, too easily taken advantage of. She's not a capable mother right now because she can't protect her kids from bad people in her life. And she can't get those bad people out of her life because she's too nice to really see and understand their flaws.

So I feel sad for her. She's not a bad person. She's a too nice person.

Which in turn makes her an inadequate mother.

The stories that you hear as a foster parent are usually more complicated, more nuanced than you'd expect. I always end up feeling bad for everyone involved, in varying degrees, of course. Here, I feel mostly bad for Henry and then for Georgia, but I also feel bad for their mom. No matter what the outcome of this case is, there's going to be some loss, some people being hurt and feeling displaced.

Right now, I'm just trying to believe that no matter what happens, it will be for the best.