• A Boy Scout is always prepared…

    Date: 06.23.2010 | Category: foster | Tags: ,,,

    I am proud to say I diligently worked my way up through the scouting world as a young boy.  Yes, all the way to the Bear badge.   I find that the Bear is way more powerful than the Eagle, and what exactly is a Webelos anyway?  At least that is what I tell myself and use as a punchline from time to time.  So actually, for me, the saying should go: “A Cub Scout is always prepared…”

    Either way I was prepared.  I was prepared to give a speech at the Chalk Art Festival – Utah Foster Father of the Year Award ceremony on Saturday.  Just in case there was a request for a speech I was ready.  Well the award ceremony came and went, without one request for a speech.  Sadden?  Not really, just prepared if need be.

    But lets face it, having just come down off the mountain running Ragnar for 24 hours, being sleep deprived and dealing with all the emotion wrapped into the honor of being Foster Father of the Year for the Salt Lake Valley Region, I am pretty sure I wouldn’t have been able to get through the speech without stumbling a bit.

    So I share it here for you to read. Enjoy!

    It is a pleasure to stand before you and accept this honor today.  I got here not on my own, but by the examples of others and the foundation that supports me along this journey.  For my many friends and family members out there, I thank you.  Thanks to my beautiful, patient and strong wife Shelly, and our newly adopted little man Ian, I love you.

    I would also like to say Happy Father’s Day to all the men in my life that continue to show me both the pros and cons to fatherhood, and to my fellow foster Father’s who join me on the stand today.

    Two years ago, when we set out on this journey into foster parenting or what my wife likes to call an “emotional roller-coaster”, I never imagined that I would become Foster Father of the year. Surely, there are other fathers out there that are more qualified then myself.  In fact, I didn’t even know that the title existed.

    I am not in it for the title.  I am in it for the kids, even if it is just for a brief moment in time.  But now that I have the title, thank you all so much for the recognition.  Being a foster parent is both difficult and rewarding at the same time.  I am grateful that I have the opportunity to take this journey and enjoy all of the ups and downs along the way.

    It is hard to describe my feelings of being a foster parent exactly, but my sister-in-law found a short story, by Loren Eiseley, that describes it beautifully.

    “One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?”

    The boy replied, “I am throwing starfish back into the ocean. The tide is going out and if I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”

    “Son”, the man said, “There are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish. You can’t possibly make a difference.”

    After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said…”I made a difference for that one.”

    Thank you to the many foster families in Utah who are striving every day to improve the lives of its children.  It is my hope that the awesome work that we foster parents do each day, to support, love and teach these children, both young and old, brings them a brighter tomorrow.  Because they certainly brighten up mine.

    Thank you.