B.

In 2016, I took in a human. My first human, B, she had just turned 8 and within five months, B turned my life upside down. I had asked to take her and she moved into my house in less than 48 hours.

I had met B during the summer a few times. She is my cousin's friends daughter. She was a little girl that just needed love, you could see it in her eyes and in her every move. She was aggressive, pushed and screamed at other kids, she was less than groomed. I remember telling my aunts at a family gathering that "I just want to love her". The universe heard me and three months later I got a text from my cousin saying that B's mom was sending her to Washington. My reaction was no, she can't do that, I want her. Tell her mom that I want her.

In less than 12 hours, one conversation with her mom (who I'd never met), she agreed to let B come to the cities to live with me. She agreed to me taking her, without having met me, without seeing my house, without checking references, without anything. She just said yes and I said yes too. I said yes without any agreements, without signed documentation, without verifying child support or income. I said yes with the idea that this little girl was going to be mine for the next 9 months.

That was all it took, two adults making whim decisions and within 2 days I was going to have an 8 year old in my home. Holy Shit. She will have 2 legs instead of four. She will speak English instead of purrs and barking. She will be able to have an actual conversation with me. Is this what all parents feel like when they are about to have their first child? Grant it, they generally come in a smaller package. But 8, that age is perfect for me.

I met my aunt and uncle Friday afternoon in Mound, they had all of B's things in their truck. They pulled into the parking lot and I saw this beautiful little girl, short blonde hair, wearing a white t-shirt, blue jeans, too big flip flops staring at me, scared and nervous. Imagine packing up all your things and moving to someone's house you've briefly met 3 hours away from home. It's unimaginable. She got out of the car and ran up to me with a hug. It was like she felt she had to do that, no boundaries. We got all her things into my car and she talked nonstop, nervously all the way home.

My first goal was to get her enrolled in school as soon as possible so that we could start a good routine. I’d spent the entire day before at Minneapolis public school main office filling out paperwork. After I picked up B, we went straight to her school to meet her teacher and see her class. It was the end of the day, Friday, so the class was having a fun time, which was good for her to see.

When we got to the house, we carried her things in and I brought her to her room. I bought new bedding, towels, rugs, things to make my spare room a bit more girly. I bought her some drawing materials, books. We went through her things and put stuff away. I’d inquired about her favorite meal, which was spaghetti, so we sat and ate spaghetti for dinner. Bailey and B bonded right away. Bailey took her under her wing just like all the foster puppy sisters she had. Their love for one another continued to blossom through the months.

Our first weekend together was spent getting to know one another, setting boundaries, telling stories and going for walks. It didn’t take me long to fall head over heels in love with this little human who was in so much pain. Before taking in B, everyone who had known her kept telling me how bad she was, that I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. Luckily, I was half way through my foster training classes and knew the most important part of fostering kids. Love and structure and I have a lot of both. I was ready for her and I had no idea how much I was about to learn.