Aug 30

For reasons*, I was thinking about my parents and their adoption experience. My folks became foster parents when I was in my late twenties so they asked if I would help them correct the list of deficiencies noted by the social worker during their home study. The list ranged from installing additional smoke detectors to buying a thermometer for the fridge. Frankly, if you need a thermometer to know that your fridge is broken and no longer cold, you have some serious issues. But, that’s just me. 

Anyway, the day the social worker dropped off TheKid, who would later become my brother, the house was in tip-top shape. Everything seemed perfect until TheKid bent down to pet my parents’ dog, who - I swear to God had never shown any sign of aggression - promptly bit him. On the face.** TheKid seemed a bit surprised and when the Social Worker, who knew the options were very limited for a 12 year old boy who’d already been in foster care for two years, asked if he wanted to stay or go to the group home (which is like a prison for kids who’ve done nothing wrong) TheKid promptly said, “Stay. Unlike my dad, the dog didn’t even break the skin.”

And, those words were my introduction to the horrors that some parents will inflict upon their children. Over time, I would come to learn, from reading his case file and listening to him recount various stories, just how sadistic some assholes parents can be. But, that’s a topic for another time when I can stomach discussing the brutality TheKid was forced to endure, for years, at the hands of his biological parents. 

*Edit: No. We’re not planning to adopt. With 4 kids, I’m through with family additions.

**While my brother, due to the years of abuse & despite extensive psychotherapy, remains unable to fully bond with people, he and that dog -even after their rocky start- became inseparable.

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18 Notes

  1. louloduca reblogged this from electradaddy
  2. magmom said: Why the hell are people so incredibly fucked up that they could hurt a child? I do not understand it on any level.
  3. thedaddycomplex said: Stories of abuse break my heart, especially now that I’m a parent. I can’t even watch the news anymore.
  4. bujnik said: It’s a messed up world out there.
  5. electradaddy posted this

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