[Indy]

Back in the day....actually the mid 70s, my parents got a d-i-v-o-r-c-e. My father, being the wonderful person that he is, left my mother and moved to Colorado. He was gone for two years before contacting us. He left our mother with 4 sons and no child support. The mid 70s were not an easy time to live for a single mother with 4 mouths to feed. My mother worked two jobs, a secretary by day and a waitress on weekends. She struggled and worked hard to keep us boys. The fear of losing us kept her going.

We never had much, so we never expected much at Christmas. The first Christmas was real hard. I remember the next year when a local church provided all of the Christmas gifts and food. We were not expecting anything the second year. Mother didn't tell us anything. I remember I got this Evel Knevel van with figures. It was so cool! I think I was 10 years old.

My sons can relate to not having much when they were in foster care. They can make my stories sound trivial. I think they are moving on...but sometimes I have to remind them to be thankful for what we have.

I think it is especially important to help our children to recognize where they have come from to draw strength from it to grow and help others.