I have heard these words many times, but I understood them only here, at a two-day retreat for adoptive and foster parents organized by Orphans Future charity foundation during September 19-20. When you give your all to your children every day, when you live through their traumas and victories, it is very easy to forget who you are. It is easy to lose yourself in the flow of urgent matters, doctors, school assignments and emotional storms.
Two days were a different dimension - it was a space where:
- We could take a deep breath and exhale all the accumulated tension.
- We could be silent when we wanted to, and speak when it hurt - and we were heard. Without any judgment, only with understanding, because everyone in this circle knows what we are going through.
It was finally possible to remember our names not only in the context of “mom” or “dad”, but as a separate, valuable person.
We listen to each other, we talk, share, cry and laugh. We are taught not “how to be better parents”, but how to stay alive and full in our parenthood. We are taught the art of self-compassion, because only a full cup can be shared with others.
This retreat is the most important investment in ourselves and, as a result, in our children.
This is not a vacation. This is refueling in flight. This is a reminder: in order to give others wings, you need to have your own.
We thank the benefactors of the “Future of Orphans” Foundation for this oasis. Thank you to each participant for the sincerity that gives us the strength to move on. Thank you to Svitlana Lomovtseva and Irina Gornitskaya - psychological trainers for the classes.
If you are a foster parent and feel exhausted, alone in your difficulties - come. Once a month you can make this gift to yourself. And through yourself - to your child. This is the best thing we can do for them.
The head of the foundation thanks his foster parents Tim and Karlin for their financial assistance in organizing and holding the first meeting of this season.
#FutureOrphan #RetreatForParents #FosterFamily #Loneliness #SelfCare #PowerofCommunity #ChildrenWithHistory
