Permission to speak freely.

[Unsapien]

I don't know what good I've done. 

Please don't purple this.

I don't know how many kids I have.

My son has had a friend since kindergarten, his mom used to bring him over to our place to "play" . She only talked to my wife.

His father beat him. We didn't know this until he got old enough to trust us. He told us he used to go out and walk times past midnight, because he felt safer outside. We told him he could come here anytime & stay as long as he wanted. 

His mother when the intervals become more noticed, used to bring us food, as compensation. He was my 1st "other" child.

It should go as a given that no compensation was ever needed or required. He is a wonderful man, when he was with my youngest, I knew my son was safe.

Last week, my son had another friend over. One of his friends that I knew, but hadn't seen much. He got kicked out of his home, because he got big enough.

He asked me if it was okay to flush the toilet. I didn't understand the question.

Thinking back to all the kids that came through this place, and how many seemed unreasonably happy to be here.

I'm beginning to think that people are polite because they are afraid.

I'm getting less polite.

[skyking]

I grew up in a household that took in kids all the time. DM, DE, GH, to initial a few. They had parent troubles and it was just how it went. You came to Bob and Betty's because it was safe. I consider it a revelation of your humanity and reputation that these kids in need knew that they could trust you.
EDIT:
My brother was here and we were just talking about this with a new friend yesterday. He reminded me about DE.
What got me back to the keyboard was the girls, and young women in similar situations.
Where did they go? Girls don't have the freedom to wander the streets to stay out of the house as much as boys do.
Brother was telling me more about his wife's late father and what a shitheel he was to wife's sisters, and how he favored her because she was prettier.
It just pissed her purple speaking of purple.
But he kept the household together with a wife with terrible bipolar disorder when it was not treated as well as it is.
Brother's wife remembers pausing at the door when she came home, to see if she could figure out which mother was waiting on the other side of the door.

[pattylt]

When my kids were kids, we lived in Bar Nunn Wyoming…population 800 but I think that included dogs. I was the koolaide mom. Kids came to our house all the time, often before the school bus arrived because I’d feed them as well as after school. We were all on the poor side. I was just better at budgeting and cooking, I guess. I mean, jeesh, Totinoes pizzas were 10 for $3.00 back then and kids love them as after school snacks. Cooked oatmeal slathered in some milk and brown sugar? They loved it.

Two boys that lived two doors down became daily visitors. The younger was my son’s age. They had no mom in the house and their father couldn’t read. The kids had to read important papers to him but struggled with any big words. I helped them with home work and told them to write down any big words so I could translate it for them. Their dad wasn’t a terrible father, luckily, just completely unprepared to raise two kids. He was often out of work (welder) so the kids were often invited to dinner.

Being in a small town, everyone knew everyone else’s business anyway. I was proud to be the go to mom in the neighborhood and was surprised how many other parents were fine with me half raising their kids.

[Phaedrus]

Growing up, I was too afraid to seek solace in another household. Turned out, the church became my refuge. That didn't last long, as my reason couldn't deal with it.

[Thumpalumpacus]

We had solid parenting, but we were farmed out at times, in Iran -- but that was all of our parents cooperating so they could have lives, not any set of parents being slackisdaisical. Sometimes mom and dad farmed us out, sometimes we took in their kids, and usually a good time was had by all.

[brewerb]

I did some of that but to a much smaller extent. My sons friends, mostly around the holidays and summer vacations.