Found(ation of) Gratitude: 10

Yesterday in my Race & Ethnicity class we were talking about "white privilege." We had a guest speaker, Dr. Perry Downs, and while he didn't touch much on the actual topic of white privilege (I also found it odd that like 90% of the non-white students decided not to come to class) he did say some things about his family that touched me. He and his wife have two biological and two adopted daughters, and over the years they had about 30 foster children.

My paternal grandparents had a foster home during the 80s, and (this number might not be right) I believe they had a few hundred foster children over the years. They adopted three children from the Philippines.

I had a feeling that Dr. Downs knew them. In sixth grade I met a life-long friend whose family also had foster kids, and he said he'd met my grandfather as well. He described him with details--including the handlebar mustache. When I asked Dr. Downs at the end of class if he'd ever met George and Virginia Foutz, he said yes, and I was not surprised.

#10. I've found I'm thankful for my grandparents. I might add in my maternal grandparents on a different day but now I just want to talk about George and Virgina. I'm thankful not just for their years of service, for all the hard work that went into having a foster home, but for the immense love that they shared with every child they met. They were such loving people. They lived with their hearts and their arms and their eyes open. They were adventurous and faithful. I miss them so much... but I am thankful for their lives, and for what they taught me.



Click here and you can see The Open Gate Ranch (their foster home) and what it looks like now. :)