Vol. 3, No. 2 • Spring 1999

"I Am My Mother's Child"

�Naomi Griffith touched something inside of me. At one point, she talked about who she was, saying, �I am my mother�s child.� It wasn�t about her degree, or even about her accomplishments in life�it was about the simple fact that she was her mother�s child.

As a troubled child in foster care who lost my mother at an early age, I suffered from an identity crisis regarding both who I was and what I wanted to be.

That evening, I went home after hearing her speak, looked in the mirror, and said those words: I am my mother�s child. Just saying them made my mission as an advocate for children, foster parent, and guardian ad litem more significant to me.

For I am my mother�s child, and what I do is important as long as I am positively affecting families and kids.�

� Foster parent Ed Carver on Griffith�s presentation at the November NC Foster Parent Training Conference

Copyright � 2000 Jordan Institute for Families