Grandparents Raising Children Support Group
This community is dedicated to grandparents who are the primary caregivers of their grandchildren. In cases where the parents are not willing or able to provide adequate care for their children, grandparents may take on the role of primary caregivers. Join the support group to find support, share your experience, and get advice from other members.
We all question ourselves ...can we do this? Our hearts tell us yes, they are our grandchildren... We have to do this!
We knew when they came to us they were damaged, we really didn't know how much. We knew our lives would change. Yet, we really didn't or couldn't put what we had to what we now will have into perspective until after a few months go by. Our minds are consumed on fixing the broke and jumping the hoops with a mixture of dealing with the bios.
You wake up each morning with a new day and instead of embracing this new day, you sit on the side of your bed and as soon as your feet touch the ground you start crying and praying for the strength to endure yet other day to come. You question yourself, and anger erupts inside you at the bios or whoever did this to your Grandchild and You! Your guilt runnith over as you calm yourself.
You get up and you set your mind on autopilot to go after what you need to do.
As the days turn into months , you acknowledge that you and Grandchild may be a victim, but your not going to live like one and your not going to bring your Grandchild up like one.
At the end of the day you give praise for yet an other day endured. You give praise for a milestone that was achieved by your Grandchild big or small.
The months turn into years and then the light at the end of the tunnel is seen. You'll wake up and be excited about the day once again. Instead of asking for endurance and strength for the day, You give Thanks for allowing you to share this day at whatever it may be.
Your stronger physically and mentally than you were. Your youth is coming back and is being challenged with the imagination from a child, you're on adventures in faraway lands or your keeping up with the music and knowing some of the lyrics!
Because your stronger you dance and move around . It doesn't matter if someone is watching, because your mind is young and you decided to raise your Grandchild..
God Bless everyone who is just starting the journey of raising Grandchildren!
We knew when they came to us they were damaged, we really didn't know how much. We knew our lives would change. Yet, we really didn't or couldn't put what we had to what we now will have into perspective until after a few months go by. Our minds are consumed on fixing the broke and jumping the hoops with a mixture of dealing with the bios.
You wake up each morning with a new day and instead of embracing this new day, you sit on the side of your bed and as soon as your feet touch the ground you start crying and praying for the strength to endure yet other day to come. You question yourself, and anger erupts inside you at the bios or whoever did this to your Grandchild and You! Your guilt runnith over as you calm yourself.
You get up and you set your mind on autopilot to go after what you need to do.
As the days turn into months , you acknowledge that you and Grandchild may be a victim, but your not going to live like one and your not going to bring your Grandchild up like one.
At the end of the day you give praise for yet an other day endured. You give praise for a milestone that was achieved by your Grandchild big or small.
The months turn into years and then the light at the end of the tunnel is seen. You'll wake up and be excited about the day once again. Instead of asking for endurance and strength for the day, You give Thanks for allowing you to share this day at whatever it may be.
Your stronger physically and mentally than you were. Your youth is coming back and is being challenged with the imagination from a child, you're on adventures in faraway lands or your keeping up with the music and knowing some of the lyrics!
Because your stronger you dance and move around . It doesn't matter if someone is watching, because your mind is young and you decided to raise your Grandchild..
God Bless everyone who is just starting the journey of raising Grandchildren!
The 8 years in between losing our GD back to bio and now having permanent custody, were absolute hell, for GD and for us. We had absolutely no contact for 6 of those years and found that our GD had suffered even more than we feared.
So now when things are REALLY hard, I go in my room, read awhile, take deep breaths and then thank God for bringing her back to us. She is safe now and never hungry.
Things do get really hard. I have feelings too and sometimes cry after the things she says to me. Sometimes I raise my voice to her, sometimes I even slam a bathroom door instead of saying something. Sometimes I say the wrong things.
But I love her to the moon and am thankful she is here with us, no matter how hard, no matter the sacrifice.
My grand is scarred, she has very bad abandonment issues and anxiety, but she has always been, and always will be, safe living with my husband and me. It's exhausting, some days it's thankless, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
I have shed tears many times on this site,sometimes sad and sometimes happy!!! This is a wonderful group of people that have helped me very much - God Bless
This is the inspiration I needed. To know that with all our own faults , we are doing the right thing. I have often questioned if I was good enough to raise these three kids . I can give them love, stability, food and whatever else they need. I can give what any parent should give their children. I may be less energetic , less patient, even crabby sometimes, but the kids know I am doing my best and that I love them. Your words are inspiring and let me know that it's ok to cry or feel resentment about my loss of freedom and my dreams at this stage in my life . It tends to make me stronger if I allow myself to mourn my own losses.
I get the flu with a horrible cough and t recover and not longer I get a cold with the same horrible cough -- I recover and then I get sick with acute bronchitis with a horrible cough. I go to the doctor and I'm given all kinds of medication. I take it as directed, start feeling better and when I'm done with the meds with a week or so I'm sick and I think it will get better and then a month later I'm at my doctor's office with another bout of acute bronchitis with that terrible cough and trouble breathing. I have no energy and I can barely take care of the kids. I'm thinking I'm being broken down completely for a reason. Is it so I can come back stronger?
One good thing to come out of all this is I'm now determined to drop 50 lbs from my small frame. I'm too heavy and I'm carrying way too much weight for my bone structure. I'm counting calories now and getting on my fittness pall online so I can keep tracks of my calories. With less weight to carry around I'm hoping my healthy and energy will improve.
I'm feeling very badly for the kids because I've been so short tempered, grouchy and grumpy just like a mean old lady. I'm on day two of my medication schedule and I hope this time it will not come back. I'm so sick and tired of feeling like S*%T!!!!!
I've looked for face to face grandparent support group but there is nothing in my town -- grandparents are probably too exhausted to go out and who would take care of the kids.