Mods...if this is in the wrong place, please move it to the appropriate forum.
I was discussing this site with my daughter, and she made a suggestion to me that I'd like to share.
Here is a little background. Back in 1981, I had a neighbor who was an older woman, near fifty, who had two grown adult daughters and two young children. If I remember correctly, the kids were about 5 & 7 years old, give or take a year with either child. The woman was a single mother, and worked nights as a waitress. I remember her name and the name of both of the younger children, but I don't remember the older daughter's names. They did not live with their mother.
Anyway, the mother would leave the two young children alone to fend for themselves. The younger child was a girl, and the older one was a boy. The girl was incredibly smart and able. She cooked, cleaned (and the house was immaculate at all times). The older child had behavior problems, a seizure disorder, and was a handful. His little sister took very good care of him, but the mother was all but out of the picture...just lived in the house, bought groceries, and paid the bills. It was really a sad situation, like the mother couldn't be bothered with actually dealing with the children.
Anyway, one day, the mother, who didn't know me beyond the fact that I lived next door and our kids played together sometimes, asked me if I'd keep the kids overnight while she went on a run with a truck driver friend of hers. I didn't have a problem with it, so I said yes. I had no way to contact this woman, and I had no idea who she took off with. Several days went by and I didn't hear from the mother, so I contacted child protective services. They were very familiar with the woman because they'd had complaints about her before. The arranged it where my husband and I would have temporary emergency custody, and when the woman came back into town and called me, I was to call the social worker who would arrange to come to my home when the mother showed up to pick up the kids, and we did that. She didn't lose the kids at that point, but was sternly warned that one more incident, and the kids would be taken away from her. Shortly afterward the woman moved a couple of miles away, and a week or so later the little girl ran away from home. She showed up on my doorstep while we were eating dinner, and she had her pillow and a blanket with her. She walked all the way to our house, crossing a couple of busy streets, asking if she could live with us. I called the social worker, and she suggested I call the mother and see what the mother says, and then I was to call the social worker right back. The mother told me to send her (walking) back home. I told her that we'd get her home, and I called the social worker, who then advised me to call the mother back and tell her that we would indeed send her (walking) back home, and to keep an eye out for her. At this point it was already getting dark, and the idea of the social worker was NOT to send this child home...to keep her for the time being in my home, and see how long it'd take the mother to notice the little girl wasn't home. I didn't hear back from the mother. Child protective services allowed us to keep the girl overnight (didn't hear from the mother until the next day by the way), and the next day the social worker came over and told us the children were going to be removed from the mother's home. They discussed with us adopting the children. We really were wringing our hands over this whole thing, but I knew that with two children in the same age range that belonged to us, and the boy having so many issues, we just couldn't do it. We found out that they both were adopted and went to seperate families. I felt so bad for both of these kids.
What I'd like to know is if any of you know if there is anyway to find these kids, especially the little girl. I'd love to hear how she is doing and if she turned out ok. Even if she doesn't remember us, that's ok. I'd just like to know that they were taken care of and are happy. They'd be in their early 30s now.
I can prove this only through my own kids (their father died several years ago) and an adult cousin who lived with us at the time), so as weird as the story is, if anyone wants confirmation, I can provide contact info for others who were there when it all happened.
I was discussing this site with my daughter, and she made a suggestion to me that I'd like to share.
Here is a little background. Back in 1981, I had a neighbor who was an older woman, near fifty, who had two grown adult daughters and two young children. If I remember correctly, the kids were about 5 & 7 years old, give or take a year with either child. The woman was a single mother, and worked nights as a waitress. I remember her name and the name of both of the younger children, but I don't remember the older daughter's names. They did not live with their mother.
Anyway, the mother would leave the two young children alone to fend for themselves. The younger child was a girl, and the older one was a boy. The girl was incredibly smart and able. She cooked, cleaned (and the house was immaculate at all times). The older child had behavior problems, a seizure disorder, and was a handful. His little sister took very good care of him, but the mother was all but out of the picture...just lived in the house, bought groceries, and paid the bills. It was really a sad situation, like the mother couldn't be bothered with actually dealing with the children.
Anyway, one day, the mother, who didn't know me beyond the fact that I lived next door and our kids played together sometimes, asked me if I'd keep the kids overnight while she went on a run with a truck driver friend of hers. I didn't have a problem with it, so I said yes. I had no way to contact this woman, and I had no idea who she took off with. Several days went by and I didn't hear from the mother, so I contacted child protective services. They were very familiar with the woman because they'd had complaints about her before. The arranged it where my husband and I would have temporary emergency custody, and when the woman came back into town and called me, I was to call the social worker who would arrange to come to my home when the mother showed up to pick up the kids, and we did that. She didn't lose the kids at that point, but was sternly warned that one more incident, and the kids would be taken away from her. Shortly afterward the woman moved a couple of miles away, and a week or so later the little girl ran away from home. She showed up on my doorstep while we were eating dinner, and she had her pillow and a blanket with her. She walked all the way to our house, crossing a couple of busy streets, asking if she could live with us. I called the social worker, and she suggested I call the mother and see what the mother says, and then I was to call the social worker right back. The mother told me to send her (walking) back home. I told her that we'd get her home, and I called the social worker, who then advised me to call the mother back and tell her that we would indeed send her (walking) back home, and to keep an eye out for her. At this point it was already getting dark, and the idea of the social worker was NOT to send this child home...to keep her for the time being in my home, and see how long it'd take the mother to notice the little girl wasn't home. I didn't hear back from the mother. Child protective services allowed us to keep the girl overnight (didn't hear from the mother until the next day by the way), and the next day the social worker came over and told us the children were going to be removed from the mother's home. They discussed with us adopting the children. We really were wringing our hands over this whole thing, but I knew that with two children in the same age range that belonged to us, and the boy having so many issues, we just couldn't do it. We found out that they both were adopted and went to seperate families. I felt so bad for both of these kids.
What I'd like to know is if any of you know if there is anyway to find these kids, especially the little girl. I'd love to hear how she is doing and if she turned out ok. Even if she doesn't remember us, that's ok. I'd just like to know that they were taken care of and are happy. They'd be in their early 30s now.
I can prove this only through my own kids (their father died several years ago) and an adult cousin who lived with us at the time), so as weird as the story is, if anyone wants confirmation, I can provide contact info for others who were there when it all happened.
