How do you choose between your dog and your foster son? How do you make a permanent decision in an situation that could be very temporary? How do you choose who to displace? Some may say that the decision would be easy. The dog would have to go. Others would say that their dog is family and the decision is harder. For us, it was the hardest decision we have had to make as a couple.
Tonight, a lady sat on our couch, looked me in the eyes, and told me that if I chose to surrender my dog to her rescue that they would find him a good home. Wait what!? How did we get here?
“Why are you hitting yourself?” I’ve found myself asking this question out loud and following it up with an empathetic look and a “It’s OK if you are having big feelings. Big hugs to help you feel better.” We have had the privilege/ sadness to see first hand what childhood trauma does to developing brains. It changes these kiddos in big ways that are hard to understand. I have found myself reading everything I can get my hands on to help me understand what is happening to this little man we have in our care. I was reading on the www.ntscm.org page and this quote explained things clearly:
We said goodbye to little M this week. It was the easiest and hardest thing I have ever had to do. The timeline was rushed after he attacked me. He has never come at me before. He wanted to hurt me. Badly.
