2 minute read
Cassandra Grundmayer
Family By Love
Advertisement
Donating and volunteering is the norm for sophomore Cassandra Grundmeyer’s family. They have always been ones to help others, but the charity they were doing then did not feel like enough. After doing some research, they found fostering, and decided this was the perfect thing for their family.
While Grundmeyer’s family enjoys fostering, their journey helping foster children has not always been a smooth ride. Attachments to kids and babies are hard when it is time for them to leave. Also, welcoming strangers of all different ages into your home is not easy. Living with people of different lifestyles can be hard to used to.
“The oldest we had was 17, and she was the first one in our house,” Grundmeyer said. “It was scary because she smoked in the house, so we had to help her stop that. We’ve had 15 in total. It was hard because for some we did short term care for and others were here for a year.”
In most cases in adoption, the process lasts about six months. For the Grundmeyer family, however, the adoption process was very difficult. Nettie and Dori were two sisters that lived in the Grundmeyer’s house since they were babies. They had another sister who lived in a different home; this made it hard to complete the who adoption process because of the separated family. For the Grundmeyer’s, it took two to three years for them to offically call Nettie and Dori apart of the family
For a family going from six to eight people, a lot of
Nettie Grundmeyer
accommodations were involved. For the Grundmeyer’s, they had to move to a different house just to make enough room. Not only did the family have to endure the struggles of moving, they also have the struggles of people’s stares. For being a mixed family, they get stares and remarks everytime they go out.
“It’s kind of annoying when people look at us and think foster care isn’t a thing,” Grundmeyer said. “They seem to judge us for being a mixed family. They don’t understand that we are saving them from a rough life.”
Even though the family has difficulties fostering sometimes, the outcome is very rewarding. Not only do Grundmeyer’s see the children grow into a new person, they also see how their efforts positivity influence the child’s life.
“It was hard with some kids because they were used to being more physical and using strong words; it was an adjustment,” Grundmeyer said. “Although, I could see how my parents helped them change so it’s really rewarding. I really enjoy hearing people’s stories and seeing them
People seem to judge us for being a mixed family.
Dori Grundmeyer
