March Madness
Updated: Feb 7, 2019
As the NCAA tournament approaches I can only imagine the various feelings teams may have felt during the selection process. Feelings of fear, anxiety, frustration and excitement until the team name was or was not called. Teams have prepared all season for the upcoming tournament as they have played numerous games with the goal of getting a bid to the tournament at the end of the season.
Some teams had automatic bids as they won their conference championships which is the only guaranteed way to get into the tournament. Other teams had to wait until the final minute of the final hour until the selection committee called their team name. March madness is definitely an exciting time for some teams; however, many teams experienced disappointment as they did not get a bid to the tournament based on wins, losses and strength of schedule.
As I reflected on March Madness and how this could relate to foster care, I thought about the anxiety of kids coming into foster care, the excitement of foster parents getting their first placement, and the enthusiasm of making positive changes in a child’s life. While foster care can be delightful it also comes with various frustrations pertaining to the length of time that often occurs while waiting for a suitable child to enter your home. Often time’s foster parents fear the trauma that a child may bring from previous life disappointments and how they can impact or change that child’s perception of life. Foster parents are equipped for the challenge as they are trained in Love and Logic, given 24/7 crisis support and assigned a case manager for every case within the Embrace Treatment Foster Care program.
Just as teams are elated about being chosen for the NCAA tournament, foster parents are just as thrilled when their home is chosen for the opportunity to impact a child’s life. How awesome would it be to take that journey of emotions and receive the ultimate gratification of changing a child’s life? How breathtaking would it be if YOU were responsible for influencing a child’s life with a nurturing, loving and committed home? In closing when filling out brackets to determine who might win the NCAA tournament, think about how YOU could be a winner, each and every day, by providing a home for a foster child.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
About the Author: Michael Paige is the Site Manager for Embrace Treatment Foster Care in Fredericksburg, VA. He has been with Embrace TFC since September 2013. Paige received a Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree from Virginia State University. Since joining Embrace TFC in 2013, he has worked with at risk-youth as an Overnight Youth Counselor, Therapist at a group home, Program Clinician, and Counselor for intensive in-home services.