Focus on Fostering: Connecticut Conference

Last  weekend I presented two workshops at the annual CAFAP conference. [Connecticut Association of Foster and Adoptive Parents] in Mystic Ct.  The people were wonderful, the weather was beautiful but I was sicker than a dog! As a presenter you always want to do your best and be at your best. Instead I had coughing spasms over and over during for the fist half hour of the Friday workshop.  Then, with a fever raging I took some medicine that knocked me out... I slept through the dinner banquet, the evening and woke up 10 minutes AFTER my morning presentation was to begin.  Every presenters worst nightmare! I was down to the session in less than 15 minutes, but between arriving late, the fever and nausea I felt awful!  I have heard from several people that they loved the workshops and I hope so, but I feel so frustrated about it.  I drove home to Maine and spent Mother's Day and Monday trying to recover from whatever flu it was.

So... if any of you Connecticut folks are reading... Thank you, Thank you, Thank you....  for your understanding,  and your cough lozenges, and the iced-water glasses! Vanessa- you stayed calm and supportive, Jean- you were wonderful.  I have great respect for all the foster parents, adoptive parents, and agency staff that I met there.  I hope we get together again under healthier circumstances!  

So with two conferences to go this season, I am hoping I have used up all the disasters and bad luck and that all will be smooth.  Conferences are the lifeline that connects foster parents, giving them an energy boost of ideas, the chance to commiserate and connect, and a group of peers that understand their lives.  Like an oil change keeps a car motor running smoothly and more efficiently, the info and connections from conferences, workshops and seminars keep foster parents and adoptive parents working with their children more smoothly and more efficiently.  Happy engines, happy hearts, happy homes.