Chandler woman reflects on sad Mother’s Day

For now, Christine Adams is a mother.

But Mother’s Day last week appears likely to have been the last one she will share with her 12-year-old daughter.

Adams is a foster mother and her daughter is scheduled to be reunited with her family in July. Adams said it will be a bittersweet moment.

“I’ll just try and put good energy out there for the kid,” Adams said. “I’ll be sad to see her go, but I’ll be happy to see her happy.”

Adams said she thought carefully for about a year before deciding to become a foster mother. She said she didn’t know it at the time but she had her own troubles during childhood.

“I came from a traumatic childhood myself, and did a lot of healing myself during this journey,” Adams said, explaining that her father struggled with addictions to alcohol, drugs and gambling.

Still, she said, most of her family turned out OK, pointing to a brother who has two masters degrees.

When she first considered becoming a foster parent, Adams wanted to foster with a goal of adopting so she wouldn’t have to say goodbye.

But that changed.

“I just saw the need for fostering and I got a beautiful young lady who actually is reunifying in a few months, but that’s how it started was a commercial on TV,” she said.

Adams said motherhood has been all she hoped for.

“I didn’t have my own children in this lifetime, so becoming a foster mother was something I really thought about before I did it. I have been enjoying it, it’s been a fun experience.”

She said when she saw a TV commercial talking about the need, she connected.

Adams said having faced some difficulties in her own childhood made her want to help some child also overcome whatever is happening in their life that led to them being in foster care.

The best parts of being a mother for Adams is mostly spending time with her daughter.

“Just seeing the smile on their face when we did go out and do things, going out to eat, getting new clothes when we would go shopping, take her to the trampoline park to have some fun.”

Adams said she became friends with another foster mother who also had a daughter, and they had many group outings together.

She credited Arizona Helping Hands with doing a lot to help her prepare for being a mom, and easing the transition for her daughter.

The nonprofit offered a college to make sure parents knew what they were getting into. It also offered support, helping Adams secure a bed for her daughter.

Adams said her daughter has been in the foster care system for four years and was “over the moon” when she found out she would be reunited with her family.

Mother hopes her foster daughter will stay in contact in the future. And she’s not ready to give up on being a mother.

“I think I’m going to take a little time off,” Adams said. “If I do go forward, I think I’m going to do foster to adopt, but that takes a bit longer because they’re looking for a really good fit for both. So I think I’m going to move forward after I take a month off after my daughter goes back home.”

She said despite the conflicted emotions of seeing her daughter reunited with her family, the overall experience has been great.

“She’s an amazing young lady,” Adams said, “and I was blessed to get her as my first trial.”