My sweet Mom, who is now 93, has always been a great example of true motherhood.  Although she was not able to biologically have children she adopted me and my sister when we were very little.  She’s the only Mom I’ve ever known and being part of the foster/adoptive world through our software business means a lot to me.  

I have very sweet memories of a lot of family times but one that especially jumps out at me is the memory of how she would make her own mother’s recipe of banana pudding.  She was not an entertainer and not a very good cook but on the infrequent occasions when she made her banana pudding it was always a special event.

We would watch as she would mix the evaporated milk, egg yolks and lots of sugar to create the pudding part from scratch.  We would wait to eat the left over vanilla wafers once she had the crust in place and watched as she carefully sliced the perfectly ripened bananas to line the pan.  She would top off the entire casserole full of the delicious dessert with home-made meringue.  I can smell it and taste it as I write this.

So as I hear so many cases of the children that get placed in forever families it occurs to me that these children can also build these precious family memories.  I believe it takes a truly special person to adopt a child and have the utmost respect and admiration for them.