Vol. 3, No. 2 • Spring 1999

"I Am My Mother's Child"

“Naomi Griffith touched something inside of me. At one point, she talked about who she was, saying, ‘I am my mother’s child.’ It wasn’t about her degree, or even about her accomplishments in life—it was about the simple fact that she was her mother’s child.

As a troubled child in foster care who lost my mother at an early age, I suffered from an identity crisis regarding both who I was and what I wanted to be.

That evening, I went home after hearing her speak, looked in the mirror, and said those words: I am my mother’s child. Just saying them made my mission as an advocate for children, foster parent, and guardian ad litem more significant to me.

For I am my mother’s child, and what I do is important as long as I am positively affecting families and kids.”

— Foster parent Ed Carver on Griffith’s presentation at the November NC Foster Parent Training Conference

Copyright © 2000 Jordan Institute for Families