13 things that strong-minded parents do not do: Author: Amy Morin Language: Arabic Publication date: 2019 Book format: Paperback Publisher: Jarir Bookstore Number of pages: 340 Book classification: Child upbringing Description: Early in my life, I decided to help needy children when I grow up, and throughout my childhood, my parents always helped anyone they could help. They were postal office managers, and they had a special talent for knowing who needed help. Whether they donated to a needy person without revealing their identity, or extended a helping hand to someone in bad circumstances, they would give anything they had. No wonder then that my sister and I worked in community service for years; our parents played the same role but informally for many years, but even before I obtained my community work license years ago, my goal was to become a foster mother. I grew up knowing that there are children without families, some of whom had no homes, and many of whom never felt loved; so I decided somehow – when I have my own house – that I will work to provide shelter for some homeless children. When I was in university, I met Lincoln; who would later become my husband. He was an adventurous person who loved to travel, meet new people, and try new things. At the beginning of our relationship, I told him that my goal was to become a foster mother, and luckily he liked the idea. After we got married immediately – I had not finished my postgraduate studies yet – we bought a four-bedroom house and started the process of obtaining a foster care license, and we chose to become foster parents for children with serious behavioral or emotional issues. We had to attend educational courses, complete the home study process, and make modifications to meet the foster care licensing requirements. But after about a year, while we were finishing the licensing process, my mother suddenly died due to a brain aneurysm. At her funeral, I heard countless stories – many of them from people I had never met before – about how she helped them in one way or another. Hearing those stories about my late mother reminded me of what is truly important in life: the legacy you leave behind. My mother’s generosity strengthened my desire to help children more than ever. Within a few months, we obtained the foster care license and began our journey as foster parents. At that time, I was working as a psychotherapist at a local mental health center, working exclusively with children – many of whom had behavioral problems – and their fathers. Becoming a foster mother gave me the opportunity to apply the principles I taught to parents in my clinic to the children who came to my home. Lincoln and I loved being foster parents, and we started talking about becoming adoptive parents; but that was not possible with the children who stayed with us, as they all had plans to return to their original families or live with other relatives as foster families. So we started looking at waiting lists to see if there was a suitable child to live with us. But on the third anniversary of my mother’s passing, all our hopes of becoming a foster family changed in an instant. Late that Saturday night, Lincoln said he was feeling tired, and after a few minutes, he collapsed to the ground. I called an ambulance, and the first responders quickly took him to the hospital. I contacted Lincoln’s family, who met me in the emergency room, and I didn’t know how to explain to them what had happened; everything happened so quickly.