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December 2011
At the beginning of summer Ramiro went on a visit to see his dad and grandmother. During the visit he has a great time hanging out with a neighborhood girl. The relationship quickly changed from friends to boyfriend and girlfriend. By the middle of summer Ramiro decided to start living with his dad and grandma so that he could be closer to his girlfriend. While I was sad about his choice, I had very little control. We were in the process of guardianship but once Ramiro returned to his family we could no longer file abandonment as a reason Ramiro needed a guardian. Without the guardianship I had no legal status to have Ramiro stay with us. Ramiro does keep in contact with us. I have left his phone on so that he can call when he likes. I do believe Ramiro always had mixed feeling for choosing to live with us over his bio-family. I hope that his time with us showed Ramiro that he can have a healthy life without getting into gangs or crime. I also hope that he knows that we all love him and wish him the best in whatever he does in life.
July 2010
Ramiro has
been with the family for about a year now. While
his membership with the family was a little
touch and go in the beginning, things are going
very well now. Ramiro had spent much of his
teenage life taking care of himself. He lived
without many rules or stability. After living in
a park for a period of time, Ramiro started
advocating for himself. He had been out of
school for almost two years and wanted to
return. He also wanted a family. Despite having
a life that many teens dream about---no school
or parental involvement---Ramiro really wanted a
more typical life. Through a series of contacts
(similar to seven degrees of separation) Ramiro
and I were connected, and I asked him if he
wanted to join our family. It's taken about a
year for us to work out the kinks in the
relationship. Coming from not having rules or
adults that care to having a parent who is very
involved took some getting used to for Ramiro.
Parenting an older teen who basically lived on
the streets for an extended period of time took
some getting used to for me. At this point our
relationship is very stable and I am committed
to parenting Ramiro through his childhood. I am
also hoping to be able to adopt Ramiro, although
it likely will be a complicated process.
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