Justin B. Terry-Smith has been involved in LGBTQ and HIV Activism since 1999. He is an Air Force 9/11 Disabled Vet. Raised in Silver Spring, MD, he now lives in Albuequerque, New Meixco with his husband Phil. He writes an HIV/STI Advice Column for A&U Magazine, is a Contributing writer for thebody.com, a Life Coach and an Adjunct Professor. He has earned his Doctorate in Public Health with a concentration in Infectious Disease and his Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Justin's HIV Journal: Spending Time with my Foster Son
Having a foster son has put a lot of things in prospective for me. Things such as the way you talk to a younger generation, facial expressions, and inflections in your voice etc. But I know one thing that is and always has to be there and that is time.
Making time for your child whether they are your biological, foster or adoptive child is paramount. You will learn so much. You will learn what your child’s interests are, what they don’t like, who they are, and who they might want to become. We make he has his own space to be by himself but we also have family movie time.
One night my son wanted to play Jenga and I said okay we had a lot of fun. Check out the video to see who won the game. We on occasion will play board games to together and that is the important times. The times he will remember when he grows up to become an adult.
Also a lot of Foster Children do not spend time with their biological parents because of outside factors, which could be or could not be within the biological parent’s control. It is a case by case basis. At least with my son I know he needs to spend time with us, so that we can form a bond. We took him to his first Drag Show at Freddie’s Beach Bar and Restaurant in VA and he loved it. He will remember that time always because he has never had that acceptance being an LGBT teenager. It was and will always be an affirmation that his own sexuality is normal and he needn’t be ashamed of who he is.
