Growing up is never easy if you are not guided by the right people, particularly your parents. This sad truth hurts much more to people who grew up in foster care from childhood to their teenage years.
It’s simply terrifying to face the world without your parents beside you, isn’t it?
Just take Jessica Benzakein as an example.
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The world crumbled right in front of her face when she was just 12 years old.
Benzakein shared her story and told TODAY Parents, “My caseworker, his name was Ron, sat me and down and said, ‘Your mother has terminated her parental rights. What’s your plan B?’”
At such a young age, she had totally no idea what his caseworker was trying to say, let alone answer his question. She was asked what her plan B was, little did Ron know, she didn’t even have a plan A to begin with.
But right before Benzakein could even come up with an answer, Ron decided to get the facts straight to her.
“He said, ‘If adoption is your plan A, you are too old,’” Benzakein said while trying to recall that moment. “And he wasn’t saying it to be mean. I got it. His point was, if your plan A is to be adopted, you don’t fit what people are looking for. By 12, they figure you are deeply damaged and horribly troubled and there’s no reversing it. Between the ages of 2 and 5, your chances of adoption drop substantially.”
It was an inevitable change in her life that she had to face and accept.
Benzakein stayed in foster care for the next six years until she turned 18 and left the facility to go to college. Through the years, the feeling of not having a family only became more painful for her. Worse, the pain pinched deeper into her heart during one holiday season, when everyone was out of the campus to spend the season with their families.
Jessica celebrated Christmas alone, with no friends, especially family to spend it with.
“You’re expected to leave, but I didn’t have anywhere to go,” Benzakein shared. “So, I paid to stay in a room the size of a guest closet.”
One could only imagine how sad that day could’ve been for her. No one deserves to be alone during the holidays, let alone spend them in a room that’s filled with such emptiness.
There’s no doubt she knew how it feels to be away from siblings too, because, like herself, she was also separated from her biological brother before. That’s how it works in foster care, particularly for sibling sets that are old enough to be separated.
Eventually, Benzakein was blessed with two beautiful children, Eli and Brenna.
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She’s not alone anymore, they are her wonderful kids whom she shares with her ex-husband.
But that’s not it, in 2015 she legally adopted a total of 6 (2 sets of siblings) lucky boys – siblings Will, Carter, Sidney, and Buddy, and brothers Kendrich, and T.J.
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She now has a pack of 8 wonderful children and she couldn’t ask for more than them. Benzakein promised to give all of her children the kind of life that she have never experienced when she was their age.
Together, their happy family enjoys hanging out together and it’s exactly the kind of life that she dreamt of having.
“We have fun here. It’s total chaos in a good way,” Jessica said. “They have a safe place where they can screw up and make mistakes and laugh and joke and poke fun of each other.”
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Family is EVERYTHING.
Watch the report in the video below to know more about their beautiful family.
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