God has blessed me with the most precious gift a mother could ever have, a wonderful son; mere words cannot express the happiness and joy he brings into my life.

After being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome in 2001, I had to resign from my job as an inspector/packer at Hitachi Metals in July 2002. In 2004, I found my passion, which was working with teen boys who had been diagnosed with emotional problems and aggressive behavior. This later led me to become a foster parent.

My son was 15 at the time, and it meant he would have to share me, his time and his home with other kids. This would mean giving up a lot of things that meant so much to him.

I’m a single parent, and for a long time, Willis has been an only child. And, yes, I did spoil him; however, I’ve always encouraged him to learn to share, and he has done just that.

When I started fostering other kids, he didn’t want to share me with the others. In June 2004, I had to apply for Social Security disability. It took 16 months for me to be approved, and I received only one month of back pay. Still, I was grateful. My point is that at age 16, my son became employed at Food Lion and worked to help the family out during a hard two months.

I’m certain that the things our kids are taught at home are what they remember through life. Proverbs says for us to train a child up in the way that he should go, and when he is old, he won’t depart from it. Every experience that God gives us is the perfect preparation for the future that only he can see.

Through the young men that are in my home, I know that committed and persistent work really pays off.

— Ethel Vinson

Salisbury