President Ronald Reagan established National Foster Care Month by presidential proclamation in 1988, setting aside every May as a time to honor foster families and shine a light on the needs of children and youth in foster care.
We may never know exactly why President Reagan chose May for this important observance, but I have a hunch. Spring carries a certain energy—a spirit of hope, renewal, and possibility. Just look around: trees burst into bloom, flowers splash color across the landscape, bright blue skies open up, gentle rains release their sweet fragrance, and bright green saplings scoot up from the damp soil. It’s a season that inspires thoughts of new beginnings and reminds us that, with a little care, hope and transformation can spring forth even from darkness.
Awe wells up inside us when we stand under a blooming cherry tree, gaze across a tulip field, or watch a line of ducklings swimming after their mother. Maybe that’s why, year after year, children delight in bundling seeds into damp paper towels or cups of soil and placing them on sunny windowsills. There’s pure magic in watching those seeds split open, send down roots, and push out a green shoot—something entirely new bursting into the world.
In fact, bring a baby into a room and see what happens: every adult turns their head, and even the toughest customers work to grab the little tot’s attention. The baby becomes the star of the show, and we all gather around to marvel at this small miracle. We never get tired of watching things grow.
Foster care is a lot like that.
Every time a parent opens their home to a child who needs a safe place—whether for a few days or a few years—there’s a fresh sense of hope. It’s a new chapter and a chance to nurture and offer security to a young person who has experienced too much, too soon. There’s opportunity in every new beginning. There’s wonder in every small step forward. It brings to mind butterflies bursting from their cocoons, baby turtles scrambling out of the nest and making their way to the sea—those first moments of freedom, of possibility.
Maybe May was chosen for another reason, too: it’s the month we celebrate Mother’s Day, with Father’s Day close behind. Parenthood—whether by birth, foster, kinship, or adoption—is all about nurturing. It’s about preparing a nest, creating a sense of comfort and care, and loving sacrificially—sometimes at great personal cost. Foster parents embody these qualities, stepping in to love and guide children through times of uncertainty, always putting others' needs ahead of their own.
So as the world wakes up from winter and new life unfurls in every direction, let’s honor the families who open their homes and hearts to children in foster care. Let’s celebrate the beautiful mess of loving others—the ups, the downs, the hard days and the triumphs. Because, just like spring, foster care is a story of hope, renewal, and the extraordinary things that can happen when we nurture, one child at a time.
Thank you to every foster parent, kinship caregiver, and supporter who believes in new beginnings. You make hope bloom, every single day.
