Ruth Olinger (center) has raised dozens of foster children and is now parenting her grandson.
Ruth Olinger
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ruth Olinger, 70, who is raising her grandson on her own in Lakeland, Florida. Olinger had earlier fostered dozens of children and did mission work. Now, Olinger said she can't retire and pays over $10,000 for her son's day care. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.I was raised by my grandparents. My grandmother had rheumatoid arthritis, so my grandfather did the cooking and cleaning. She was bedridden for 16 years, and I would take care of her. He had a stroke one day, and he was never the same. We were then placed in foster care when I was 8, and my brother was 10. We were separated after three months.My brother was in several different homes and got emancipated at 16. I was in 10 homes, so I called 10 different parents "mom" and "dad." I always felt like I wasn't good enough and wondered if I was lovable.I went to college at 17 and graduated early. I got married at 18 because I had nowhere else to go. My grandparents had died. I had two sons, and at the age of 28, I met my biological father.I knew I wanted to give back in some way, so I fostered 51 children over the years, all of which were during my single years. I didn't want anybody to feel less than. The harder they were to love, the better I liked them. They all needed to be loved and feel secure in their environment.
