After moving to Tucson from Milwaukee, where she'd raised three children, Cynde O'Shea found her house was too quiet.
An advertisement seeking foster parents changed that.
Her first placements were two small children, ages 3 and 6. They stayed six months and were then reunited with their mother.
"The mother did everything that she was supposed to do and more. She was super," O'Shea said, 58. "She was just going through a tough time. I still see them."
But the energy required for little ones made O'Shea decide to try teen girls.
That was a dozen foster daughters ago.
It's been an exciting, challenging and emotional experience, she said.
"You can help them as much as you can, but you have to keep it all in perspective. You need to take baby steps," she said. "A lot of this you have to do with a sense of humor."
People are also reading…
Why does she do it?
"I feel I've had a good life. I've always been a pay-it-forward person," she said.
When the 20 percent cut in state funding came in 2009, she was undeterred.
"I could handle it, but you definitely do not get into this for the money," she said. She often kicks in some money to help with clothing and personal items.
"I make sure they have enough so they can feel good about themselves," she said. "Sometimes it's not until they leave your house that they call and say 'Hey, thanks.' "
Currently, O'Shea has three teen girls, ages 16, 17 and 18.
"They're doing very well. These girls want to succeed. They want to finish high school and go to college," she said. "Even though some terrible things have happened to them, they're doing their therapy, staying in school and rising above it all."
The Merrifields
LuJean and Don Merrifield have usually taken in just teen boys, but recently they made an exception.
In March, they adopted five children, all siblings and including, for the first time, a daughter.
"Our comfort zone is teenage boys. We only had boys, never a girl, and they always had their friends over," LuJean said.
The couple has four grown sons, including one they adopted.
LuJean and Don, 53, have been licensed foster parents for 12 years. In addition to their three biological children, they have fostered or adopted a total of 16 children.
To accommodate their expanding family, the Merrifields recently had to add on a new bedroom. They also enlarged their living room, adding a total of 300 square feet to their home.
"At any given time, there might be nine children at home," said LuJean, 46. "It really depends on what I'm cooking for dinner."
People sometimes ask how they manage all those boys, LuJean said.
"Boys are a challenge and, if you're not afraid of a challenge and not afraid of hard work, don't be afraid and they will flourish," she said. "We just try to tell people, if it's something in your heart that you can do, don't be afraid."
Contact reporter Patty Machelor at pmachelor@azstarnet.com or 806-7754.
