I attended my first Child Bridge meeting in . . . when was it?  January 2017? 2018?  The big Covid cancellation gap is fogging up the details.  Anyway, I had called one of the organizers to discuss doing something with books and foster kids, something that would involve reading to them. Because reading to small children is crucial–it’s one of the best ways to nurture their development. And because I loved reading to kids.  Also, because I loved buying kids’ books, and my children had long grown out of them. So the project was born.

What would that project be? The childcare activities organizer for the monthly Child Bridge meetings wasn’t sure. Child Bridge, according to its mission, finds and equips foster and adoptive families for children who have suffered abuse and neglect.  Just how my reading project would fit into this wasn’t clear, but every second Monday evening, while the parents met around tables in the quiet, enclosed room near the gym, the kids played alongside their agemates and ate pizza. Guests were often invited to bring in wildlife, or do an electric company demo, or direct a special craft.