DALLAS — The teen boy in this week's Wednesday's Child wants to be adopted so much, his caseworker flew him to Dallas from another part in the state so he could be featured in our segment.
His name is Tim, and he's been in foster care most of his life.
Tim broke my heart, but he doesn't need our pity. He needs a loving family to adopt him.
"At home, I am an angel. Perfect," Tim said about his behavior at a residential treatment center for foster children.
Tim's been looking for his shot to be someone's son for a long time.
"I know I want a mom and dad at least," he said.
Tim has been in foster care for 10 years. He was just 3 years old when he entered the system. Today, Tim is 13.
His caseworker found a picture of him when he was 7 years old. Tim's big blue eyes shone brightly in the photograph.
Fast forward six years, and Tim is ready to be done with the state being his parent. His big blue eyes look tired now. He said it's hard for him to sleep, and he longs for the day he stops moving from placement to placement.
"Kind of like being in a prison without walls. You got runners, but then where you gonna [sic] go if you run? Absolutely nowhere but right back to where you ran from," he said.
Why has Tim been in care for so long? How did he fall through the cracks?
That's a story for another day.
Today, we focus on the mom he wants.
"Someone that cares, who's always worried. I may seem embarrassed sometimes (by her worrying) but she'll still be wondering if I'm OK. She'll ask how my day is every time I walk through the door," he said.
He wants a dad who will teach him how to be a man. He wants a father who will be his hero by simply paying attention to him.
"If I go outside, he'll go outside with me. He'll give me some normalcy."
And Tim wants siblings! Lots of them!
"Kind of gets boring playing by yourself," he said.
"Plus, you can learn from them," he said about possibly having older siblings.
Tim deserves never to be lonely again.
At the end of the day, what he has to offer a family is his smile, laughter, and hope.
"Freedom. Freedom to go out the door when I want and them not worrying about me coming back or not, because they know they can trust me," he said.
For more information on how to adopt Tim, please send all approved home studies to LaQueena Warren at LaQueena.Warren@dfps.texas.gov. Please remember to include Tim's names within the subject line.
If you're not licensed, please visit adoptchildren.org to find out more information on how to become licensed to foster and/or adopt or contact LaQueena Warren at 817-304-1272.