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 paid 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…
