Mixed emotions: Some people suck, but most people are normal and foster kids need them

Unfinished remodel of our house, millions of laundry, recovering after a week of the flu at our house, cranky baby, don't even look in our kitchen

I've had two main thoughts lately:

First of all, I'm nervous that people are interpreting what we're doing as exceptional rather than do-able.  I've started sharing pieces of our foster care experience on social media, and the response is not what I thought it would be... there are lots of wows and you're amazings and how do you guys do it?s, which does seem to be the appeal of social media posts in general, but that's not my purpose in sharing.  I don't want people to look at us, I was them to look at foster care.  And maybe that's something that comes with time, or something that's happening but not quite as outwardly.  But I was expecting zero praise, a few clicks on blog posts to learn about our experience, and hopefully some people realizing that they can (and maybe should) look into doing foster care.  I don't want us to seem like the exception, like we have some magical ability to parent 3 children who are not our own, in addition to our infant daughter; I want people to realize that we are the exact same people they already know, who have zero special abilities, who are doing something to help children who desperately need it, and that they can do it, too.

Second, holy crap, some people suck.  There have been a few experiences this week where I've realized that there are a lot of people out there ready to drag other people down, and there is a huge need for good people to do something good in the world.  Not to list off a book's worth of rants, but I will mention some poor treatment at the grocery store for using state-issued vouchers for clothing and diapers and for using WIC food stamps to get formula and baby food.  I get that the welfare system gets abused, but there should not be such a harsh stigma attached to getting government assistance--especially when it's going to foster care children who need it.  The expectation is not for foster families to purchase everything their foster children might need; the children are wards of the state, and the state pays to make sure they have what they need.  Foster children qualify for free meals at school, WIC food stamps for children 5 and under, Medicaid, clothing vouchers, free daycare for working foster parents, and other resources, which foster parents should put to good use.  There shouldn't be any out-of-pocket expenses for foster parents since foster families receive a small subsidy to cover increased groceries and miscellaneous expenses, etc.  There are always stories about people doing foster care for the wrong reasons, like pocketing the subsidy money and not having to work--which sucks.  But that just highlights, again, the need for honest, good people to step up and help these children who need someone to look out for them and someone to love them.  The resources are available, and there's no reason not to use them.