Josh Glessner isn’t looking for anything special for Father’s Day. That’s because he already has plenty of special things in his life, namely five young foster children.
“Something memorable happens every day,” he says.
Glessner has come to embrace having a big family, but living in a household with so many other people was once foreign to him. He grew up on his parents’ farm in Somerset County – nearly two hours outside of State College — with only one brother.
“A big family is definitely a different experience,” says Glessner.
One of the most rewarding parts of raising children for Glessner is getting to learn new things on the fly.
Glessner says he and his wife Angela always wanted children. When the couple found out having children of their own was not possible, foster care was the natural alternative.
“We just couldn’t say no,” Glessner says. “The opportunity to give them a better life is something we take seriously.”
For a military man of 18 years, Glessner knows it’s important to keep work and home life separate. He was deployed in Saudi Arabia from 2002-2003. He briefly returned to the United States in 2004 only to be sent to Iraq from 2005-2006.
Upon returning home in July 2006, the first foster child, a 5-year old girl named Savannah was already living with Angela at the family’s home. After Savannah, came Dustin in November 2008. Dustin was two at the time the Glessner’s adopted him. Twins Daniel and Daisy were adopted as newborn babies in 2009. The fifth child, Blair, was also adopted right out of the hospital last July.
“I can’t take my work home with me,” says Glessner who works as a corrections officer at the Benner Township State Correctional Institution, just outside State College. “It’s important to teach my kids manners and discipline, but I can’t talk to them how I have to talk to some people at work.”
Glessner goes about raising each child a bit differently. Daniel and Dustin are both autistic. A therapist normally visits the family home to see the two boys. That’s helped the other three children learn about autism.
“All of the children are really patient with each other. Daisy always stands up for her brother if she has to. I never grew up around twins, but it’s really cool to see how they stick together.”
Glessner prefers not to use the word “challenge” when it comes to caring for children. But raising Savannah might have been the most unique endeavor he has encountered.
At age four, Savannah had already developed her own routine. Glessner and his wife needed to help her adapt.
“She was a bit different because she was a little older when we adopted her. At first, all she wanted for meals was canned ravioli and orange soda. It was a lot of basic stuff like that – teaching her that we aren’t supposed to play out in the street, but we can go play in the backyard. We needed to set a better structure for her and change the way she was in a positive manner.”
Glessner leads a busy life. Days begin “whenever my kids wake up,” usually around 6:30 a.m. He leaves for work at 1 p.m. and begins an 8-hour shift at 2 p.m. With some of his children starting to grow a bit older, he can sometimes get to sleep by midnight, but that wasn’t always the case.
“There were a lot of sleepless and restless nights,” Glessner says with a slight laugh.
Every Saturday he cooks a big breakfast for his family. Glessner describes the spread as a 1950s family meal consisting of pancakes, eggs, and other breakfast foods.
Now that his children are out of school for the summer, he is looking forward to spending more time with them before he leaves for work.
Glessner hasn’t asked for any special Father’s Day gifts other than spending quality time with his family on Sunday.
Artwork created by the children decorates the Glessner home. Some of the pieces were made especially for Father’s Day. And those are some of dad’s favorites.
As he finishes talking, a few of his children can be heard in the background. Five children might seem like plenty, but when Father’s Day 2014 comes around, there could be six or more kids in the Glessner household – possibly in a new house.
Glessner and his wife are searching for a bigger place so they can adopt more foster children.
“We have the means to give back and help others. We enjoy it, and we’re going to continue to do it.”
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