Pickleball, playing cards, lounging at the pool, bike riding, jet skiing, R/C car racing, motorcycle riding, all things outdoors, and probably some activities that I’ve missed … these are activities that have occupied the free time of residents Heidi and Norm Cookson for many years. In between these activities, they have been devoting their, uh, free time over the past 13 years at a nonprofit foster care home for children almost two hours away from Ocala.
They married 38 years ago, having known each other since age five, and have been working together for 13 years. Well, I thought it but didn’t ask it and started to grin. They got my grin and confidently said that all of their time together works out just fine. They are compassionate people with common goals, which became very clear as they spoke about their work.
Heidi and Norm spend every other full week living at the foster care facility, acting as house parents to the children, ages six through 18, who have been separated from their parents through the court system. With five onsite houses, Heidi and Norm have their separate living space at the back of one house occupied by 11 children, with some of them having never experienced the holidays or the abundant presents that were such a memorable part of childhood. The children do, however, receive many donations throughout the year, along with the ongoing devotion of the house parents.
A typical day for Norm and Heidi consists of feeding the children breakfast, sending them to their various schools, doctors’ appointments, sporting activities, band, and more. While Heidi meticulously attends to house cleaning and diligently organizes the facility’s activities, Norm works with case managers to take the children on camping and fishing trips and keeps things light in and outside the facility.
For example, Heidi had been talking about getting a dog for the children. Norm reminded her that they already had two dogs (I’m getting Dobbie flashbacks). After weeks of no movement from Norm, he finally caved and went to see the dog that was now … half-price. Norm’s thinkin’ – what’s up with the dog? But he grabbed that deal and brought the dog to its new home in the facility. The prankster that he is, Norm, tossed all of the toys out of the children’s toy box onto the floor. Heidi, the sleuth, was sure that the children were the culprits and gathered the toys to put them back in the box. The problem was that the dog had claimed the toy box as his home. Welcome to Norm’s new norm and the dog’s new dorm.
Both Heidi and Norm have their CNA licenses and practiced nursing in Connecticut prior to moving to Kissimmee in 2012. In 2023, they moved to On Top of the World, with all of our activities being a deciding factor. In working as house parents, Heidi and Norm receive great satisfaction from the achievements and progress made by the children, such as coming into the program with no reading skills and graduating with honors.
Heidi recounted her heartwarming encounter with a former foster child who had graduated. They hadn’t seen each other for quite some time, and when they did, they almost knocked each other over with high-fives and hugs. Norm, with a smirk, tells his story about Heidi’s adoration of coffee. One April Fool’s Day, Norm hid the coffee maker and anything to do with coffee. When he blamed the children, Heidi panicked. All ended well and generated a lasting memory, among many, for On Top of the World’s Heidi and Norm Cookson.
I forgot to ask if the dog still occupies the toy box.
