‘The Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond Introduces ‘Bonus Kid’ Jamar: Why She Waited So Long to Share the Details
The Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond welcomed a new member to their family more than a year ago but she’s only just announcing the news now. In an excerpt from her book Frontier Follies, posted on her website, Drummond announces their “bonus kid” Jamar and explains how he joined the family.
Ree Drummond and her husband have a foster son
The book excerpt on The Pioneer Woman website kicks off by simply announcing, “We have a foster son now. His name is Jamar.”
Drummond explains why, even though he’s been part of their family for over a year, her fans are just hearing about him now. “I haven’t written or spoken publicly about him much, because for one thing, the state agency that handles fostering has strict rules against posting about foster children on social media, which I get,” she writes.
“But mostly, and this is slightly related, I feel protective of Jamar and have always wanted his story to be his own and not fodder for my social media, which is often riddled with silly videos of my Basset hounds running toward the camera in slow motion,” she continues.
“Also, I’ve never wanted to subject Jamar to more attention than he wanted or needed before he had a chance to settle in and get his bearings in our home. We needed to let things breathe!,” Drummond adds.
Jamar is ready to share his story
Though she hesitated in announcing their foster son, she explains how Jamar, now 18, wants to share his story. And it sounds like he quickly became a part of the Drummond family.
“I’m now writing about Jamar because after a year-and-a-half of living in our house, he is an inextricable part of our wacky family, and it’s become increasingly strange for me not to talk about him,” Drummond writes.
“He’s eighteen now, which means the state agency restrictions no longer apply — and most notably, he told me he’s tired of feeling like we’re trying to hide him from the world. He’s ready to sing, to dance, to make his debut!,” Drummond adds.
The Pioneer Woman writes that Jamar is “cool with my talking about him now, and he thinks it’s about time,” as she goes on to share the story of this “bodacious, bright, brilliant bonus kid.”
They weren’t planning to be foster parents
Drummond shares the story of how Jamar came into their lives, prefacing it by saying, “fostering a kid was never something Ladd and I pursued or felt called to do,” adding, “but Jamar’s circumstances presented themselves to us in a way we couldn’t ignore — so, long story short, all six foot five inches of him showed up at our house one afternoon, bag in hand, ready to move in.”
She continues, “Ladd, who had the initial idea to have Jamar live with us, had met him a couple of times during high school football practice that summer. My boys knew him, too.” This was Drummond’s first time meeting him, however.
Drummond writes about Jamar’s adjustment to their family life, such as taking in a rodeo and riding an ATV for the first time. Unfortunately, he wiped out and suffered a significant injury to his foot that required surgery and had him resting in bed for six weeks. He healed and recovered, returned to playing football, and started to receive college offers.
The Food Network star also shares some other details of Jamar’s adjustment to their family, including the sometimes “tricky” moments of having teenage boys and their “personality clashes” which has her and Ladd sometimes serving as referees. “Bottom line, we make them shake hands a lot,” she writes.
Drummond’s book, Frontier Follies, is available Nov. 17.
