“I got the phone call that would change our lives forever. ‘Her mother was found deceased this morning.’ We asked, ‘How would y’all feel if A.J. stayed with us forever?’ The two girls’ bond is like I have never seen. She doesn’t see A.J as ‘different,’ she just sees her baby sister. I don’t think any of us could imagine life without her.”
‘Out of left field, the man asked, ‘Ma’am, will she ever be normal?’ Fighting back tears, my 5-year-old climbed on A.J.’s wheelchair and look him straight in the eye.’: Woman adopts child with cerebral palsy, ‘Life has never felt more complete’
‘I wasn’t trying to ‘play mommy.’ I was jealous when they started dating. Now my daughter’s stepmom is my best friend.’: Husband’s wife and ex-wife become best friends, successfully co-parent as ‘one big happy family’
“Before we had even met, we started off on the wrong foot. It began when Nick (my ex) and Savannah (his new girlfriend) were dating and took my baby to Disneyland. Savannah took a picture and posted it online. I was angry. It felt like someone was being the ‘replacement’ as Liv’s mom.”
‘No one has ever wanted you here. If you find a family that will actually love you, go be with them.’: 26-year-old adopted after years of childhood trauma, abuse, says you’re ‘never too old to need parents’
“At 17, I was put into foster care. ‘We would adopt you!’ Tears flowed down my face. I’d never thought I’d hear this as a 26-year old, aged-out foster youth, and a formerly abandoned child. The judge wiped away tears, pausing to thank us for letting him finish his week with us. As we were ending, he declared, ‘This is a happy day!’”
‘Wow, that’s so cool I have 2 moms! May I have a snack?,’ was his reaction at age 5. ‘Aren’t you worried they’ll take the boys back?’ We are not a bit worried. We told him he grew up in her tummy.’
“And then we met her – this gorgeous strawberry blond young lady with the most beautiful green eyes looking at us from across the table. She had one question for us. Our knees were shaking just getting the news. We were not convinced it would be ‘wonderful’ at all. We were intimidated and scared.”
‘My girl looked at us, tears in her eyes. ‘I don’t get a baby brudder?’ My heart shattered.’ Mom details ‘adoption roller coaster’ in the wake of father’s tragic death
“She’s chosen you!’ My husband and I sat outside the room and stared at each other, about to open a door that’d change the rest of our lives. We took each other by the hand, flashed timid smiles. As we entered, I could feel that something was off. I could see cars driving, people walking, life moving by. As for me, time seemed to stand still.”
‘I can’t keep her. She’s not mine.’ The nurse replied, ‘Adoption! How wonderful!’: Woman reunites with birthparents after 18 years
“Unsure of how to tell their parents a baby was on the way, they opted to keep it a secret until I was born in the fall. My birth mother graduated five months pregnant, lived at home with her parents and even shared a room with her older sister. But still, no one knew about me besides my birth father.”
‘My mother traded my sister for a shotgun and pickup truck. I didn’t see her again for 35 years. One day, I got the clever idea to place an ad in the local newspaper. In 1 month, I got THE call.’: Woman reconnects with birth mother after locating her through DNA kit
“We met at a run-down cafe and I asked all the questions that burned inside me. I was sitting directly across from her. This time, she couldn’t ignore me. I secretly hoped my suspicions were wrong, but the realistic side of me always said, ‘April, why else would she have stayed away?'”
‘Today, I failed miserably as a mom. There was yelling, crying. My broken mom heart gave up. I worried I couldn’t turn the day around or pick up where we left off. Then, I tried something.’
“I fled. We fled. I had to turn and walk away before verbally wounding the child that just wounded me. I packed up the kids and bonus child. I could feel my heart rate calming as we came to the top. The day ended so much more peaceful than it began.”
‘Stop saying adoption rocks. It doesn’t. And there’s a side to it no one wants to talk about.’
“The part where I cried when I couldn’t have children and the doctor told me to ‘man up’ because ‘the world population is too big anyway so just get a dog.’ The part where, despite my best efforts to love my child, she still says, ‘I want my other momma.'”
‘This is weird, but I feel like I know you.’ My heart dropped. ‘Were you adopted?’ Yes. ‘How old are you?’ 40. ‘I gave birth to a child 40 years ago.’: Woman gives son up for adoption, runs into him 40 years later at supermarket
“The mutual dreams. The age. The feeling. It all seemed to align by some inexplicable magic. He didn’t speak. He only sobbed, my tears flowing with him. I was never a believer in miracles. But this? This felt like a miracle of the utmost kind. The universe brought us together. It’ll take an army to tear us apart.”
