When my husband, Jacob, and I decided to adopt a child, we had no idea that our lives were about to change in ways we never could have imagined. We met Bobby, a silent five-year-old boy, at a foster home, and our hearts melted. We knew we had found our son.
As we welcomed Bobby into our home, we were aware that he had been through a lot. He had been abandoned as a baby, and the foster home had told us that his parents were dead. But despite this difficult start in life, Bobby was a sweet and smart boy who deserved all the love in the world.
As the months passed, Bobby settled into our routine, but he remained silent. We didn’t push him to talk, knowing that he needed time to heal. But on his sixth birthday, something miraculous happened. As we sang “Happy Birthday” and he blew out the candles, he spoke his first words: “My parents are alive.”
We were shocked and unsure of what to do next. But as we dug deeper, we discovered that Bobby’s parents were indeed alive and had abandoned him because of his health issues. They had paid the foster home to keep it a secret.
We were heartbroken for Bobby, but we knew we had to support him. We took him to meet his biological parents, who were wealthy and lived in a grand mansion. But as we watched Bobby confront them, it became clear that they were not interested in rebuilding their relationship with him.
In fact, they seemed embarrassed and ashamed of their past actions. Bobby, on the other hand, was brave and honest, asking them why they had abandoned him. As we left the mansion, I felt a sense of peace wash over me. Bobby had chosen us, and we had chosen him.
In the months that followed, Bobby flourished. He began to trust us, sharing his thoughts and feelings with us. He called us “Mommy” and “Daddy” with pride, and our hearts swelled with love for him.
As I looked at Bobby, I realized that love, not biology, is what makes a family. We may not have given birth to him, but we had given him a home, a sense of belonging, and a family that loved him unconditionally. And as we hugged him tight, we knew that we would never let him go.
