Real Life Stories

Adopting an older child is often seen as an altruistic act, but the giving goes both ways.

'Feet even. Square your shoulders. Look ahead. Float over roots and rocks. Breathe. I’m trying to do everything right, but it all feels wrong.'

When co-workers ask about my wedding, my reaction is rehearsed and polite. “It was great. It was amazing!” I smile and look happy. It’s a response they want to hear. What I don’t tell them is, my father was dying.

Pretty much every day for the past six years, I've worn something of my mother’s. It’s my way of continuing a conversation that ended far too soon.

I never wanted my boys to feel left out. So I spent money I didn’t have on fancy clothes and birthday parties. We couldn’t keep up.