I Found a Terrified Little Girl While Making a Delivery and Adopted Her – 16 Years Later She Said, ‘I Never Want to See You Again’

“Mom, can I bring my unicorn?”

She froze like she’d sworn in church.

“I’m sorry,” she blurted. “I know you’re not really— I didn’t mean—”

I put everything down and knelt.

“Hey,” I said. “You can call me whatever feels safe.

Okay? I’m not going to be mad about that.”

She studied my face like it was a test.

“Okay,” she whispered. “Mom.”

I held it together until I dropped her off.

Then I sat in my car in the parking lot and ugly-cried into my steering wheel.

The years after that were just us, trying to build something that looked like a life.

Court dates where my knees bounced while strangers discussed our future. Home visits where women with clipboards checked my smoke alarms and the inside of my fridge.

They asked, “Can you support this child?” like I wasn’t already working two jobs and selling furniture on Facebook Marketplace to buy her school clothes.

“Yes,” I said every time. “I’ll figure it out.”

In the end, a tired judge with kind eyes looked at me, then at Rosie swinging her legs beside me, and said the words that made it real.

“Adoption approved.”

Continue reading…