Wednesday

13 Stories About Adoption That Prove Our World Is a Wonderful Place

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Millions of kids around the world grow up without one or both parents. Some people make the decision to foster a baby or a teenager, or to adopt them. It’s not always easy, but many foster parents are happy to give others a chance to have a good life.

Bright Side is sure that every kid has the right to have a caring and loving family, as well as a bright future. The stories of people who dared to adopt a kid prove, once again, that our world is full of kindness.

I was told this story by my mom, while she was told the same story by her mom who had worked her whole life as a teacher in a small town. There was a husband and a wife who were never able to have a baby. They tried every way possible, but their effort was all in vain. Eventually, they gave up and decided to adopt a kid. They were offered a boy who had been surrendered by the daughter of some wealthy man. So they adopted him. While taking care of the boy, the foster mother finally managed to get pregnant. And soon they had another son. They were both studying in one school group that was supervised by my great-grandmother and the difference between them, both in their appearance and in their character was quite significant. One boy had fair hair, would study carefully, and never got himself in trouble. The second one, their biological son, had red hair, didn’t study well, and was always fighting with others. Sometimes, after learning about their academic performance and hearing another troublesome story that the second son had gotten himself into, their father would joke during school meetings, “This redhead is not ours, we adopted him. The fair-haired one is ours for sure!” © Mickileli / pikabu

We adopted our oldest daughter at 10. She had been in and out of foster care for most of her life, and her biological mom selflessly made the decision to let her go for stability and safety. After meeting this girl, we knew we’d want her to be a part of our family. It’s been 16 years and it definitely hasn’t always been easy, but family therapy helped. We love our daughter like she’s our “own.” She’s always been incredibly smart and talented. She just finished her master’s degree, has had a successful career thus far, and she’s engaged to a wonderful man. I’m proud to be her mom. © jbarinsd / reddit

I was coaching a soccer team and had a kid in the foster program on the team. He was 13. Over the course of the season, my wife and I really got to know him and saw how bad his foster parents were. At the end of the season, we asked him if he wanted to come live with us instead. It’s been 9 years since then. We were still a young couple (24 and 27) then, but his social worker arranged things and continued helping us. It was an easy decision for us and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. He’s 22 now, almost done with college, and hopes to become a police officer. © julesbravo / reddit

My pre-adoptive son just moved in 6 weeks ago. He’s almost 10. It hasn’t been easy, but there are so many older kids who need families. My best advice is to just make sure you’re committed. Be honest with yourself and your adoption coordinator. And demand honesty from the social worker as well. Because if you convince yourself, “Oh I can handle this” and you change your mind? You are re-traumatizing that child. My son has complex trauma from years of abuse. He had to leave his first pre-adoptive home because he kept losing his temper and throwing things. My son and I have a little mantra “together forever. Even when things get hard, even when things get sad.” © camilouwhooo / reddit

2006. Once I stopped at a mall to run an errand and when I was leaving, I saw a young mother with a little girl. The mother was under the weather, asking the kid, “What do you want from me?” The kid answered, “I want to eat.” Judging by how humbly the girl was dressed and how sad she was speaking, it wasn’t a whimsy. The mother got furious, she shouted at the girl, saying she had ruined her life, and left.
The girl sat on the bench and started to cry. I felt very sorry for her, but I was having doubts as to whether I should interfere. 20 minutes passed, and I couldn’t wait anymore. So I called the police, but I just had a feeling that this story wasn’t finished for me. So I kept tabs on the girl.
2008. My wife and I finally adopted this girl. She is 8 and she is already in school. While we dealt with a lot of paperwork, she had to live in an orphanage for a while. But we were visiting her regularly and kept bringing presents for her and other kids. Some of my friends had a very bad attitude about this adoption.
2015. She is already 15. Time flies. I am often asked whether we’ve ever regretted that we adopted her. Never! And I never will! © commod / pikabu

My husband and I unexpectedly adopted a 17-year-old girl. She was on drugs and a downhill spiral. So we gave her a place full of love, therapy, help, therapy, rehab, and more therapy with love. She healed and became a part of our family. © SurpriseThere1 / reddit

Most people who are interested in adopting children are looking for the full parental experience. For some, adoption is their only chance at raising a child, so I can kind of understand the desire to adopt a young child. The result is that older children are skipped over. It’s heartbreaking, as many unadopted kids ’exit the system’ at 18 and almost all of their support disappears. My wife and I adopted a 16-year-old boy over a year ago. © bfarrgaynor / reddit

My wife and I took in a 17-year-old 4 months after we got married at 24 and 27. 2 years in, we are very happy with our decision. We walked her through everything: learning to drive, getting her first bank account, getting enrolled in college, the death of her father and mother, getting counseling, estate planning, taxes, and numerous health issues. It has been worth every minute and dollar we have spent to know we have gained a daughter and changed what life will look like for her and generations to follow © ThisIsNowAUsername / reddit