Lonely Old Lady Returns to Her Home and Sees an Abandoned Stroller with a Newborn Baby in It — Story of the Day

A lonely, childless older woman finds a baby abandoned in a stroller and is stunned to recognize the beautiful diamond necklace hidden under the blanket.

Janet Chancel was almost home from the grocery store when she spotted a stroller in her garden, under the shadow of her bougainvillea. "A stroller?" she thought to herself. "Who do I know who has a grandchild?"

At 68, Janet was still spry and dynamic but her friends were in her age group. No prospective moms there! She opened the gate and saw that there was no one by the stroller and then she heard the unmistakable gurgle of a baby. The stroller had a baby in it, and it had been abandoned in her garden!

Janet rushed over to the pram and looked inside. The baby was tiny, no more than a few days old! She picked the baby up and cuddled it. Inside the stroller was a small bag with what looked like diapers and formula.

"Oh," cooed Janet to the baby, rocking it gently. "You poor thing! Let's get you inside." She placed the baby back in the stroller and felt something cold and hard under the soft blanket.

It was a diamond necklace and one that Janet knew very well. It had been her mother's and had become her sister's. Janet hadn't seen her sister Karen in ten years since they had an argument over an old family grievance.

Anger and resentment poison a family.

Janet had regretted the quarrel and had tried to mend it, but Karen was stubborn and resentful and wouldn't even take her calls. Now here was a baby in a pram with her sister's prized diamond necklace.

Janet took the baby into the house, changed its diaper (it was a girl), and gave it a bottle of formula. The baby went to sleep and Janet picked up the phone and called her niece Kimmy.

"Hi Kimmy," Janet said cheerfully. "I just called to ask the baby's name? You could at least have stayed for tea!" Her niece's stunned silence was all the proof Janet needed that her hunch was right.

"Come over, Kimmy," Janet said gently. "Let's talk about this."

Kimmy was there within minutes. She'd been hiding behind a tree on the other side of the road to make sure the baby was safe until Janet came home from the store.

Kimmy rushed over to the pram immediately and took the sleeping baby in her arms, tears sliding down her cheeks. "I'm sorry Aunt Janet," she sobbed. "I fell pregnant in college, and I had the baby.

"I was afraid to tell my mother, you know how unforgiving she is, but I couldn't keep May in the dorm. So I hoped you'd look after her, 'cause you've always been so sweet to us when we were children and had none of your own!"

"Kimmy," Janet said firmly. "This is not a solution. Go home, I'll sort this out."

The next day Janet went shopping with baby May and in the afternoon she pushed the stroller to her sister's house just three blocks away. She knocked on the door and greeted her sister cheerfully when she opened it.

"Hello there Karen!" she said cheerfully. "I was walking by and I decided our quarrel has gone on long enough so you'd better invite me in!"

Karen reluctantly let Janet into the house and eyed the stroller with suspicion. "What have you got in there? Don't tell me you are one of those silly women who wheel their dogs about in strollers!"

"It's not a dog, it's a baby!" said Janet. She immediately picked May up, and showed her to Karen."Isn't she just gorgeous?"

"But... Whose baby is that?" Karen asked bewildered.

"This is my goddaughter, May," Janet said proudly. "She's so sweet and good...She's a little angel."

"A goddaughter..." Karen sighed enviously. "Can I hold her?"

Janet handed May over and watched as her sister cuddled her and cooed. Within minutes she was under the baby's spell and head over heels in love. "Oh look Janet!" she cried. "She smiled at me!"

"Of course," said Janet smoothly. "She recognizes her grandmother!"

Karen nearly dropped May in her shock. "GRANDMOTHER?" she gasped. "WHAT?"

Janet went back to the door and called Kimmy in. "Before you start screaming and shouting Karen," Janet said. "I want you to realize that your 19-year-old daughter was in trouble and too scared to come to you.

"Think about that. Kimmy and May need your judgment, not your love."

But Karen was weeping, and hugging little May even as she reached for Kimmy. "I'm sorry you thought I'd judge you, Kimmy." Karen sobbed. "I love you! And May is a blessing!"

Janet watched mother and daughter embrace with a smile on her face. "Dont squash the baby, you two," she cried.

Kimmy turned to her mother. "Mom, I took the necklace, the diamond necklace you and Aunt Janet argued about..."

Karen turned to Janet. "I was wrong and I know it," she said. "You were the older daughter. The necklace should have been yours..."

Janet shook her head. "No, Karen," she replied. "I was the one who was wrong. I have no one to pass an heirloom to -- you have Kimmy, and now you have May, and if Kimmy will let me be the godmother..." Kimmy did, and with the sisters reconciled and a new baby, Janet's life became very full and a lot less lonely.

What can we learn from this story?

• Anger and resentment poison a family. Karen held on to her grievances so her daughter was afraid she'd be judgemental with her too.
• It takes a lot of strength and honesty to admit you are wrong. Karen and Janet were both wrong, and it took courage to admit it to each other,

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a frightened boy who tells his mother that there is someone in his room at night. She doesn't believe him until she installs a nanny cam and makes a startling discovery.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.