Grieving Woman Carries Late Daughter's Stuff to Group Home and Returns with Kid in Her Arms — Story of the Day

A woman dealing with her young daughter's death packs her clothes and brings them to a group home as a donation, and meets a child who changes her life.

The worse day of Daphne Kelly's life was the day her daughter Roza died. Roza was just four years old, and six months before, she caught a little cold. That's all it was, a cold.

But somehow, Roza never got better, so Daphne took her to the doctor. The doctor had Roza go through a series of tests, and somehow Daphne knew that something was very wrong.

Nothing the doctors could do helped Roza, except to relieve her pain, and soon that, too, ended. Daphne buried her daughter, and with her, she buried her heart.

For a long time after Roza's death, Daphne refused to allow anyone to touch anything in her little bedroom. She wanted to believe that someday she'd walk in and Roza would be there smiling, laughing, alive.

Daphne's husband Robert begged her to give away Roza's clothes still hanging in the closets, and her toys still sitting on the bed. "You want me to forget her?" Daphne screamed. "You want me to forget my baby?"

Love is the greatest healer for a broken heart.

Robert told her that he wanted her to have closure, to do her mourning, to lay the pain to rest. "Roza was my daughter too," he said quietly. "But I want to remember her with joy, and Daph, you're trapped inside the pain."

"It hurts!" screamed Daphne. "It hurts so much, can't you see how it hurts?" Robert put his arms around her and tried to comfort her, but overcoming her loss was something Daphne had to come to terms with on her own.

He encouraged Daphne to go to a group he attended in which people who had lost a child got together. It helped, a little. One day, Daphne made up her mind to take a big step.

She was going to give away Roza's clothes and her toys and her little books. She discovered that there was a group home for children close by. That was where Roza's things would go, she thought, to children who needed them.

Daphne began the painful task of packing Roza's clothes and toys into boxes. She took down all of the posters and repainted the walls a pale yellow instead of pink, but she couldn't bring herself to remove the child-sized furniture.

Roza's bed and wardrobe and her pretty desk stayed, but with the yellow walls, and the sunflower drapes she hung, it looked completely different.

"It's a step in the right direction," Robert said gently.

"It doesn't look like Roza's room anymore," Daphne whispered. "But I still want it to be a child's room. Is that crazy?"

Robert kissed her tenderly. "No, my love," he said. "It's not crazy. Do you want me to come with you tomorrow, to help with the boxes?"

"No," Daphne said. "I want to do it on my own." But when she arrived at the home -- a big house run by three harried-looking women, she regretted his absence.

Every box she unloaded was a little piece of Roza. Daphne found herself sobbing until she heard a voice say, "Hello! Does your tummy hurt?"

Daphne turned, wiping her cheeks, and found herself face-to-face with a tiny girl with a mop of dark curls and lively eyes. "No," she said. "My tummy doesn't hurt."

"Oh," the child said. "Then it must be your heart!" The little girl looked so wise and knowing that Daphne had to smile.

"How do you know so much?" she asked, and the child grinned cheekily at her. "What's your name?"

"I'm Karli," the little girl said. "What have you got there?"

"Clothes and toys and books," Daphne said and opened one of the boxes to show her.

Karli touched a pretty party dress and sighed. "Why are you giving all those lovely things away?" she asked.

"The little girl they belonged to doesn't need them anymore," she explained.

Karli perked up. "What about the mommy?" she asked eagerly. "If she doesn't need her mommy, I'd love to have one!"

Daphne felt her wounded heart turn over. Here was this lonely child desperate for love, and she was poisoned by pain! Daphne started to cry, deep-wrenching sobs.

She cried for Roza, for herself, and for Karli. When she calmed down, she sat and talked to Karli for a long, long time. Then she went inside and talked to the lady who ran the group home.

She told her she was willing to foster Karli, and eventually adopt her if the state allowed it. "We would love to find good homes for all our children," the woman told Daphne. "But you will have to go through Child Services. However, if you have good living conditions, and financial stability, it will go a long way."

"I even have a bedroom ready for Karli!" Daphne said.

"For me?" Karli interrupted.

"Karli!" the house mother chided. "You're not supposed to be here! This is a conversation for grown-ups."

"I want to see it!" Karli said. "I want to see my bedroom!"

The house mother looked uneasy. "I don't think it's a good idea," she said. "If things don't work out, Karli will be very hurt."

Daphne and Karli said at the same time, "It will work out!"

The woman reluctantly agreed to go with Daphne and Karli to her house. Robert was astounded when he saw Daphne walk up the steps with a smile lighting up her face and a laughing child in her arms.

It was the beginning of a new life for Daphne, Robert, and Karli. It wasn't easy, and Robert and Daphne had to jump through a lot of hoops, but the day finally came. The adoption was approved.

Karli came home for good and slept in the sunflower bedroom, and Daphne's heart was finally at peace.

What can we learn from this story?

• Love is the greatest healer for a broken heart. Daphne couldn't get over losing her daughter until she let herself love another child.
• Family is more than biology, it's love and devotion. Daphne and Robert rebuilt their family and gave Karli what she most needed: love.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a couple who already have a child and decide to adopt a little girl but they are afraid to tell their son.

This story is inspired by 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.