Rich Couple Adopted Kid We Were Denied due to Poverty, Today That Same Kid Calls Me ‘Mommy’ – Story of the Day

While my husband and I were denied adopting a boy due to poverty, a wealthy couple did. But a year later, a surprising turn of events brought him back to us...

My husband, Keith, was fixing his old radio when I approached him with the pregnancy test kit.

"Another negative, Keith. I don't want to try anymore," I said. "I—I give up."

"Could you pass me the screwdriver?" he asked. "I think I almost fixed it."

I don't know why, but a sudden rage gripped me. I tossed the test kit to the floor and screamed at him. "Looks like I'm the only one who cares about it all, Keith! You don't give a damn, do you?"

He did something to the radio, and it started playing an old song. "Let me know when you're ready to talk," he eventually said. "I went to a group home today."

"A what?" I asked. "Are you suggesting we adopt?"

"Aren't you done with these fertility treatments, Lara?" he said, wiping the dust off the radio.

"But Keith—"

"It's affecting your health and our relationship, honey. What do we want in life? A happy family, right? A child needs love. If you are ready for it, we can visit the shelter tomorrow. We can have the family we always wanted. Let's not stress ourselves anymore, ok?"

Keith was right, wasn't he? I wanted to become a mother, and he wished to be a father. It didn't matter to us if the child wasn't our blood. We could give him love and a safe home. That's all a child needs, I thought. But I was wrong.

After several visits and meetings with the social workers, we decided to take a boy home. He was a little boy of 6 with big blue innocent eyes, yearning for love. Patrick. That was his given name. And we fell in love with him the moment we met him.

We never thought, even for a second, that he was not our child. We looked forward to having him home. I had even decided that his room walls would have blue wallpaper and a lot of superhero posters. He had told me Captain America was his favorite.

Spending love on children is more important than spending money on them.

But during one of our meetings with the social worker in charge of his case, we were denied adoption.

"We investigated your background and discovered that you didn't meet the financial requirements," she explained.

Honestly, we had expected that. Keith and I owned a small repair shop, but we weren't stable financially. Our worst fears had come true.

"Ma'am," I said. "While we agree we lack on the financial front, we assure you we can give Patrick a loving home. He loves us too."

"Look, ma'am," she told me. "We work according to the state laws. We don't rely on assurances. It's our duty to ensure the child gets the right home, and you're disqualified."

With a heavy heart, Keith and I exited the social worker's office, and right then, another couple entered. Their fancy attire was screaming they weren't of the mediocre class like us. "They're rich. They can get the child they want!" I thought in tears.

Suddenly, I heard the name Patrick and stopped. Keith and I stood outside the office, and while we knew what we did was wrong, we eavesdropped on their conversation. It turned out they were there for Patrick too.

Imagine how much it hurt us when we learned the rich couple was allowed to adopt Partick, having checked all boxes, while we were denied.

"Keith…" I said quietly. "Patrick is not coming home. He is never going to call me mom."

"Let's go home, Lara. We'll talk about this later," he said sadly.

I don't know how Keith consoled his heart, but I couldn't, and I did something crazy. I met Patrick at his school. I visited him without telling anyone and got him chocolates and a scarf I'd knitted for him. He was happy to see me too.

But two days after this, Keith and I had an ugly argument about it.

"Are you freakin' out of your mind, Lara? They've threatened us to involve the cops if you don't stop!"

Patrick's adoptive parents found out about my meeting Patrick, and they sent us a letter warning me to stay away from him. How could I? Patrick was not happy with them. I could see it. I could sense the grief in the boy's eyes.

"He is not happy with them, Keith…" I said quietly. "I—I can't see him like that."

"Jesus!" Keith was furious. "You are ruining everything for him and us, Lara! He's a child, for God's sake! Not your property!"

"I never called him my property, darling! He is the little boy we loved! The boy we thought would be our son! He—he is sad, and it breaks my heart—"

Before I could say anything else, I burst into tears, and Keith wrapped his arms around me. We stayed like that until I stopped crying.

"Lara, we'll figure this out together, ok? Maybe you think Patrick isn't happy in his new home because you're just being overprotective. If you love him enough, let him go. That's the best for us, too."

Keith said I needed to move on from Patrick so he could get comfortable with his new life. It was hard for me to forget him, but I did it. I did it for Patrick's sake.

Meanwhile, Keith and I decided we'd work together to improve our financial position and adopt another child. We would have to start fresh now.

A year later, our hard work paid off. Keith got a job as an office manager, and we converted our small repair shop into a café. We had to sell our family heirlooms and borrow money from friends to start the café, but everything worked, and we were in good financial shape.

The only issue was when we visited the shelter and I looked at the kids, I could think of nothing but Patrick. His smile and his eyes had always told me we were meant to be together. I couldn't believe I was wrong to believe that.

"I don't know, Keith," I said. "I'm missing Patrick a lot today. Every kid here reminds me of him."

"Let's meet other children, Lara. I know this is hard for you, but let's try at least?" he said, and I nodded and held his hands as we walked to the other rooms.

As I was crossing the first room, I stopped, and Keith turned to me. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Patrick!" I said in tears. "It's him!"

I dashed to the boy and said, "Hi. Hey, Patrick. Do you remember me?"

He looked up and smiled. "Lara?"

I nodded.

"Are you here to take me home finally? My old mommy and daddy were not nice," he said sadly. "They didn't love me, so I came back here."

"Would you want to come with us, little boy?" I asked in tears. "Daddy Keith is also here…"

Patrick smiled and hugged me. "Can I call you mommy then? Please?"

"Mommy!" That word made me feel complete. It made me feel like I was on top of the world. I had my little boy hugging me, and I would not miss the opportunity to take him home this time.

Six months later, his laughs filled our empty house, and we had to prepare a room with orange colors instead of blue. Patrick's favorite color turned out to be orange! He was excited to keep the superhero posters, though.

I still can't believe he is my son now. I was right when I sensed he wasn't happy. A mother's heart and instincts are never wrong.

What can we learn from this story?

• Spending love on children is more important than spending money on them. Keith and Lara were not wealthy, but they loved Patrick like their own child, and the boy never forgot it. In the end, he picked them as parents over the wealthy couple.
• A mother's heart and instincts are never wrong. Lara knew Patrick wasn't happy at the rich couple's home, and she was right.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a beggar who spent all his money to feed a girl lost in the subway and received a strange parcel with a set of keys the next day.

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.