I raised ten of my fiancé’s children after he left – 30 years later, his lawyer showed up at my door and said, “He asked me to deliver this envelope today.”
PART 2
One week before the wedding, Robert disappeared. His truck was gone, his phone was off, and no one had seen him. Then I found a note on the kitchen table: “I’m sorry. I can’t take it anymore.” No explanation. No goodbye.
My mother told me to leave and let social services take care of the children. My family and friends said the same thing. They told me I was too young to ruin my life. But when I saw those ten frightened faces around the kitchen table, I knew I couldn’t abandon them.
At the county office, a social worker warned me that ten children were too many for one person. Even so, I signed the guardianship papers. The adoptions took years, but in my heart, that day, they became mine.
