Beautiful warm days, long walks with anyone willing to walk with me (Lindsay💟) and June was around the corner which meant summer break from Lions & Leo’s Club meetings. Everything was normal and average. Kevin was in the shop everyday after work; always tinkering with vehicles and engines. I was obsessed with my Lose-It app, tracking calories and making sure I got my daily step count; even if it meant walking in circles from the kitchen to the dining room. Sometimes, I’d spice things up and walk from the basement to the living room and down the hallway (I was a rebel back then). Kevin had also joined the Lions Club that year so we had at least two meetings a month plus charitable commitments. Rewind to September 2015, when I took on more responsibility as the Leo Advisor. It came with a fancy embossed T-Shirt (made by my darling mother-in-law, Odilia). While coordinating charity events and keeping the teenagers engaged in community service, I met our son. I didn’t know it then that he would become a part of our family and I’m confident he had no clue whether our kindness was genuine and/or temporary. There were plenty of events where we bonded and everything changed in May 2016. Josh was isolated and felt forgotten by so many of the adults in his life. He confided in me because of our similar upbringing. If any of the Leo’s were ever in harms way, we would do our best to help them, Kevin agreed wholeheartedly.
We offered our home and our guidance to Josh. We explained that if he decided to leave his environment, it would have to be a permanent change. The last thing we wanted was to open our hearts and then lose him. We lost Kevin’s grandmother May, 2016 and we suffered our 4th miscarriage May, 2016.
On May 30th of 2016, Josh left his old home with a backpack and a bicycle. His older sister was understandably upset but Josh knew he needed stability and control over his circumstances. He knew the life he lived held no opportunities.
Josh turned 18 a few short weeks after moving in. He acquired his first birth certificate, his G1 learners permit, his social insurance number, his first job, his first motorized vehicle (thanks, Uncle Johnny for selling him the dirt bike), and Josh graduated from high school.
This year marks four years that we have been together. If someone had told me, back in May of 2015, that Kevin and I would be adopting a teenager, I would not believe it. If someone had told me in May of 2018, that our family unit would be split by country, I would have refused to believe that too. This is May of 2020, with a pandemic and immigration keeping us apart, I’m going to avoid taking wild guesses on what the universe has planned for us. The power’s that be have done their job, in May of 2016, I got the family that I always wanted and the title I cherish most... Josh’s Mom💙
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