According to recent data presented by the Children’s Bureau, the number of children in foster care nationwide is approximately 424,000. In Tennessee only, there are slightly less than 8,000 children who are waiting to be reunited with their families or find a forever home with people who would love them unconditionally. The sad reality is that the number of foster families in this state is less than 4,000.
Up until recently, one of those kids who found themselves in the system was 12-year-old Andrew from Nashville. This lovely boy spent half his life going from one family to another. However, that changed when he was welcomed in by a special foster family; the Gills.
Kevin and Dominique Gill have a son on their own, Joc, who made very good friends with Andrew the moment they first met. The boys just love hanging out together. They spend their time playing games, taking walks, and doing a bunch of fun stuff. Realizing how close the boys became, Kevin and Dominique decided to let them be best friends forever by filing adoption papers.
Andrew had no idea he was about to become an official member of the Gill family. One day, as he was taking a walk at the park with Molly Parker, an employee at the Youth Villages, he was met with the news that his foster parents are adopting him.
“I just turned around the corner and saw everybody,” Andrew said. “They asked ‘will you?’ and I said ‘yeah!’”
Besides being best friends, these boys now became brothers. Isn’t that the most beautiful thing ever?
I Took My Fiancé to Visit My Parents — He Ran Out Screaming ‘I Can’t Believe It!’ in the Middle of the Night
I’ve been with my fiancé for six years, and we were supposed to get married next month. But during a visit to my parents, he discovered their secret lifestyle, causing him to question our relationship too.
I’ve been with my fiancé for six years, but we’ve known each other for nine. We were supposed to get married next month, but then everything changed the course of our wedding journey.
We went to visit my parents to introduce him to more of my extended family before the wedding. My parents offered to host us, and we’ve been staying in my old room for the sake of nostalgia.
My fiancé, Adam, wanted to stay at a hotel, but I thought it would be fun to just have him share my old room with me.
“I don’t see why staying in your childhood home is going to change anything,” Adam told me when we were packing for the trip.
“Because it’s going to be my last time with my parents under their roof before I become a married woman. It’s going to be a sentimental moment,” I replied.
“If it gets uncomfortable, I’m just going to check myself into a hotel,” he said casually.
Of course, I didn’t expect what would happen next.
We got to my parents’ home, and everyone was excited to see us. My mother and aunt had cooked up an elaborate meal for us, ready to just sit down at the table and get to know Adam better.
All through dinner, everything went as well as expected, and Adam happily enjoyed having the attention centered around him.
We spent the rest of the week at my grandmother’s house, trying to finish the family visit in the best spirits we could muster. My parents apologized to Adam, but it didn’t matter anymore.
It wasn’t about them. It was about the fact that their actions had triggered my fiancé. On the drive home, Adam and I decided that we wanted to stay together and see where life took us.
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