He began telling us the story.
Before my mother met my father, she had been living in a small town with very little money.
She had fallen in love with a young man who promised to marry her.
When she became pregnant, he disappeared.
Mary was barely an adult.
Her family had little money, and she had no stable home.
She struggled to find work while caring for a newborn baby.
She tried to make things work.
She really did.
But every day became harder.
Eventually, a family offered to adopt her daughter.
They promised to provide the child with a safe home, education, and opportunities that Mary could not afford.It was the most painful decision she had ever made.
She signed the adoption papers while holding her little girl for the last time.
That little girl was Emily.
Years later, Mary met my father.
He knew about her past.
