Five families had considered adopting three-year-old Lily, but every one of them backed out. I never understood why. At 68, I decided to give her a home myself. Everything seemed wonderful until my attorney called and said, \u201cThere\u2019s something about those five families you need to know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I volunteer at a small church where we organize events for children in foster care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We bring books, clothes, and toys, whatever the group homes tell us they need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I started volunteering after my husband, Peter, and our daughter, Rebecca, died in a car accident 11 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That period was a difficult one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some mornings I barely managed to get dressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The house was so quiet that I\u2019d leave the television running just to hear another voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My pastor, Helen, invited me to help sort donated coats one Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I went because I couldn\u2019t bear another afternoon alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then I kept going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last spring, our church visited a children\u2019s group home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the other children played, a little girl sat beside a window holding a stuffed rabbit with one ear missing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHer name\u2019s Lily,\u201d a caseworker told me. \u201cShe\u2019s three.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I crouched beside her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDoes your rabbit have a name?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She regarded me seriously. \u201cBunny.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a very good name.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She held up the damaged ear. \u201cHe\u2019s broken.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think he\u2019s still handsome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the first time, she smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I learned that five families had considered adopting Lily and then withdrew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The caseworker couldn\u2019t discuss their reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I only knew that each time a family came and went, Lily grew quieter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before I left, she put Bunny into my hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCan you fix him?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I promised to try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was 68, lived alone, and hadn\u2019t cared for a small child in decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, I couldn\u2019t stop thinking about her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I contacted the agency, asked about adoption, and began the assessments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There were interviews, medical checks, home visits, financial reviews, and uncomfortable questions about my age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I arranged for my niece, Claire, to be Lily\u2019s backup caregiver if I became ill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Claire was 32, lived ten minutes away, and had known about my plans from the beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want a child losing another home,\u201d I told the social worker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNeither do we,\u201d she replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After months of preparation and visits with Lily, the adoption was finalized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On our first evening home, Lily walked from room to room asking, \u201cMine?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYour room,\u201d I said. \u201cYour books. Your bed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She touched my sleeve. \u201cAnd I\u2019ll never leave?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t want to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I sat beside her until she fell asleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our house was filled with scattered blocks and early morning cartoons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes Lily reminded me of Rebecca, especially when she tilted her head while thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But she had her own fierce little personality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She hated cereals, loved yellow socks, and insisted on choosing which stories I read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Four months later, my attorney, Martin, called.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s been a serious omission in the records we received,\u201d he said. \u201cCould you come to my office?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Claire stayed with Lily while I drove there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Martin had a folder open on his desk. His expression frightened me before he spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese concern the five families who withdrew.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I looked at the first page, then the second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the third was a name: Victor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under it were copies of five written reports. Every family had received threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One found photographs of their home in an envelope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another had been told their own children would suffer if they adopted Lily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fifth described a man following them from a meeting with a caseworker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, my God,\u201d I whispered. \u201cHow could they hide this from me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Martin let me read before answering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Victor was Lily\u2019s biological uncle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\u2019d applied to care for her after her parents died, but the child welfare agency had rejected his placement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They did an assessment and found violent incidents and unsafe conditions in his home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The material I\u2019d received before adoption said no suitable or interested relatives were available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That statement left out years of attempted contact and interference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe wasn\u2019t approved,\u201d Martin said. \u201cBut he didn\u2019t accept the decision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I stared at the papers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThose families didn\u2019t reject Lily.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFrom these reports, it appears they feared for their safety.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I remembered how Lily sometimes cried when an unfamiliar person raised his voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I remembered her hiding behind my chair when a delivery driver knocked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDoes Victor know where she lives?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Martin looked troubled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then I remembered the gray sedan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It had been parked across from my house several times in the past month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once, I watched it pull away when I stepped onto the porch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019d assumed it was someone visiting a neighbor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I told Martin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He picked up the phone immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We contacted the agency\u2019s safeguarding supervisor and made a police report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Martin stressed that the documents did not prove who owned the car or whether any crime had occurred, but they gave investigators important leads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The drive home felt twice as long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At a red light, I caught myself checking every car behind me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I hated that fear had found its way into my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I got home, Claire was on the floor building a tower with Lily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMama!\u201d Lily shouted when I opened the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\u2019d started calling me that during our adoption visits, before eventually settling on \u201cMama Rose.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My name is Rosemary, and I treasured both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I hugged her so tightly she squirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cToo much, Mama!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSorry, sweetheart.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That night I checked the windows three times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then I sat in Lily\u2019s doorway, watching her sleep with Bunny tucked beneath her chin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I wanted to confront Victor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I wanted to ask him how he could threaten families who were only trying to give a child a loving home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, I called Claire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe need a plan,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She came over early the next morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Together we reviewed Lily\u2019s preschool pickup rules, added an emergency contact password, and made sure the staff knew only approved adults could pick her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We arranged for a video doorbell and outdoor lights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I also told Lily\u2019s teacher about a possible unauthorized visitor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn\u2019t give her frightening details, just the information she needed to keep Lily safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The agency assigned a worker named Denise to review what had happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At our first meeting, she looked uncomfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThose reports should have been considered and disclosed during your assessment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy weren\u2019t they?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAn internal review has begun. I don\u2019t want to give you an answer that hasn\u2019t been established.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It wasn\u2019t the answer I wanted. But at least she didn\u2019t pretend the problem was minor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She explained that Victor had repeatedly asked about her placement, including after the adoption was completed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The agency was checking whether staff had shared information they shouldn\u2019t have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCould he take Lily away?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHis failed application does not give him authority to collect her,\u201d Denise said. \u201cYour adoption is final. If he wants to raise a legal issue, he must use the courts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, I couldn\u2019t shake the idea that he might approach her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two days later, an officer named James visited with photographs taken from a neighbor\u2019s security camera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The footage showed a gray sedan stopping near my house on two afternoons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A man remained behind the wheel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James wouldn\u2019t identify him from the grainy image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The plate, however, gave police a lead, and they were looking into it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t want you to confront anyone,\u201d he told me. \u201cCall us if the car returns. Keep your doors locked, and follow the preschool\u2019s safety procedures.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I nodded, although every part of me wanted to do more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That Saturday, Helen visited from church. She brought soup and stayed while Lily colored at the kitchen table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m afraid I\u2019ve made a terrible mistake,\u201d I admitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Helen put down her cup. \u201cBy adopting her?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m old enough to be her grandmother. What if I can\u2019t protect her?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Helen looked toward Lily, who was drawing an enormous purple cat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou asked those questions before adopting her. You built a support system. You called for help when something changed. That\u2019s protecting her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I wanted to believe her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then Lily brought over the drawing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s you,\u201d she said, pointing at the cat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy am I purple?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBecause you\u2019re pretty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Helen laughed until she cried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For one peaceful hour, I almost forgot the folder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following Wednesday, I arrived at preschool 10 minutes early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lily\u2019s class had been making paper snowflakes, and I had promised to put hers in our kitchen window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I crossed the parking lot, a man stepped out from behind a parked pickup truck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAre you the woman who adopted Lily?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He looked about 40, with tired eyes and a dark jacket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWho are you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cVictor. Lily\u2019s uncle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My fingers tightened around my keys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He glanced toward the school entrance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI just want to see my niece.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou need to contact the agency.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been contacting them for months. Nobody listens to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He took a step forward. I stepped back toward the entrance where other parents were arriving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPlease keep your distance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His face hardened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe\u2019s my brother\u2019s daughter. She\u2019s all I\u2019ve got left of him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I heard the pain in his voice. I also remembered the photographs sent to frightened families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you cared about Lily\u2019s safety,\u201d I said, \u201cyou wouldn\u2019t have threatened the people trying to care for her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His eyes flashed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey were going to take her away from her family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey were trying to give her a home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t understand. I promised my brother that I\u2019d look after her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThen you should have worked through the proper process instead of terrifying people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re almost 70. What happens when you die?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The question hurt because I\u2019d asked myself the same thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve made plans for Lily,\u201d I replied. \u201cAnd you will not pick her up from this school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He moved toward the entrance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn\u2019t try to stop him with my body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I walked through the open door, told the receptionist that an unauthorized man was outside, and asked her to follow our safety plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The receptionist contacted the director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They moved the children away from the entrance while I called the police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Victor remained outside, shouting that he had a right to see Lily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I could hear him through the glass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTell her I didn\u2019t forget her!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My hands shook so badly I nearly dropped my phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Officers arrived before the children were dismissed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They spoke with Victor in the parking lot, then asked me for a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James was among them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve documented what happened,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ll review this alongside the previous reports and the surveillance evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I asked whether Victor would be arrested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat depends on the evidence and what offenses can be established,\u201d he answered. \u201cFor now, don\u2019t engage with him. Your attorney can advise you about a protective order.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Lily came out, she noticed the police car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAre we in trouble, Mama?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo, sweetheart.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She reached for my hand. \u201cCan we go home?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That evening she refused to let me leave her bedroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I sat on the floor beside her bed and read the same book three times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the fourth reading, she interrupted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPeople go?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I lowered the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPeople go away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My throat tightened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSometimes people go away,\u201d I said carefully. \u201cBut you\u2019re safe with me tonight. Also, Claire and Helen are here for you, too. You can always tell us when you\u2019re scared.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She studied my face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll always be here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ll do my best to always be here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She fell asleep holding two of my fingers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next day, I asked Denise for a referral to a therapist experienced with young children in foster care and adoption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn\u2019t want Lily to carry fears she couldn\u2019t name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We began play therapy the following week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The therapist used dolls, toy houses, and drawing games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I learned to answer Lily\u2019s questions without making promises nobody could guarantee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some sessions were difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Others looked like ordinary play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Slowly, Lily began telling us when she felt frightened instead of hiding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, Martin helped me file a formal complaint about the missing reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The agency opened a records review and offered to provide corrected disclosures, including the previous families\u2019 accounts and relevant safety information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I asked whether someone had deliberately concealed the documents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know,\u201d Martin said. \u201cAn omission this serious needs an investigation, not a guess.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Police later told us the gray sedan was registered to someone connected to Victor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They were still determining who had driven it on the days it appeared near my home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Victor had also been interviewed about the threats reported by the five families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn\u2019t receive every detail, and I didn\u2019t need to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What mattered was that his behavior was finally being examined, and the preschool had clear instructions about contact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One evening, I received a letter through Martin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was from Victor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He wrote that his brother had been his closest friend and that losing him left him angry at everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He claimed the system had judged him for mistakes he\u2019d made years earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then he wrote, \u201cI only wanted Lily to remember where she came from.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I read the sentence several times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Part of me could understand wanting to preserve a family connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I couldn\u2019t understand using threats to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three Teenagers Tease a Fast-Food Worker for Cleaning Toilets \u2013 But One of Them Was Her Own Son<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two Men Told a Woman She\u2019d Won $1 Million \u2013 Then Drove Her Deep Into the Woods<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daughter Gave Her In-Laws Keys to Her Mom\u2019s House \u2013 Her Mom Returned to Find 15 People Sleeping in Her Living Room<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn\u2019t reply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, I placed the letter with the records Lily might one day want to see, after getting advice about what was appropriate to preserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She deserved an honest account of her beginnings, not a story shaped by my fear or Victor\u2019s anger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Months passed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The police investigation continued, and my attorney helped me seek restrictions on unwanted contact through the available legal process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Victor stopped appearing near our home and preschool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The agency\u2019s review found that the threatening reports had been kept in a separate internal file and were not transferred into the adoption disclosure packet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It issued a written apology and began changing its records procedures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I appreciated the apology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I also told them it was not enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Five families had been frightened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lily had spent extra months waiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I\u2019d not been given information I needed to protect her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I asked that the complaint remain open until the new procedures were checked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In early spring, Claire and I took Lily to a park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She ran toward the swings, Bunny tucked under her arm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPush me, Mama!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I gave her a gentle push.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHigher!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot too high.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She giggled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then she spotted another little girl waiting near the swings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe can have a turn,\u201d Lily announced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She climbed down and offered the seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I watched her run back toward Claire, who lifted her into her arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For years after losing Peter and Rebecca, I\u2019d believed loving someone again meant opening myself to another terrible loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maybe it did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But love had also brought laughter back into my kitchen and given a frightened little girl a place to leave her toys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That night, I took the folder from the drawer where I\u2019d kept it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Five families. Five reports. Five chances Lily almost had at a permanent home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I used to think those families looked at her and decided she wasn\u2019t worth the trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now I knew they had been frightened by a man who claimed to love her but couldn\u2019t accept that her safety mattered more than his wishes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn\u2019t blame them for being afraid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I wished someone had protected them, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lily climbed onto my lap while I was putting the papers away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cStory?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhich one?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe bunny one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I picked up her favorite book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She leaned against me, warm and sleepy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Halfway through, she interrupted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMama Rose?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI love our home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I kissed her hair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s sweet. I love our home, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And as she turned the page with her small, careful fingers, I understood something I hadn\u2019t when I first met her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I hadn\u2019t rescued Lily after five families who didn\u2019t want her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had welcomed a child who\u2019d been caught in a fight she never chose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My job wasn\u2019t to win that fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was to make sure she could grow up without having to fight it herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Was Victor\u2019s grief over losing his brother enough to explain why he became so determined to get Lily back, or do you think his threats made his intentions impossible to defend?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another interesting read is just a click away. Enjoy this story: My son used to love his long hair and rock-inspired clothes. But after switching schools, he started questioning everything about himself. When he finally told me what his teacher had been doing, I arranged a meeting. What would I discover when I walked into her classroom?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Five families had considered adopting three-year-old Lily, but every one of them backed out. I never understood why. At 68, I decided to give her a home myself. Everything seemed wonderful until my attorney called and said, \u201cThere\u2019s something about those five families you need to know.\u201d I volunteer at a small church where we …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25641"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25641\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25643,"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25641\/revisions\/25643"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}