The night at the fire station seemed like any other, but little did I know that it would turn into a night that would change my life forever.
As my work partner, Joe, and I were conversing during the late nigh shift, we heard a strange noise.
“Did you hear that?” Joe asked. Sure enough, I was out to check out what was going on. And that’s when I spotted a basket. Once I approached, I realized there was a newborn baby inside.
Without giving it a second thought, I took it in my arms, and it was the moment I knew that fragile little creature belonged with me… forever.
“Let’s call CPS,” Joe said, and I agreed.
Holding that baby felt like home, and when no one came forward to claim him after a couple of months, I stepped in and decided to adopt him.
The process was a rather complex one. I was single, and becoming a single parent was harder than adopting as a couple. But I made, it,the baby that came into my life when I least expected, was now officially my son.
I named him Leo, because he was strong and roared at every challenge, like a little lion cub.
My friend Joe was of great help. He visited often and even covered my late night shifts at the fire station when I needed to take care of Leo.
Looking at my baby boy, his smile, and his bubbly personality, I knew that every stain on the carpet and every sleepless night was worth it.
Fast forward five years, someone knocked on my door while Leo and I were building a Dino park out of cardboard boxes.
A woman in her early thirties, pale and fragile, looked at me with confusion before she uttered: “You need to give me my child back!”
Her words felt like a sharp knife.
I was aware Leo was now my son, but that woman was his mother, and that made everything complicated.
“What are you doing here after this much time?” I asked, trembling.
She started crying and explained that when she made the decision to leave Leo at the fire station, she was homeless, jobless, and scared.
She believed that leaving her son behind was the best thing to do for him.
“You know I adopted him, right?” I asked, trying to tell her that she no longer had the right to claim him.
“I know,” she said, looking at her feet and trying to hide how ashamed she was of herself. “I just want to see him, that’s all.”
At that moment, Leo appeared at the door. “Dad, who is she?” he asked.
The woman couldn’t help but hug him. “I gave birth to you, Leo,” she said.
I got mad at that moment, because I believed I was the one who should have explained everything to my son, hoping he would be able to understand, considering he was just five.
“Dad,” he said as he pulled my hand. “Am I going anywhere with this woman?”
“No, Leo,” I assured him, “You are not going anywhere, you are home and this is where you belong.”
I asked the woman to leave, but we did stay in touch.
Over time, I let her be part of Leo’s life.
She attended his football practice and took him to kindergarten every now and then, but that was it.
From a single dad, to finding ways how to co-parent with my son’s biological mother, my life changed to great lengths during those five years.
Things weren’t easy, but being Leo’s dad was something I wouldn’t change for anything in the world.
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Bored Daddy
Love and Peace