Way back in the “olden days,” I was an unwed mother. Big shame to the family and impossible to stay there in town because of the shame. With the help of my college’s chaplain, I was able to recover my scholarship, resume my education, get my daughter into a good foster home, and graduate.

The funny thing is that the family that took my daughter in never actually gave her back. The lease on my apartment ended, and they took me in for the last month of my final semester. They helped me out financially by having me babysit their son and my daughter. They kept her while I moved to the big city to find a place to live and hopefully, a job.

Even after I picked her up for the “last” time, they took care of both of us. We always had their home to go to for holidays and vacations even after I got married. Even when we moved because my husband was in the military, they would fly my daughter to their town for most of the Summer. They had adopted two other girls, but always had room for their “other” daughter.

When I got divorced, my life was a mess, and I couldn’t handle an angry teenager, so they took her back. She lived with them and their three kids while in high school. They treated her as their daughter and their kids called her their sister. Never did they ask me for money toward her support.

They supported both of us emotionally and occasionally, financially. Her foster father walked her down the aisle when she got married in 2008. I made her foster mother stand in the photos with us as mother of the bride. Their home was where I went on vacation and for holidays,

A few years ago, my daughter lost the only father she had ever known due to age. And a few days ago, she lost her other mother to pneumonia-related breathing problems. The funeral is in a few weeks. I wasn’t certain I could go. My daughter wasn’t certain she could go since she changed jobs.

But her big brother and her sisters want her there. Her brother bought plane tickets for both of us as they consider us a part of the family still. So in a couple of weeks, I’m going help lay to rest the last of the couple who taught me about family and love in a way my “real” family never did.

Hug your parents and grandparents.