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So, I called my sister, Dana. After a few stunned seconds of silence, she told me I was out of my mind. Then she sighed and added, “But right now, you’re probably the only one crazy enough to take them all at once.” She promised she would help.
For the next nine days, I framed the workshop walls, built two sets of bunk beds, bought five different colored sets of bed sheets, picked up car seats, and even retained a family lawyer. On the eighth day, the agency agreed to sign off provided I could pass an emergency home inspection. I passed it the very next morning.
Now, during the hearing, the state’s attorney was outlining all the very valid reasons why entrusting five children to a stranger with zero parenting experience was a massive risk. I had emptied my savings and lived in a modest space, and if my plan failed, these kids would suffer yet another devastating separation.
Judge Miller turned his full gaze on me, waiting for the truth.
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I looked over at where the kids were sitting. Marcus was holding his sister’s hand and looked way older and wiser for his years. He was scared, but I could see there was hope in his eyes.
And so I told the judge about the photograph, about the empty workshop, and about draining every last dollar I had saved.
“He’s only seven,” I said to the court, pointing to the boy. “He dialed 911 when his mother passed away. And he spent the past three weeks trying to save his family from falling apart. I can’t fix that loss for them, nor am I fooling myself into thinking I can pull this off without any mistakes. But what I can do is give them a home where Marcus doesn’t have to be an adult anymore. The alternative means scattering them across three different counties. They’ve already lost their mother, and I won’t let the system take their siblings away, too. This isn’t a picture-perfect situation. But I can do it.”
Judge Miller thought about it for a long, heavy moment. Then, he picked up his gavel, signed the order, and said that I wouldn’t be doing it alone.
With the strike of the gavel, Marcus looked up at the social worker. “We’re all going?”
