I thought I was giving my adopted son Joey the perfect first birthday with me – pancakes in the morning, carefully wrapped presents, and a dinosaur-themed cake. But when he stared at the flickering candle with tears in his eyes and whispered “My birthday was yesterday,” my heart shattered into a million pieces.
The adoption records had his birthday wrong. More shockingly, I learned he had a twin brother named Tommy he’d been separated from. That simple birthday celebration unraveled a secret from Joey’s past that would change both our lives forever. With nothing but a child’s drawing of a lighthouse to go on, we embarked on an emotional journey to find his lost family.
What we discovered at that yellow cliffside house – the brother he thought he’d never see again, the grandmother who made an impossible choice – taught me that love isn’t about perfect birthdays or flawless parenting. It’s about showing up, listening, and being willing to chase down lighthouses when your child needs you to.
