My son married a woman who already had a daughter, Amy. I was against it; I wanted a biological granddaughter. At a family lunch, Amy called me grandma. I replied sharply, ‘I’m not your grandmother; you’re not my son’s daughter.’ My son left in a rage. The next day, he told me he had decided to legally adopt Amy and that he no longer wanted to have contact with me, saying that my cruelty had hurt the girl he loved as if she were his own daughter.”

She continues, “A week later, they arrived at my door — with Amy in their arms and the adoption papers in their hands. My son’s eyes were cold when he said, ‘You made it clear that only blood matters to you, so we made our choice.’ They handed me a petition to relinquish any rights I might have over Amy. ‘If she’s not your family,’ he said quietly, ‘then neither are we.’ They left, and I was left alone, realizing that my pride and cruelty had cost me not only the chance to bond with Amy, but also my relationship with my own son. I don’t know how to fix this.”