Just days before Christmas, I found a six-year-old boy wandering alone in the dark. He told me his mother had died and he’d run away because he was afraid of strangers. I promised he wouldn’t be alone—and I kept that promise, adopting him and raising him as my son, believing I’d saved him from losing everything.
Thirteen years later, a woman arrived with a truth I wasn’t prepared for: my son had been quietly sacrificing his future to protect me from loss. He’d hidden his brilliance, turning down opportunities—including a full scholarship—so he wouldn’t have to leave. In that moment, I learned that real love isn’t holding on out of fear, but having the courage to let go.
