My 8-year-old adopted granddaughter was left at home while my son and his wife took their biological son. She called me at 2:00 AM crying, ‘Why Grandpa?’ I booked last-minute tickets and within 12 hours we crashed their vacation!

We celebrated her ninth birthday with a strawberry cake and a banner with her name on it.

We eventually created a new photo wall in my house that included the old pictures and many new ones.

“The story looks different now because that old picture is not the only one,” Daisy noted.

I realized that while I could not undo the past, I could provide a faithful presence for her future.

Justice was not just a court order, but the sound of a child asking for pancakes and knowing the answer would be yes.

I watched her sleep that night and knew that she was finally in a place where she belonged.

Everything was finally as it should be, and we were both going to be okay.