Chapter 5. Adopting Dads

When I moved back to Dunedin I was finding it hard adapting again. My mum’s cousin (Patrick) and his partner (Paul) decided to look after me. It started with frequent visits, café and dinner outings and sleepovers at their house and then we began playing social netball in the same team. As time went by I began to see them not as uncles but as dad figures instead and soon later I started spending more time at their house than at my own. My relationship was not the greatest with my sisters and I decided to move into my ‘Dads’ house from Monday to Fridays and then spent the weekends at home. It wasn’t a fixed term thing however it just felt more comfortable to live like that. I had my own room and they would drop me off to school in the mornings and take me home with them in the afternoon. I would help them at their restaurant or cafes during the week to show how grateful I was.

I adopted myself into their family and adopted them as my dads. Since then they have become two of the three most important people in my life (the third being my mum) My dads looked after me and did their best to show me that I was loved and that I was capable of anything. They helped me move past the difficult memories I still carried with me from my childhood and I consider their home my second home and I know that I am always welcome. We have gone on many holidays together, we've had glee marathons, watched and played countless netball games together, they came to my school competitions and they even took me to Auckland for the university open day in 2014. My dads are 2 people that can’t be described in words. They help me mentally, emotionally and even financially with anything I need. They don’t need to do any of this but they do and so I work my best to make them proud.

My dads have made me feel like I was wanted in this world, I feel that I was loved and they also changed my perspective about what a dad is. They helped me build a positive, confident, hardworking and strong personality and they have helped me become the person I am today. My dad’s know that they are special to me and I know that I am important to them. I couldn’t think of what it would be like if I didn’t have them. We have made so many precious memories and I will forever appreciate what they have done and still do for me.

Thank you always xo