On what I thought was my adopted son Joey’s birthday, he stared at the cake

and whispered, “My birthday was yesterday.” My heart sank. The documents

were wrong. And it was the first time he spoke of his past—his twin brother,

Tommy, and Grandma Vivi, who used to celebrate their birthdays separately,

That night, Joey showed me a drawing of a lighthouse, a memory tied to his brother. I knew then:

On what I thought was my adopted son Joey’s birthday, he stared at the cake

and whispered, “My birthday was yesterday.” My heart sank. The documents

were wrong. And it was the first time he spoke of his past—his twin brother,

Tommy, and Grandma Vivi, who used to celebrate their birthdays separately,

That night, Joey showed me a drawing of a lighthouse, a memory tied to his brother. I knew then:

let go again.Vivi confessed her painful choice to keep only one boy after a tragedy.

Joey simply said, “It’s okay, Grandma. I found Mom.”Now, both boys live with me.

And every weekend, we visit Grandma by the lighthouse—where healing began, and family was made whole again.