I knew who hated tomatoes, who was afraid of thunderstorms, who needed the hallway light left on at night, and who secretly climbed into the kitchen for cereal before sunrise.
They were already family to me.
So I stayed.
And eventually, I adopted all ten of them.
My parents were furious.
They told me I was throwing away my future.
They refused to help financially, convinced that hardship would eventually force me to change my mind.
It didn’t.
Life was difficult.
There were years when I worked more than one job just to keep food on the table and shoes on growing feet.
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