As a foster parent, Antoinette opened her heart to many children during her twelve years at SOS, but something about these two sisters was different.
Over two years ago, two little girls, just 3 and 5 years old arrived at SOS Children’s Villages Florida. Their young lives had already been filled with uncertainty, but when they met Miss Antoinette, something began to change. With warmth in her heart and decades of experience as a mother, Antoinette welcomed the sisters into her home as their foster parent, offering them the stability and care they so deeply needed.
A mother of three adult children, all married now with families of their own, she wasn’t expecting to start parenting again. But love has its own timing. “I didn’t plan to adopt,” Antoinette shared. “But as time went on, I knew deep in my heart that these girls were meant to be part of my family.”
The defining moment was one afternoon when she was standing in the kitchen cooking and the littlest one started calling me “mommy” in the sweetest and gentlest voice. “I did not answer to “mommy” as the girls’ biological mother was still having visitations and I did not want to confuse them. But after she called out to me three times, she came and stood in front of me and said, “mommy Antoinette, I’m talking to you.” At her core, Antoinette knew they no longer just lived with her – they belonged with her. With the serendipitous nature of life, parental rights were terminated, and the girls became available for adoption.
This year, Antoinette made it official on her birthday, September 21st to be exact; she adopted both girls, giving them not only her last name but a forever place in her heart. Now surrounded by aunts, uncles, siblings, nieces, nephews, and her grandchildren, who all adore them, the girls are thriving in a big, loving family that spans generations who all gathered over Zoom to witness the adoption and welcome their newest family members. They have already visited family in New York, Boston, and Delaware; and are planning to visit Antoinette’s home of Trinidad and Tobago in the upcoming months.
For Antoinette, it’s been a journey of unexpected joy. “These girls have brought so much life into our family. I may have raised my children already, but I believe I was meant to be their mom too.”
