For a lot of people, being a part of a kind and loving family is something that’s can really be taken for granted.
Up to a certain age, I wasn’t aware that not every child had the blessing of a mother and father who thought the world of them.
Of course, there are millions of children the world over who don’t have the benefit of a warm and loving home. One 12-year-old boy named Andrew, from Nashville, Tennessee, knows all about that.
As reports reveal, he’s lived in foster care for about half his young life. Well, his fortunes changed recently when he was adopted.
We don’t know which is sweeter: Andrew and Joc’s love of @KelloggsUS PopTarts, or the bond these two share! We are thrilled that Andrew has found his forever family with his best friend and new brother, Joc, and the Gill family. Thx @WSMV for sharing! https://t.co/OystsoBfwd pic.twitter.com/1w0uqDLtcc
— Youth Villages (@youthvillages) September 1, 2020
Andrew was already fast friends with another boy called Joc Gill, from the family who has served as his foster family for a few years.
The two boys love to play video games and eat pop-tarts together, and it’s clear that they’re fast friends. Joc’s parents, Kevin and Dominique Gill, meanwhile, have always loved having Andrew around.
You can imagine Andrew’s delight and surprise, then, when one day he was out walking in the park with Molly Parker (who works at Youth Villages) and was met with the news that the Gills were officially adopting him.
#ThankYou Gill Family 😍 What a wonderful story Joc and Andrew. And I'm with them #FrostedCherryPopTarts! | A dream come true: Adoption unites best friends https://t.co/ZMmpI7PacO
— Karen Bowman (@KBow5) September 7, 2020
“I just turned around the corner and saw everybody,” Andrew said.
“They asked ‘will you?’ and I said ‘yeah!’”
Figures state that there are more than 8,000 children in the Tennessee Foster System waiting for their forever home. Fortunately, there’s one less due to the kindness and compassion of the Gills.
“This is my brother, Joc,” said Andrew.
“This is my brother, Andrew,” said Joc.
Be sure to share this story if you, too, want to say thank you to the Gills, and to wish Andrew the best moving forward.