No one can break apart a love story built on faith and hope. This is the story of Keia and Richardo. Nine years into marriage and fourteen since they had known each other, Keia had a daughter, Zariyah, who was now sixteen years old from her previous marriage. Both of them had a wish: to grow their family, but things were tough as Keia had to go through multiple miscarriages, and despite so many treatments and visits to various doctors, things did not seem to work out in their favor. They ended up with just heartbreak and silence!
This disappointed them and was emotionally challenging, but they could not just give up because they were so in love. Keia wished for all these years to have a child with the love of her life and for her daughter to have a sibling.
They eventually discovered a different path. If they do not have children, they always have an option to adopt, so why not go for it? While finding a children’s home, they met Karleigh. He was 11 and a friend of Zariyah, too. The family formed a very special bond with the boy, although only one thing scared Keia: whether she would love someone else’s child the same. But when she met him, an instant emotional connection was there. She wanted him to become a part of their family.
Keia and Richardo also trained to become foster parents and got a license. They aimed for children to get a safe space and the love each one of them desired, and the very first rule they set was to not care about the race or gender of the child. Ayden was their first placement, and Karleign and Ayden formed a strong bond quickly. The reason could be that both were biracial and could connect more deeply.
Next was Princeton, a white baby who weighed just 2 pounds. He had just arrived in the world and needed someone to give him skin-to-skin contact, as he was immediately taken to the NICU after birth and was not doing well. Keia was surprised, but the couple did not hesitate momentarily, as this is all that foster care is about—loving without limitations or conditions!
She was set to take him home the moment she held him. The motherly instinct clicked in immediately. While society was a bit harsh on them because of the multi-racial family and accused them of kidnapping and stealing the baby, it did not stop the couple from loving and taking care of the baby like their own. It was painful, but so worth it.
After becoming foster parents, the couple realized that family is never an accident. You choose people who feel like your own and love them without reason. The journey will always be challenging and painful, but if it makes you happy, that is all that matters.
Families also adopted Ayden’s siblings, who were all in constant contact. The couple has also started a blog to express the difficulties they had going through being a multi-racial family and how they got through it all.
Love is colorful, they say!
