Being an amazing parent has nothing to do with DNA. To state the obvious, every single mom is a “real mom” regardless of whether she gave birth to her child or adopted him or her. So, when a woman questioned the legitimacy of a woman’s mom status, she responded in the perfect manner.
Reddit user vietnamazinggg shared the story:
"A woman on Facebook tried to tell me I wasn't a real parent since I didn't give birth," she wrote. "My response to her: I did not give birth to my child. I did not get to feel him growing within me, or hold him against my skin when he was born. Perhaps by your definition, my child is not a part of me — he does not resemble me or my wife."
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The Redditor, who adopted a son with her wife, went on to explain just how disrespectful the comment was — not just to her, but to the millions of amazing parents who don’t share DNA with their children.
“Let me tell you what being a parent is to me. I didn't labor for hours for this child, I labored for YEARS. I waited for years to be told that we had been chosen, that we were finally going to be allowed to be parents. I didn't feel labor pains,” she continued. “I felt the incredible pain of emptiness in my heart and home as my wife and I yearned to begin our family through adoption. I didn't get to wake up in the middle of the night and nurse my sweet child. I did, though, spend many nights lying awake and praying to whomever might be listening to let us be next.”
The woman’s passionate, spot-on comments about motherhood have struck a chord with the Redditors who read her post. Other parents who adopted their children or love their stepchildren as their own have chimed in to tell her they, too, have been disrespected in similar ways. And supporters who don’t share her experience applaud the mom for standing up for herself and offering such a perfect explanation of what being a parent truly means.
“Not every child is yours or a ‘part of you’ because you grew it inside of you. My child will always be a part of me, because we're fighting for this life together,” she concluded.
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Mic drop.
Welcome to Mothership: Parenting stories you actually want to read, whether you're thinking about or passing on kids, from egg-freezing to taking home baby and beyond. Because motherhood is a big if — not when — and it's time we talked about it that way.