To All Great Foster and Adoptive Parents.

28 years ago, an 8-year-old boy and his younger brother were taken to a foster home upon the arrest of their crime-prone, single-parent mother. Just a couple of hours earlier, these poor kids were roused from their sleep by the pounding and knocking down of their door by the police. While still suffering from the emotional trauma, the confused and frightened kids stared gloomily at their foster parents who tried to calm them down. Being so late in the night however, they were shown into their room.

The following morning after taking their showers and fully dressed, the kids were pleasantly ushered into the dining area. Two things caught their attention immediately. The two had never seen so much delicious foods in their lives. And in the center of the table was a huge cake. It had been prepared all through the night by their foster mother who reminded the older kid that the day was his 8th year anniversary and that the cake was meant for the birthday celebration. Stunned, the boy burst into tears. In a subsequent offer of apology, he explained that he had never celebrated a birthday. Most times in the past anyway, he and his sibling often forgot their respective birthdays. This celebration would then become an annual tradition instituted by the couple who went on to adopt the two brothers. 20 years later with college degrees, great jobs and now married, the two brothers and their wives have since welcomed into their respective homes a foster kid each, who they eventually adopted. This was in line with a joint resolution they had earlier made.

This story was the content of an e-mail I received today from a guy who wanted me to share it with other readers. His objective was three-fold. To appreciate the roles of all great foster/adoptive parents. He wondered what the fates of he and his brother would have been today without their adoptive parents. He expected those of us who were (are) raised by biological, foster or adoptive parents not to take the kind gestures for granted. And finally, he wanted everyone to try showing some acts of kindness to those in need.

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The Worst Case of Child Abuse.

I still don’t understand why it’s so difficult for some women to take just a few seconds to think about the consequences of unprotected sex. It’s not just about them. In fact, it’s more about the child that may be unfortunate to be a victim of their sexual recklessness which sometimes takes only a few seconds. Why risk bringing an unwanted child to this world when all it takes to prevent the “mishap” is a condom?

This brings one to a 1989 story when a Santa Ana police officer Michael Buelna (right) found an abandoned newly-born baby in a garbage dumpster. But for the officer’s kindness, the baby could have died from exposures to the elements, dehydration or starvation. And now a 25-year-old man, Robin Barton (left) met recently with the police officer in an emotional reunion.

According to the AP, Buelna was on duty in November 1989 when he heard a faint sound coming from a trash bin. Buelna started shifting through the trash and discovered a baby, his umbilical cord still attached. The child was just four hours old and weighed 4 pounds, 2 ounces.

"He still had all the mucus and stuff, and all the trash and gravel was sticking to him," Buelna said. "I tried to give him a tiny little bit of breath, and he reacted a little bit."

Buelna wanted to adopt the boy, but another Orange County family stepped in first. They named him Robin Barton. Officers released a sketch of Barton's 19-year-old biological mother, later identified as Sarina Diaz, to the public. She was arrested and later sentenced to three years in prison for child endangerment and attempted murder.

KCBS-TV reports that news of the reunion led Barton's biological father to come forward. The two met Sunday, and Barton learned from Marcos Meza that his biological mother moved to Mexico after serving her sentence and wants to see him.

Meza said he had an affair with Barton's 19-year-old biological mother and only found out Barton had been abandoned in a dumpster when police questioned him. Meza said he has been searching for his son for years.

"It's a dream" to meet his son, he said.

Barton said he hopes that meeting his biological mother will also provide closure. "I'm not angry or upset with her, and I forgive her because she was a young woman in a very compromising position," he said.