You are so small…how will you carry a child?’ they asked. ‘With love,’ I answered. I adopted Marcus in the late 80s.

Then they looked at me again.

And eventually, someone would ask the question.

“How will you carry a child?”

I always smiled before giving the same answer.

“With love.”

At the time, few people understood what I meant.

Years later, they did.

A Dream Bigger Than Expectations

I was born with a form of dwarfism.

Throughout my life, strangers questioned what I could do.

Could I live independently?

Could I build a career?

Could I own a home?

Could I raise a family?

Most of those questions came from concern.

Others came from doubt.

But after years of hearing limitations from other people, I learned something important:

The size of your body has nothing to do with the size of your heart.

Meeting Marcus

In 1988, I walked into a children’s home and met a quiet little boy named Marcus.

He was four years old.

Thin.

Reserved.

Careful.

The kind of child who had learned not to expect too much from the world.

When the caregiver introduced us, Marcus barely looked up.

He simply sat on the floor holding a worn toy truck.

Then something unexpected happened.

He crawled into my lap.

Just like that.

No hesitation.

No fear.

As if he had been waiting for me.