I just wanted to give a quick thank you to the people who have stepped up to care for and raise their children's children.

A couple of friends of mine are going through a somewhat difficult time. Their teenage daughter ran away, dropped out of contact for several years, then called saying she wanted to come home and make everything right. My friends had their hopes up so high, and I don't think it's an exaggeration to say they were euphoric about it. My friend drove across the US to pick her up where she was, risking losing his job for taking the time off without notice. She didn't actually want to come home - she just wanted them to take the baby she was about to give birth to. They are now parenting their infant granddaughter, and are brokenhearted that they still don't have their daughter back, and that she has become the kind of person who would toy with their emotions like that to manipulate them. And all the while, they are being incredible "parents" to this infant baby girl they had not planned for and were not at all prepared for. Like any caretakers of a new baby, they're exhausted and stressed out, but they're also loving it. They know that at any time in the future, their daughter could petition for custody of the child. They hope for that, in the sense that they want their daughter to become the kind of mother and daughter they would like her to be, but mostly they live in fear of it. They are giving their whole hearts to this grandbaby, loving her and caring for her as their own, and they live in fear that they might not be able to keep her safe from her own mother. And they're doing it anyway, wholeheartedly. They think they have failed as parents. I think they are some of the best parents I have ever known, and I respect them to no end. And if you're in a simar situation, I have endless respect for you, as well. Thank you to all of you who love children you are not obligated to love, and try to give them a safe, stable, happy home. via /r/Parenting http://bit.ly/2CLv0yB