My adopted children got a letter from their birth mother the day before my 86th birthday.

Instead of celebrating with me, they decided to meet her.

What they learned was shocking and changed everything.

“Mom, I know you and Dad gave us so much love, but I can’t lie.

I’m curious about this woman,” my daughter Emily said over the phone. I thought she was calling to confirm plans for my birthday, but she had something serious to tell me. I didn’t realize how much I wasn’t ready for it.

Many years ago, my husband Kevin and I wanted children, but after trying for so long, nothing happened. It broke my heart, especially since I felt like I wasn’t enough. Kevin also had fertility issues, but I couldn’t stop worrying about it.

When we were almost 40, we applied to adopt, and a pregnant teenager chose us. We were so happy! We were open to letting her stay involved, but she preferred a closed adoption. We respected her wishes.

Soon after, we discovered she was having twins—a boy and a girl! Without hesitation, we adopted them both, named them Emily and Ethan, and gave them all the love we could.

We were in our 40s, financially secure, and ran a business that gave us plenty of time to spend with our kids. It was challenging at times, but we wouldn’t change anything.

One day, Emily told me, “Mom, we’ll always be here for you. I want my kids to have a happy grandma who bakes cookies!” That made me smile through my grief.

But then Emily’s phone call changed everything.

“Mom, we got a letter from a woman claiming to be our birth mother,” Emily revealed. She wanted to meet us tomorrow. I was shocked.