Most of us want something material for our birthdays. It’s not a bad thing, it’s just what we are used to! A new purse or pair of shoes when our big day comes around is pretty par for the course for kids and adults alike. At the heart of things, however, we know that the most valuable things aren’t material at all. For one girl, that reality wasn’t hard for her to imagine.
Alecia is a 14-year-old girl who knew what really mattered when she decided to get her coach something for his birthday.
Her coach, Daniel Donaldson, had coached her since 2019 and the two had gotten to know each other over the years. Daniel is a youth sport coach and has his own three kids, but when he met Alecia, he knew she was special.
Alecia was a foster kid and had been in the system for some time.
As most people know, it’s not a wonderful way to live your life. It’s always a gamble with who you’re going to be placed with and it’s never permanent. Daniel knew about her story and he and his family had taken special care to look out for Alecia.
Soon, Daniel and his wife Tiffany decided to take the leap and become her foster parents!
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It was an immediate success. Alecia fit in perfectly with their family and it was like she had always been with the Donaldsons. It’s an incredibly cute story, but that isn’t even the best part! This year, Daniel’s birthday was coming up and Alecia thought of the perfect way to thank him for bringing her into his family.
After talking to Tiffany, the plan was decided.
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Tiffany and Alecia worked together to surprise Daniel with an adoption request! They wanted to do it while they were on a beach trip for his birthday and he had no idea the surprise he was in for.
They blindfolded Daniel and had him stand in front of a camera with signs in his hands.
Completely unaware of what was going on, they had him hold up signs telling the story of how Alecia was accepted into the family and how her life was wildly different now. It was a truly heartwrenching moment.
Finally, as they neared the end of the story…
“Today, for his birthday, I want to ask if we can make it official. He has no clue that I’m about to ask him to adopt me. Please take and read this note and then turn around.”
Daniel read the note and saw the question they had lined up with. As you can imagine, it was an emotional moment. Daniel hugged his daughter-to-be and it was clear what his decision was going to be!
After 524 days, Alecia was officially going to be a part of the Donaldson family for life!
The touching moment soon took off on social media. Hearts were melted as people got a chance to see something that reminded them of the beauty of family and love.
Check out the video for yourself, below!
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