Many people find family in those who aren’t even blood-related. Family means so much more than just what last name you have or what house you grew up in. Your family is the people that you love the most and are willing to sacrifice for. This story shows us why love is such a beautiful thing in a family, even adopted ones!

Katelynn Martinez is from Fort Collins, Colorado and never had a close relationship with her grandparents.

Katie grew up in a pretty American household. Her dad was a truck driver so she didn’t get to see him that much and her mom was busy as a “single parent” while her husband was away. As a kid, Katie would walk around the yard and neighborhood and ended up developing a relationship with her neighbors.

“It was just the three of us. And dad was a truck driver so he was gone most of the time. It could be a lot of stress. My mom was almost like a single mother. On my third birthday we moved to a small house outside of Denver,” Katie explains in a post from Humans of New York. “Next door there lived an older couple named Arlene and Bill, and they started talking to me through the fence. My first memory is Arlene handing me strawberries from her garden. It was a wonderful connection.”

Having no grandparents that she was close to, Katie ended up spending time with the older couple next door.

Even as a kid, Katie had a huge heart. One day that she was over she asked the neighbors, Arlene and Bill if they could be her adopted grandparents! The couple didn’t have their own children so they accepted the young girls offer!

Creating a funny “adoption certificate”, the couple hung it in their living room to show that they were the adopted grandparents of Katie.

Being one of the cutest things in the world, they had the “adoption papers” hanging in their house until Katie left for college! Up to that point, Katie had always viewed their home as a place of peace and refuge, an effect that seasoned adults can sometimes provide.

“Bill was the kind of grandfather that always smelled like oil. He taught me to drive everything. He was always fixing stuff. But he’d stop anything to sit down with me and have a glass of tea. Arlene was the type of grandmother that loved crafts, which was perfect for a kid. We were always putting tiny sequins on things,” Katie recalled.

More than just neighbors, they really became family, going as far as paying for Katie’s college!

When Katie was talking to them one day about not having the money to go to college, the couple told her she should apply anyways. You never know what could happen! When she got accepted, they told her the surprise they had been hiding.

“They told me they’d been putting away money since the day I adopted them. Since I’ve become an adult, I’ve learned more about my grandparents,” wrote Katie.

A family of love, not perfection.

As she got older, Katie found out a little more about the couple that she had come to love as family. The reason that they had never had kids was that Arlene had struggled with alcoholism when she was younger. No family is ever perfect, but Katie was still happy to have them in her life.

Even with her “grandma” passing away, she was reminded of how much she was loved.

“My grandmother passed away in 2013. It was two days before our adoption anniversary. My grandfather gave her eulogy. And at the end, he said: ‘Arlene leaves behind her husband Bill. And the greatest joy of her life– her granddaughter Katie.’”

Check out Katie’s original post below!

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

View this post on Instagram

“It was just the three of us. And dad was a truck driver so he was gone most of the time. It could be a lot of stress. My mom was almost like a single mother. On my third birthday we moved to a small house outside of Denver. Next door there lived an older couple named Arlene and Bill, and they started talking to me through the fence. My first memory is Arlene handing me strawberries from her garden. It was a wonderful connection. After a few months, I knocked on their door, sat down in their living room, and said: ‘Will you guys be my grandparents?’ It was so silly. They could have laughed it off. But instead they started crying. They printed out an adoption certificate and hung it on their living room wall. That certificate remained until I left for college. They became so important to me. Their house was a refuge. Bill was the kind of grandfather that always smelled like oil. He taught me to drive everything. He was always fixing stuff. But he’d stop anything to sit down with me and have a glass of tea. Arlene was the type of grandmother that loved crafts, which was perfect for a kid. We were always putting tiny sequins on things. Both of them supported me in all my dreams. Through all my phases. They encouraged me to apply for college, even though I didn’t have the money to go. And when I got accepted, they presented me with a fund. They told me they’d been putting away money since the day I adopted them. Since I’ve become an adult, I’ve learned more about my grandparents. They both grew up poor. Arlene struggled with alcoholism when she was young, and that’s why they never had children. Their lives weren’t as perfect as they seemed through the fence. My grandmother passed away in 2013. It was two days before our adoption anniversary. My grandfather gave her eulogy. And at the end, he said: ‘Arlene leaves behind her husband Bill. And the greatest joy of her life– her granddaughter Katie.’” #quarantinestories

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Mar 22, 2020 at 9:57am PDT

Source: Spotlight Stories, humansofny