When Yocelyn Delgado met her son, Miguel-Vasquez, who shared the same first and middle name as her brother, who had recently passed away, she knew it was a meeting brought together by fate.
“To me, there's no coincidence that his name is my brother's exact name: his first name, and his middle name,” said Yocelyn. “The way he talks, the way he is, his demeanor, it's my brother all over again. And to me, that is not a coincidence.”
Yocelyn had always wanted to adopt. After she and her husband Will had their second child and were considering a third, they wanted to make adoption a reality. However, Yocelyn was devastated by her brother’s passing and pushed off their adoption plans. A while later, Yocelyn was sent Miguel-Vasquez’s MARE profile.
“I remember vividly. I opened [the profile], and I started bawling my eyes out. I knew right away,” said Yocelyn.
Although there were some initial worries about the process and making such a big adjustment, Miguel instantly clicked with the family.
“He came in as if he was born here. It was like he had been here forever,” said Yocelyn.
The Delgado family is very in touch with their Puerto Rican culture. Miguel, who is also half Puerto Rican and half Dominican, now has an environment where he can celebrate and learn more about his own culture, whether it be through the food or the parties.
After Miguel had gone through many foster families with different backgrounds, living with the Delgado family allowed him to stay connected to his own culture.
“I strongly believe that when you adopt a child or take in a child, you have to learn about their culture,” said Yocelyn. “No matter how much time goes by, or how young the child is, they're going to want to identify with who they are.”
Now, the whole Delgado family realizes how much Miguel has changed their family and created so much positive change in their lives.
“He has taught all of us here more about humility, gratefulness, thankfulness, kindness, love.”
