{"id":5141,"date":"2024-10-20T13:05:23","date_gmt":"2024-10-20T13:05:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/?p=5141"},"modified":"2024-10-20T13:05:24","modified_gmt":"2024-10-20T13:05:24","slug":"my-mom-left-me-in-a-cardboard-box-in-the-supermarket-when-i-was-a-baby-20-years-later-she-asked-for-my-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/my-mom-left-me-in-a-cardboard-box-in-the-supermarket-when-i-was-a-baby-20-years-later-she-asked-for-my-help\/","title":{"rendered":"My Mom Left Me in a Cardboard Box in the Supermarket When I Was a Baby \u2014 20 Years Later She Asked For My Help"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Sue was left in a cardboard box as a small child.<br>Luckily, a store clerk took her home and changed the course of her entire life.<br>\n\n\n\n</p><p>Now, in the form of an unexpected knock at the door, Sue has to face her past and the disappointment that comes with it.\n\n\n\n</p><p>Is this a grand reunion or the biggest disappointment of Sue\u2019s life?\n\n\n\n</p><p>I was left in a cardboard box in a supermarket twenty years ago.<br>\n\n\n\n</p><p>I was just a few months old, and all I had to my name were a few photos of my mother and a note.\n\n\n\n</p><p>The note read: I will always love you, Sue.<br>\n\n\n\n</p><p>Nobody knew my surname or whether I had a middle name. Nobody seemed to know my mother or what had happened to my father. I was all alone in a world that didn\u2019t know anything about me.\n\n\n\n</p><p>But even then, at a few months old, I seemed to be fortune\u2019s fool. I was found by a kind store clerk, Ruby, who took me in.<br>\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cI couldn\u2019t leave you there, Sue,\u201d she would say whenever the story came up. \u201cI became your guardian shortly after and raised you as my own. You became my little bug.\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>Ruby was everything to me. And as I grew, the closer we became.\n\n\n\n</p><p>I was forever grateful that she gave me everything I needed. But still, I never stopped wondering why my mother left me and if she would ever come back.<br>\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cI know that it bothers you, darling,\u201d Ruby told me one day as she made lasagna for dinner. \u201cBut she\u2019s an enigma now. We have nothing that could lead us to her.\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cI know,\u201d I said, grating more cheese for when the dish was ready. \u201cIt\u2019s just frustrating when I start thinking about it.\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cYou love the internet, you love social media, Sue. Use it, share your story, maybe it will resonate with people, and you can connect with others just like you.\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>She opened the oven and put the tray of lasagna inside.\n\n\n\n</p><p>So I did just that, and I became a well-known video blogger, sharing my story with the world.\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cYou\u2019ve created a safe platform for people to share their stories, too,\u201d Ruby told me when I read comments from my latest video to her.\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cIt means something to me,\u201d I said, helping myself to the eclairs on the table. Fast forward to the present. I am successful and able to provide for myself and my guardian.\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cSo much for being an abandoned baby,\u201d I said to myself as I washed my face one night.\n\n\n\n</p><p>But imagine my surprise when an unexpected knock on my door changed everything.\n\n\n\n</p><p>I opened the door to find a frail, older woman standing there, her eyes filled with regret and desperation.\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cSue, darling,\u201d she said. \u201cI am your mother, and I need your help!\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>I just looked at her, unable to blink for fear of missing the moment. \u201cDo you still have the note I left with you when I left you safely in the store?\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>Safely? I thought to myself. I stood there, paralyzed by the flood of emotions that had come in when she entered my home.\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cYes, I have it,\u201d I said, my voice barely above a whisper. \u201cI kept it.\u201d\n\n\n\n<figure class='\"wp-block-image' size-full><img decoding='\"async\"' loading='\"lazy\"' width='\"500\"' height='\"600\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/sciencesandnatures.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2024%5C/10%5C/463481606_404908389333154_1750610862727681460_n.jpg%5C%22" alt='\"\"' class='\"wp-image-5142\"' srcset='\"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/463481606_404908389333154_1750610862727681460_n.jpg' https: sizes='\"(max-width:'>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI know I have no right to ask for your help after what I did, but I need you to believe me when I say I had no choice back then. I was running from a dangerous situation. And I thought leaving you in a safe place was the only way to protect you. I needed to disappear.\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cWhat kind of situation?\u201d I asked.\n\n\n\n</p><p>I had wondered about this moment for years. And every second that went by, I was just disappointed by the reunion with my birth mother.\n\n\n\n</p><p>She hesitated, looking down at her hands.\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cThere were people after me, people who wouldn\u2019t stop until they got what they wanted. I stole something once, just to help me out financially. I stole the wrong thing from the wrong people. I had to keep you safe. So I left you.\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>Of course, my mother was shady.\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cYou could have come back sooner. You could have tried to find me.\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cI know, but I was scared.\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>I took a deep breath, trying to process everything. \u201cWhat do you need help with?\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>She looked up, her eyes pleading.\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cI need a place to stay, just for a little while, until I can get back on my feet. I have nowhere else to go.\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>My heart ached. But I knew that Ruby would want me to say yes. She would tell me to do it. I could almost hear her words in my head.\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cThat\u2019s your birth mother, Sue. Help her,\u201d Ruby would say, most likely bribing me with something to eat.\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cOkay,\u201d I said finally. \u201cYou can stay. But this doesn\u2019t mean everything is forgiven. We have a lot to talk about.\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>She nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks. \u201cThank you. I promise, I\u2019ll make things right.\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>She reached down, picked up a worn duffel bag, and followed me in.\n\n\n\n</p><p>The first few days went by relatively smoothly. My mother seemed genuinely remorseful and tried to help around the house.\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cI\u2019ll cook and I\u2019ll clean for you, darling,\u201d she said. But it didn\u2019t last long.\n\n\n\n</p><p>One evening, I came home earlier from the local radio studio where I was being interviewed for my content. The house was unusually quiet.\n\n\n\n</p><p>Walking to my bedroom, I heard the faint sound of drawers opening and closing.\n\n\n\n</p><p>And there she was, standing there in front of my open jewelry box, my most precious pieces clutched in her hands.\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d I demanded, unable to contain my rage, but also wanting to keep calm at the same time.\n\n\n\n</p><p>She looked up, startled, and for a moment, I saw a flash of guilt in her eyes.\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cI was just\u2026 I thought maybe I could sell some of these to help me out. They\u2019re heavy, so they\u2019re real.\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cOf course, they\u2019re real! They\u2019re gifts from my mother! She saved up for years just so that she could get that diamond necklace for my 18th birthday. And you want to steal from me?\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>She looked shocked, like the wind had been knocked from her sails.\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cYou have so much, darling,\u201d she said, almost whimpering. \u201cI just thought that you wouldn\u2019t miss a few pieces. We could use the money.\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cWe? This isn\u2019t about us; it\u2019s about you. And it\u2019s not about money, either. It\u2019s about trust. You said that you wanted to make things right, but all you\u2019ve shown me is that I cannot trust you.\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>She reached out to me, but I stepped back. \u201cPlease, don\u2019t do this, Sue. I can change. I just need some time.\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>I shook my head, tears of betrayal and disappointment filling my eyes.\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cI gave you a chance. I let you into my home. I let you meet Ruby. And you still chose to betray me. No, I\u2019m sorry. But you need to leave.\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>Her face crumpled, and she pulled a tissue from my vanity.\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cPlease, just one more chance,\u201d she said. \u201cI can\u2019t,\u201d I said, my voice breaking. \u201cYou need to go.\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cSue, I gave birth to you,\u201d she said, putting the necklace down. \u201cAnd you left me in a box,\u201d I said.\n\n\n\n</p><p>I watched as she gathered her things and left, the duffel bag looking considerably fuller than when she arrived. But I didn\u2019t have it in me to fight her again.\n\n\n\n</p><p>Sadness and disappointment weighed me down heavily. But there was also a sense of relief.\n\n\n\n</p><p>Later, I went over to Ruby\u2019s house. It was the one place that would always feel like home to me.\n\n\n\n</p><p>\u201cDarling girl,\u201d she said, flipping grilled cheese onto a plate. \u201cYou took a chance on someone who loved you, that\u2019s what you take away from this experience.\u201d\n\n\n\n</p><p>I smiled at her. At the woman who had taken me home in a heartbeat and had loved me ever since.\n\n\n\n</p><p>But now, I worry that I\u2019ve just sent my birth mother back into the world she had been trying to escape from. Was I right in my decision?<br>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"</p><div class='\"mh-excerpt\"'><p>Sue was left in a cardboard box as a small child.Luckily, a store clerk took her home and changed the course of her entire life. <a class='\"mh-excerpt-more\"' href="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/sciencesandnatures.com%5C/my-mom-left-me-in-a-cardboard-box-in-the-supermarket-when-i-was-a-baby-20-years-later-she-asked-for-my-help%5C/%5C%22" title='\"My' mom left me in a cardboard box the supermarket when i was baby years later she asked for my help>[&hellip;]\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5141"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5141"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5143,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5141\/revisions\/5143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}</a></p></div></figure></p>