Matt was 12 years old when I met him. His dad, David, had full custody of him and was (and still is) an incredible father. Matt was always his first priority! David did everything he could to be both mother and father to Matt.

Matt was a silly, goofy kid who kept us all laughing. He liked physical comedy, always running around flapping his hands, making goofy faces or whatever it took to keep us all rolling in laughter. At the same time, Matt was insecure. Years later a therapist told us he had abandonment issues. I don’t know how a kid can be expected to understand why one of their parents isn’t really involved in their life the way they should be. They can’t help but feel rejected and, being rejected by a parent leaves them believing there’s something about themselves that isn’t good enough. They start thinking they’re not worthy of unconditional love. Let me tell you, Matt is very worthy of love! Unfortunately, at 18, he still doesn’t know it yet.