Being a parent is about a lot more than providing half of your offspring's DNA, as any adopted child could tell you. What matters is who's around. Especially who's around when you're a kid. Those are the times when your brain is the most spongy and you pick up memories that you'll have for a long time. It's also when the parent figure has the most time to bond with the kid-- young kids are generally sweet and open and ready to be loved. It's when they get older that they can get harder to connect with.
This is even true with pets. If you adopt a cat from day one, they will see you as its caretaker forever. If you get them when they're a little older, it'll take some time to adapt to your way of living. This story exposed this conundrum in an interesting way, and was difficult on all sides to manage. Read on for the story.