When love takes over

Family Tradition

Quite a few people have commented saying that they felt Brielle got over her mother too quickly. I just wanted to take a moment to explain why I chose to unfold my story the way I did, and why I feel like it wasn't fast at all.

After the adoption hearing, Brielle tells Jen that the night they went to the hospital, she had been scared, and prayed in the car for an angel to come rescue her.

This wasn't the first time Brielle had been through something like this. She was familiar with the routine.

Even at five years old, Brielle had been through two previous overdoses with her mother. She knew that when her mother went into the hospital, she always ended up having to live with a foster family for a period of time.

She expects the same routine this go around. So when she meets Jen, and finds out she is going to be staying with her, she's thrilled. She knows this means not another foster home.

When Jen first gains temporary custody, Brielle does not know that she is fighting for adoption. She just assumes Jen is going to be taking care of her until her mother recovers.

The first night she stays with them, Brielle wets the bed, and has a nightmare. Upon waking, she's calling out not for Jen, but for mommy. She even asks, when Jen comes to comfort her, when she's going back to her mommy. She assumes all of this is temporary. Jen also states in court that there were two other occasions where she had had nightmares.

In the video where Brielle is questioned, she is asked repeatedly if she loves her mother, and she states that she does each and every time.

This is a five year old girl who has been through a lot. She knows that her mother isn't doing a good job as a parent, and that the best choice is to live with Jen. But that doesn't take away from the fact that she still loves her mother, and knows she tried her best.

Lastly, in this time line, Brielle lives with Jen for close to two weeks before the adoption is finalised. Not once does she refer to her as mommy. The first time she tells her she loves her, she calls her by her name, and upon hearing her response, says "I love you."

When court has let out, and Jen goes to look for Brielle, she finds her sitting with a police officer. When Brielle sees her, she turns to the police officer and says "That's my Jen." At that point, she knows that Jen is fighting to keep her, and yet she still does not call her mommy.

Everyone writes differently, of course. But I did try to make Brielle's transition a slow and gradual process. She is becoming comfortable with Jen's family, and the idea that she is now a part of it, but at no point has she referred to her as mommy.

Further more, at the end of the adoption battle, Jen does attempt to talk to Marnie. Before she can even get a sentence out, Marnie cuts her off and informs her that she basically doesn't even care about what happened, and that she will just bring another child into this world.

Psychologically speaking, Marnie is a narcissist. She would never truly love Brielle. Getting pregnant wasn't about what she had to offer a child, but what a child had to offer her. She wanted to be loved and validated from this child. Marnie needed Brielle way more than Brielle ever needed Marnie.

I hope this clears things up!

Also, I mean no disrespect with this chapter. It's called creative freedom. I myself am living in the south. It is all meant in jest and good fun. My apologies in advance if it is taken the wrong way!