"I always wanted children," says Jimmy, a single man from New York. His godson had been adopted and it seemed like a good way to start a family. He took some time to think it through. "Once I knew it was the right time within myself, I got started."

"I wasn't sure if I was going to get a fight from my family," he remembers. He told them, "I would like your support. Either way, you will be behind me or beside me." His fears were unfounded. "I got one hundred per cent support from my family," he says. "They couldn't love my kids more if they had been born into this family."

Jimmy's son Eric appeared in his television debut on April 28, 1999. The New York Wednesday's child feature had just started a week earlier, and Eric was only the second child to be shown. Since he was on Wednesday's child, the director of his agency was able to meet young Eric in person, something she could not do with every child. Jimmy explains, "She met him at the shoot in the park that day. So he was still on her mind when I went in and said I wanted a school-aged child." Eric was only a toddler, but she described him and Jimmy was interested.

Some might ask why a social worker choose a single man to parent a two-year-old. "Eric needed to be with a one parent family. He needed all the love. They felt he would be best with a single person," Jimmy responds. In his two parent foster home, Eric had bonded most with his foster father, so a single dad seemed like the right plan.

Although he was only two, Eric's workers already had serious concerns about his development. Medical issues had kept him in the hospital for several months after birth. Doctors questioned his hearing and "everything else!" His behavior was so challenging, experts worried that it wasn't going to change. Jimmy wondered, "How would I ever do it?" But he decided to take on the challenge. "Once I had his picture, I wanted him."

In July, 1999, three months after his Wednesday's Child feature, Eric moved in with his new dad. Jimmy admits that it wasn't an easy time. "But when you're actually going through it, you have nothing to be but be strong, and you just keep going."

Now he looks back on that time with understanding. "Yeah, he had special needs. He had all the normal stuff that you would expect from a kid who's been in foster care." Jimmy feels it's important to get any available records about a child's history or health, but not to assume they reveal all the potential. According to Jimmy, what really matters is "what you're going to put into him afterwards. Today he's doing fine. He loves to play in the park, loves soccer. He's in kindergarten– in regular education and everything. He became student of the month!"

Eric's adoption was finalized in February, 2000. But before that significant day, there was another big event in the family. "Three weeks before his adoption they called and said he had a biological sister, and would I keep them together? Of course I said yes."

Jimmy had never expected to become the father of a newborn infant. "When they brought Alexis in the house, I was scared to touch her." What Jimmy was really afraid of, he remembers, laughing, was that Eric would be so jealous he would throw a screaming tantrum, and the social worker would whisk both children away.

Once again, Jimmy's fears were unfounded. He admits that it slowed him down some, trying to chase after Eric with the baby in tow. But Eric's response to being a big brother was excellent. "He totally understood, the best he could, that this is his sister. He always helped me from day one. He would get the bottle, get the diapers, anything he could do."

When each child arrived, Jimmy's was able to take time off from his work in a family owned delicatessen and catering business. The school bus drops Eric off there every day after school, so that Dad can help him with his homework. Alexis is now in nursery school. "I work my day around them," Jimmy says.

Jimmy's advice to others who are trying to adopt is not to delay. "When I got my papers, I did them right away. I'm a firm believer that if you really want to do something, you'll find a way to do it. If you feel it's time, go for it! It's definitely well worth it."

Story written by Becky Birtha as told by Jimmy

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