What, exactly, is the definition of โfamilyโ to you? Is it a biological connection? It is a connection through friendship or love? Is there a certain โstructureโ that family should follow? For many, us included, family is a unit of people who love each other unconditionally. And thatโs exactly how Katelynn Martinez describes her family.
Katelynn is from Fort Collins, Colorado and she isnโt biologically related to her neighbors since childhood, Arlene and Bill, but โ they are her grandparents.
According to their website, Humans of New York is a โphotoblog of street portraits and interviews collected on the streets of New York City.โ While conducting interviews on the streets of the Big Apple, they asked Katelynn if sheโd be interested in telling her story.
Katelynn was the young age of 3-years-old when she moved into a house next door to Bill and Arlene. Her dad was rarely home due to his profession as a truck driver, so Katelynn and her mother were the ones who were at the house.
Katelynn has early memories of meeting her future grandparents through the slots of the fence separating their yards.
โMy first memory is Arlene handing me strawberries from her garden,โ she shared. โIt was a wonderful connection.โ
They chatted more and more each day and it wasnโt long before everyone started to really bond with one another. So? Katelynn thought sheโd ask them a very important questionโฆ
โAfter a few months, I knocked on their door, sat down in their living room, and said: โWill you guys be my grandparents?โโ Katelynn explained. โIt was so silly. They could have laughed it off. But instead they started crying.โ
Arlene and Bill were so touched by the request that they even created โadoption papersโ for Katelynn โ except that it was Katelynn who was adopting them!
What made the entire situation even more beautiful was the fact that Bill and Arlene didnโt have any kids of their own. So, Katelynn had no idea just how much her sweet gesture meant to them.
As years went by, Katelynn would often visit her โgrandparentsโ just to talk or get away from home for a while. She shared with Humans of New York that she has so many great memories of going over to their house โ like Bill teaching her how to drive and Arlene doing crafts with her.
Katelynnโs grandparents even helped her go to college โ a feat she never thought sheโd accomplish because of a lack of funds.
โBoth of them supported me in all my dreams. Through all my phases. They encouraged me to apply for college, even though I didnโt have the money to go. And when I got accepted, they presented me with a fund. They told me theyโd been putting away money since the day I adopted them,โ she explained.
Katelynn credits Bill and Arlene for the adult and woman that she is today. Sadly, Arlene passed in 2013, however, all of her lessons and memories live on through Katelynn today. Bill spoke at Arleneโs funeral, giving a eulogy with words that will stick with Katelynn forever:
โMy grandfather gave her eulogy. And at the end, he said: โArlene leaves behind her husband Bill. And the greatest joy of her lifeโ her granddaughter Katie.โโ
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