THE CALL THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING:

Out of respect for my children, I’m not going to share too many details here — to protect them and their privacy. What I will share is this:

I remember this phone call like it was 30 seconds ago. Even now, my stomach still flips when I think about it — and everything that unfolded after.

It was 3:15 p.m. on a Friday. I had 45 minutes left of my shift at work and was already picturing a quiet, sunny weekend ahead. Stewart was away working in Bali, and I’d planned to take the dogs to the beach, soak in the waves, and just breathe.

But the universe had other plans for me.

The call was quick. A voice on the other end said gently,

“It’s a bit of a sad story. We have two children — nine months and twenty-two months — at the hospital. They need a long-term placement. Are you able to do it?”

I froze, my breath catching in my chest.“Why the hospital?” I asked.

“They’ve been taken there because of the harm they’ve suffered,” he said quietly. “The boy twenty-two months needs to be picked up tomorrow. The girl nine months should be ready Monday, if she’s well enough to be discharged. Can you do it?”

My heart knew before my mind caught up.“Yes,” I said. “Yes, I can.”

“Great,” he replied. “Someone will be in touch tomorrow with more details.”

And just like that, the call ended.

I hung up ecstatic, overwhelmed, and completely in shock. Eight years of waiting, and suddenly it was happening. Tomorrow. Two little ones under two.

I don’t remember much of what happened next, except walking back into my room and telling my team leader (and best friend):

“I think I just became a mother to two under two. I’m picking them up tomorrow.”

She hugged me tight, whispered, “Go home. Get ready for your new chapter.”

I didn’t sleep that night. Saturday felt like a blur. Then, late in the afternoon, the phone rang again.“He’s ready,” they said. “You’ll need to bring your ID and the court order I’m emailing now. Head to the Paediatric ward — someone will meet you there.”

It all felt so clinical. So surreal.

Walking into that hospital ward, my body trembled. Maybe from exhaustion, maybe hunger it didn’t matter. I was about to meet my children.

The nurses were kind, guiding me through the paperwork and then leading me into a small play area. There they were: a little boy with wild hair and sunken eyes, and his tiny sister, fragile and quiet beside him.

I knelt, heart pounding, and said the only words that came to mind and seemed logical at the time,

“Hi, I’m Rachel. I’m going to love you and protect you the best way I can — for as long as I can.”

He was just as they’d described — my little chunky monkey with a mischievous grin. His sister was so small, her eyes sunken from iron deficiency and malnutrition. My heart cracked wide open.

In that instant, I understood unconditional love.

I hugged his sister gently and whispered that I’d be back for her on Monday, it took another three weeks for her to come home, after she’d recovered enough,But that’s a story for another day.

That weekend changed everything.I never went back to work. I became a full-time, stay-at-home mum overnight.Life has never been the same and I wouldn’t change a single moment of it.

Sometimes, the universe rearranges your plans in a single phone call.You think you’re stepping in to care for children but in truth, they arrive to teach you how to love deeper, surrender harder, and become who you were always meant to be.

For every woman whose life changed in an instant — this is your reminder that love always finds you when you’re ready to receive it.

With Love and Fire Rachel. Xx