Grateful Woman Reunites with Orphanage Friends
Robin Gearling reflects on her childhood orphanage days and fondly remembers the friends that stood by her through the difficult times. Life for Robin was far from magical. After suffering through her mother’s life-threatening injuries and being taken away from an unfit father, she found herself in an orphanage with no support system to help her grow.
Robin’s memories of living in the Fairmount Children’s Home consist mostly of fear and sadness. The environment was unfit for younger girls due to the unruly and mean behavior of the older orphans. At the time, the orphanage was understaffed and much of the mischief occurred without anyone knowing it. Robin would spend sleepless nights crying and in fear. She would have nightmares about the lockers where the young girls were trapped by their older bullies. Even after leaving the orphanage, the nightmares continued.
The only support Robin had while suffering through the harrowing days of her youth came from two girls by the names of Patty and Diane. These two girls took care of Robin and offered their love and support to her. They also protected her from the older girls who were bullying the others and would console her during her sleepless, tear-stricken nights.
For 35 years, Robin searched for the friends she remembers so dearly and she finally found and reunited with them for the first time since the orphanage.
The three met with bursts of love and emotions and were proud of how great their lives turned out considering their rough upbringings. “There’s times we could’ve used our pasts to become awful people, but…we’ve become stronger,” said Diane, mother of two.
They shared family pictures and started to remember their days at the orphanage. “We said we weren’t going to live in the past,” Patty said, wiping her eyes. “We said we would celebrate the beauty and not the beast.”
As their time came to a close, the women pledged they would never lose touch again. Their bond is one that is sure to last for a lifetime.