NEW WINDSOR, Md. — From the day she took her home at 3 days old, to the day she was reunited with her biological parents at 3 years old, Cheryl Powers and her then-husband gave their foster daughter Jessica a practically perfect childhood, filled with birthday cakes, bike rides, and trips to the beach.
“She always wanted to help in the kitchen. She could crack an egg when she was like 2," Cheryl said as she looked through an old photo album.
“She was my only girl, because I had two boys. She was part of our family.”
They wanted to adopt her, but the courts sent her back to her biological family. For the next 22 years, Cheryl had no idea whether she'd ever see Jess again. But she was hopeful. So she never threw away any of her baby things - her crafts, toys, and baby blankets.
"I don't know. I guess, in my mind I knew one day, she'd be back."
Fast forward to July 2023 - Jess puts out a request on Facebook: "On April 21st 1998, If you took in a drug addicted baby with the name Jessica Lynn Nicole Blizzard. I am now 25 years old and am looking for you. I think of you everyday and wonder if you think of me,” it read in part.
She didn’t even know the couple’s name, only the hospital where she was born in Westminster, Carroll County.
"Just a shot in the dark to be honest with you. I was like, why not?"
Social media did its magic. It was shared more than 500 times. Her foster parents don’t even have Facebook, but somehow it reached the right people, who brought it to their attention. By August, she met her foster mom. By September, she met her foster dad.
"When she pulled up in the driveway, I remember just hugging her and crying,” Cheryl recalled. "She has dark hair now and I was like, wow, she looks so different. But I knew it was my Jess."
She’s 25 now, with a daughter of her own. And for the first time, she’s looking at photos of herself from when she was her daughter’s current age.
"I can see the resemblance so much,” she says.
“There’s a picture of you somewhere of you wearing a Superman outfit. They used to call you super Jessie," Cheryl said as they flipped through the photo album together.
For Jess, it’s bittersweet.
"Because my childhood with my own blood family wasn't really great. So to see that I did have at least a good start was kind of like soothing,” Jess said. "Especially when you look at those photos, there's no denying there's true, actual love, and true care and education going into my learning and just me as a youngin’ instead of what I had to go back to."
"I feel like the system failed her," Cheryl said.
Jess has wanted to meet her foster family her entire life, but she says she's glad she waited until she was more mature.
"I just didn’t have the guts to meet them when I was in a little bit of a depleted state. If I would’ve met them when I was freshly 18, I don’t think we would’ve been able to keep or maintain a relationship that was healthy anyways.”
When she finally put it out there, Jess says she had no expectations, but she was wishing for more than just a quick reunion. And that's what she got.
"She said she wanted a strong mother figure, and I am definitely a strong mother figure, so be careful what you wish for,” Cheryl joked. “I hold people accountable, my own kids, and she was one of my kids.”
"It comes with its challenges, because to not have that kind of strict mother figure, to then have that be brought into your life at 25 years of age, it’s kind of hard to get used to," Jess said.
“I want her to feel like she’s a part of the family, the family that she used to have. And my sons feel the same way," Cheryl said. "We’ll get there. My husband has embraced her."
Cheryl is in it for the long haul, developing a relationship both with Jess, and her 4 year old daughter, Wren.
"She calls me 'foster mama, foster mama!’" Cheryl laughed.
Jess considers all of this a miracle. And while her story is still being written, she’s hopeful, it’ll have a happy ending.