Mark High met Lindsey Collins when she was 9 years old and he started dating her mother, Jamie. From the very onset, he committed to be attentive to his relationship with not only Jamie, but also with Lindsey. Mark’s hope was to love Lindsey as a father would and that she would allow him that relationship, that of a daughter and father.
Their relationship did succeed. Mark loved Lindsey and thought of her as his biological daughter. Lindsey loved Mark as a daughter would love a father. This relationship succeeded because of how Mark always assured her that she was an important part of his relationship with her mother and their relationship as a family. As an example, Mark would take Lindsey to the mall before a date with her mother, Jamie. When Mark and Jamie married, Lindsey had an important role in the wedding. Growing up, Mark offered advice to Lindsey, but also let her make her own decisions, whether right or wrong, as a father would.
At the age of 26, Lindsey wanted to show her love for Mark. She wanted to do something for him that she knew would be very important to him. On Father’s Day, she surprised him by asking him a very big question: Would he adopt her and legally become her father? She had wrapped up adoption paperwork and captured his reaction on video. She showed that adoption has no set age.
The video is priceless; “No way!” was all he could say before becoming overcome with his emotions. Since then, the video has been viewed tens of thousands of times.
Mark and Lindsey had talked about adoption previously, but just never legally made it official. “I always treated her like she was my daughter. In my mind, I would adopt her in a heartbeat,” Mark stated.
Mark summarizes adoption with a wonderful statement: “You can love somebody you haven’t created. You can adopt someone and love them like they are yours.”
