Benjamin Hulleberg is a middle school substitute teacher. He was adopted by his parents, Brian and Angela Hulleberg, but he always wanted to meet his biological mom, whom he knew as “Holly.”
“It was always a very positive conversation,” Benjamin, 20, told Good Morning America. “It was my parents either expressing gratitude for Holly or me talking about how I’m grateful for her and how I want to meet her one day.”
Holly Shearer, 36, never forgot her son even though she put him up for adoption on Thanksgiving Day.
That was two decades ago.
Holly was just 15 when she gave birth. For three years, Benjamin’s adoptive parents sent her letters and photos. Holly only knew them by their first names and the first letter of their last names.
But the updates stopped, with the adoption agency closing in 2014.
That’s when Holly found Benjamin’s social media page. He was 18 then but she didn’t know if she should contact him.
Benjamin had spoken to his parents for years about Holly. He had no idea that she already found him. He even wrote letters, signed up with an adoption registry, and took a DNA test.
He just wanted to find his mother.
Two years after finding Benjamin’s account, Holly messaged Benjamin on his 20th birthday.
He worked as a machine operator and was in between the hourly quality checks when he saw Holly’s message, so he replied.
Then Holly revealed who she was. Benjamin cried tears worth 20 years, finally realizing what was happening.
Benjamin asked to meet right away, so they had dinner the next day with both their families present.
The mother and son embraced and cried upon meeting. Benjamin’s dream came true.
The two families spoke over three hours with Holly and Benjamin discovering they were both working at St. Mark’s Hospital in Salt Lake City for the past two years.
Holly works as a medical assistant at The Heart Center, while Benjamin volunteers at the NICU.
“Every morning, I would come in through the women’s pavilion to come into work. So I passed right by the NICU every single day. We parked in the same garage, could have been on the same floor, had no idea that we were so close,” Holly said.
Benjamin calls Holly “mom” and has finally met his younger half-brother and half-sister. He also sets aside time so he can meet Holly once a week.
He says that meeting his biological family and half-siblings was a healing moment. Benjamin finally got answers to his many questions.
“There was a little hole in me that I didn’t know about and finding them really filled that in. I feel very whole, I feel very complete. I feel like I’m finally ready to continue in my life.” he said.
They may have been apart for 2 decades but this story just proves how strong the love between a mother and her son is.
Watch the video below for more on this story!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
