Tucked in between his grandfather’s knees, 3-year-old Tony Edward Longoria sat on the couch alongside his older sister and grandmother as his grandparents officially adopted him.
What would normally be a huge celebration at the Hays County Courthouse filled with costumes, games and face painting, was replaced with a more intimate celebration at the couple’s San Marcos home over a Zoom conference call amid the coronavirus pandemic.
On Monday, a judge officially granted Wilma and Armando Longoria — Tony’s grandparents — with official guardianship.
Tony and the Longorias were one of 22 children and 15 families who took part in a virtual adoption day across the five-county Central Texas area on Monday. Via Zoom, families connected with case workers and the judge to make the adoption official.
Wilma Longoria said Tony has lived with her husband and her for nearly his entire life. Tony’s parents, who struggle with drug addiction, have been absent for quite some time, they said. Wilma Longoria said her daughter was a good-hearted mom but the drugs ruined her life.
The Longorias, who have been together for more than 30 years, are also the legal guardians of Tony’s older sister, 11-year-old Natalia Garcia. This felt like the natural next step, they said.
“We’ve been waiting for this day,” Wilma Longoria said. “And we are really happy to have him. We love him so much. He’s an excited little boy.”
Case workers have gotten to know the family well and can attest for Tony’s love for dinosaurs, the construction projects he’s worked on with his grandfather, the time he’s spent in the kitchen with his grandmother and how he occasionally bugs his sister while she is learning online. During Monday’s virtual proceeding, they shared heartfelt sentiments about the loving home Tony would grow up in.
Erin Smith, a Child Protective Services specialist for adoption preparation, who was able to join the family in person on Monday, said the bond that Tony has with his grandparents is special.
“This is such a beautiful family,” Smith said. “They are wonderful people, and I don’t think they can imagine life any other way. They are ready to make this official.”
Though they have cared for Tony for a longtime, Wilma and Armando Longoria said that making him a legal and permanent part of the family was satisfying, adding that they love having Natalia and Tony with them.
“My house feels good, and full again,” Wilma Longoria said. “It feels good to have someone here and it’s not just my husband and myself alone.”
Just like Tony’s aunts and mother grew up going on plenty of road trips to visit relatives in the Rio Grande Valley, joining large family gatherings for the holidays and having weekend dinners at local restaurants, Wilma Longoria said Tony will grow up having the same — but maybe with just a few adjusted changes, because grandmas love to spoil their grandchildren. She said her daughters love to give her a hard time about it.
“When my girls were growing up I used to buy lots of clothes for myself, but I stopped that,” she said. “So the money I used to spend on myself, I now spend on my grandkids. It’s their turn and they might as well have what they need.”
Although she is now Natalia and Tony’s full-time guardian, Wilma Longoria said she will still fulfill her duties as a mother and grandmother to her five daughters and nine other grandchildren with traditional home cooked meals, tamales at Christmas and an open front door.
“We are a big family,” Wilma Longoria said. “And we stick together as a family no matter what. My father showed us that when we were young.”
Smith, who helped certify a separate adoption from the driver’s seat of her truck Monday morning, said this year’s adoption day was much different for everyone. Over the last several months she said adoption ceremonies have had to take place over Zoom, which she said takes away from some of the magic.
“We are doing everything we can to make this as special as we can for all the families,” Smith said. “The best part of this all is watching all the happiness this brings to everyone, and so even though it’s virtual we want to make it as normal and special as possible.”
Wearing jeans, a buttoned-up red-and-black flannel shirt, tennis shoes, and sporting his long, curly brown hair, 3-year-old Tony, could occasionally be seen playing with his sister in the background of the Zoom proceedings.
It was just like any other Monday for him — except that he would celebrate his official adoption with a pancake breakfast at IHOP.
“This is something so new for us, and it’s a good thing, but at the same time it’s not,” Wilma Longoria said. “It’s hard for me because children belong to mothers, and mothers should never leave their children behind. But I am their grandmother and I will be here for them as long as I can.”
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