A 12-year-old boy who had worn his stepdad’s name on his jersey cried tears of happiness when he was surprised with the news he’s set to be adopted after his final youth football game.
Devan McMillion and his stepson Buck Davis have formed an incredibly close bond since Devan came into Buck’s life in February of 2018.
Right away, Buck, 36, stepped into a father figure role, his wife and Buck’s mom, Jerry, 33, said, “kissing boo boos better and chasing monsters out from under the bed.”
But the one thing Devan and Buck truly bonded over was a love of football, with Devan, a heavy machinery mechanic who works all over Texas, sometimes driving three hours each way to make sure he could attend Buck’s practice.
The youngster has spent the past six years playing in a youth football league, and in the second year, his coaches surprised the team with their jerseys featuring their nameplates on the back.
But when Buck received his, he immediately started to cry – his jersey featured his mom’s surname, Davis, tied to a previous marriage, but he had always felt like Devan’s son and wanted to be known as McMillion.
Over the four seasons since, Buck has proudly worn Devan’s surname on the back of his jersey, and, secretly, Devan and Jerry had been working to make things official.
After two failed attempts to go through the laborious adoption process in Texas themselves, the couple decided to hire an attorney this summer.
In October, Jerry said, she and Devan received the news that Buck’s biological father had signed away his right, and so the couple could now go through with the final steps of making Buck’s adoption official.
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It was now just a case of breaking the news to Buck, and so Devan opted for the most apt moment possible: at his stepson’s final youth football game.
As Buck walked along the sidelines at Trinity Christian Athletic Complex, in Lubbock, Texas, on November 8, Devan approached him, wiping tears away from his eyes.
Devan said, “You know that last name on the back…”, to which his stepson started to nob, before adding, “it’s going to be official.”
As soon as he understood the gravity of the moment, an emotional Buck started crying tears of happiness, too, before the pair headed in for a loving embrace.
Jerry captured the moment on video, before sharing the clip on her social media channels.
The family now hopes Buck’s adoption will go through before Christmas.
Jerry said: “My husband is truly one of a kind.
“He is a heavy machinery mechanic that services all over West Texas.
“Even with all of the travel he still manages to be present in our daily home life.
“It took everything in me to keep recording and not just bawl my eyes out.
“It was the most perfect moment, and a very long time coming.
“I’m so incredibly proud.”
