Eli: My 8-year-old daughter is about to return from her every-other-week stay with her mother, part of our joint custody arrangement. As I sit next to my husband, Chris, on the couch in our penthouse, a mix of anticipation and excitement fills me.

Chris: Eli’s 8-year-old daughter is about to come home after spending the week with his ex-wife. I sit close to him on the couch, feeling the same anticipation, though my thoughts drift to how much I’ve come to love her as my own. She may not be my biological daughter, but in every other way, she’s mine too.