“‘She’s more beautiful than ever. Doesn’t she look so pretty?’ he’d say. After multiple strokes and as her body few frail and weak, he continued to tell her how beautiful she was EVERY single day. They would have been married 60 years next month, and yet, 60 years still wouldn’t have been enough.”
“Between medical supplies and equipment, around the clock medications, specialist appointments 2.5 hours away, an in-home nurse three times a week, occupational and physical therapy, and a million phone calls with insurance, we are barely keeping our head above water.”
“Before we left the hospital, we held our babies one last time. With tears streaming down our faces, we promised them we would survive this for them and live every day in their honor. I walked with them to the elevator where we were forced to part ways.”
“Stop telling mothers to ‘hold on’ or to ‘brace yourself’ because the years of a teen girl can only be filled with strife and difficulty. It doesn’t have to be that way.”
“I was looking in the mirror hours after seeing that pink positive sign, evaluating my worth, my life, and my purpose like it could be my last day.”
“‘Here we go,’ she texted me, with a photo of her in a hospital gown, lovely and tired. I felt ever so vividly where she was.”
“I want a life where there is balance; a life where I can raise humans and also be one.”
“I used to bristle at the idea of being a stay-at-home mom living in the suburbs. After college I set up a life in the mountains, relishing my freedom as my friends began to be ‘tied down’ by kids. And yet here I am – a work from home, stay at home mom living in the suburbs.”
“I’m not grieving WHO he is. I grieve the parts which bring me to my knees in tears – watching what his little body has to endure.”
“We give up parts of ourselves because we think somehow it makes us the moms we’re ‘supposed’ to be. We give up things that interest us. Things we used to be good at, that filled our minds and brought us joy.”
