“A few days later we pulled into the foster home and met our son for the first time. There are no words that can truly explain that experience, but I can say it is possible to love someone you just met.”
‘We thought we were too young! A proposal? She proceeded to tell us about a little baby boy, only 2 months old, who was ready to come home in three weeks. THREE WEEKS!’
‘At first they thought both stuck, then they thought it was a chemical pregnancy, and then they weren’t sure if it was viable. Then I found blood. I was 100% sure I was losing the twins.’
“At first he was speechless, and then asked me if it was real. Next thing I know he is in tears, then I’m in tears.”
‘His skull looked as thin as a piece of paper. We were given the option to terminate at 7 months pregnant. He’s not dead yet.’
“The next day I got the call. ‘Jessica, can you come into the doctor’s office tonight?’ I was just heading out the door for work, but she said, ‘Jessica, you need to come in now please’.”
‘She said, ‘I’m sorry. There’s something wrong with your little girls’ chest.’
“The ultrasound tech couldn’t tell me what was wrong, she wouldn’t even tell me the gender of my baby. She kept making excuses to leave the room. I knew something was wrong, I had seen all of my sisters’ ultrasounds before, her babies never looked the way mine did.”
‘I yelled, ‘Oh my God, He’s coming!’ as I felt his head pop out, I stood up hoping to catch my tiny son, but he just slid right out and landed in the toilet.’
“Five minutes before our flight was to board, we all piled into the tiny family restroom and I sit down on the toilet. The firefighter asked me ‘Heather, how far along are you?’”
‘Post College Depression is a thing, I have it, WHY DOES NO ONE TALK ABOUT IT?’
“I spent four years building the life I wanted, and it all got pulled from under me after I graduated. How do I function without all of these THINGS? I didn’t know. Not to mention the pressures of the real world creeping up on you.”
‘Dear neighbor, It’s me. The girl on the other side of your walls. The one who dialed 911 at 2:30 a.m. last night.’
“The one who heard you screeching as your alcoholic husband was screaming in a drunken fury. I’m the one who told the police that you have 5 children. As a survivor of domestic abuse, it pulls at my heart every time I hear yelling next door.”
Middle School Misfortunes Then and Now, One Teacher’s Take
“Home was a safe place for Brian in 2008. Whatever happened in school, stayed in school. Not now.”
‘The ache in my heart starts around the holidays. I know I am being ‘watched.’ I’m actually afraid everyone will think I have moved on and forgotten my son.’
“Everyone asked if we were doing anything special in honor of Alex on the first anniversary of his death. I refuse, to this day, to call it an anniversary. It is the day our lives changed forever. Anniversaries are for celebrating. So I just call it the day Alex died.”
‘I worry your big heart will lead you down a path of bullying. Being the sensitive kid is not the ‘cool’ thing when you’re growing up.’
“Most of your friends will be much more tough and rugged than you. Childhood may be rocky. As an adult, being the man with a big heart is more revered than the little boy who would rather give hugs than play contact sports.”
