“I went for a walk in the snow the other day. My children insisted they could walk themselves, that they didn’t need the sled. But I pulled it anyway. After we walked a bit longer, they both grew tired and climbed in. Sometimes, they climbed out. But they always returned. And I always kept pulling. This is what motherhood is. We keep pulling the sled of support. Even when they don’t need it, we are there to help them keep going.”
“People always give me unasked advice about my kids. I often hear, ‘You’re spoiling him. He’s got to toughen up and be a man.’ BREAKING NEWS. I am a WOMAN. No matter what I do, I could never raise him to be a ‘man.’ I know nothing about being one. Every chance I get, I will always hug him and feed him affirmations. I want him to always know he is loved.”
“She continued to scan my belly and remained rather quiet. I had no idea what to expect during an ultrasound but I thought that was kind of odd. Jokingly I asked, ‘There isn’t twins in there, right?’ She looked over at me and smiled. My heart dropped and I sat up quickly.”
“I had offered to help my then-boyfriend unpack boxes for his new home. Knowing I was still sensitive to items from the life he had before me, I offered to unpack the living room. I came across something which stopped me in my tracks. I immediately felt sick to my stomach. ‘Am I as pretty as she is?’ I began to feel extremely insecure.”
“Christmas, when I was 5-years-old. I remember in the back stood a box approximately 3-foot-tall with MY name on it. Of course, my brother couldn’t help but tease me there is only a small gift inside, and the big box was just a trick. But I knew.”
“A miracle came just days before he passed away. At just 20 months old, our son had only verbalized one word. Dog. Yet, he responded to my wife and I as we laid over his crib, tears falling from our cheeks, expressing our love for him. With absolute perfect clarity, our little boy looked up at us. I held him for the last time. I crave his smile. I miss seeing his eyes light up.”
“Ty threw his hands over his ears and started to rock back and forth, moaning. I shot up quickly. This was the start of a meltdown. I tried to get my son to his feet, but it was too late. Ty slid off the bench and onto the ground. I fell beside him, my heart aching. My son never cries, yet here he was, sobbing in front of his dream: the train.”
“I collapsed. I wept before our 3 children. Rebuilding myself like a child, I called my mother in the evening. I told her I was confused and utterly broken. Aged 24, I needed her comfort again. ‘Your father and I love you no matter what happens,’ she said, and my fitful breath slowed. Being a human male, I’m very good at pretending I have things under control. It took a desperate sense of weakness, therefore, to call her.”
“I needed to go in for surgery. This terrified me. I thought I could handle the pain – I was wrong. I was in the bathtub. Tears flood my eyes. My daughter sat next to the tub, sharing blue raspberry Jell-O. ‘Do you need to take a bath? I can eat Jell-O with you.’ She is the most caring, sweet, and loving 3-year-old. Finally, it was announced we had a girl, her cord was cut, and she was laid on my chest. I was still sure something bad was going to happen.”
“She was all nervous and excited, waiting for him to text her. I found myself feeling jealous. I came home to my kids not listening, my kitchen a mess, and my husband complaining, ‘I thought you’d be back 20 minutes ago?’ I rolled my eyes at him and sat on the bed with laundry piles all around me. I sat there thinking, ‘I miss those first dates.'”
