“She was 3.5 years old. She couldn’t speak. Not a single word. Not a single sentence. How is this even possible?””
‘Feral: That’s the word they used to describe our little girl the day she came into our home. Sounds terrifying, doesn’t it?’
‘At 27, I felt like such a child myself. I laid in bed and sobbed, wondering if I actually had what it took to love the most vulnerable in our city.’
“The orphans, the wounded, the hurting little souls that are our future. I questioned all of it, if I could do this as a single woman.”
‘Why our children bake their OWN birthday treats.’
“We hope to teach our children they don’t always need the latest and greatest to have a fulfilling life. They kept saying, ‘look at my cupcakes! Look! I made that! I did that, guys!'”
‘When he first joined our family after losing both of his parents, these two were BEST friends. Lately though? They fight like cats and dogs. They are SO mean to each other.’
“They got along so well it felt like a fairy tale. But things quickly took a huge spiral downwards. My husband and I laid in bed going, ‘What in the world is happening right now? Why are they fighting so much?'”
‘I’m never alone, but I’m forever lonely. I feel so unfulfilled sometimes.’ After I complained, my friend said, ‘How can you be lonely and unfulfilled? You have a baby.’
“You see, stay at home mothers, we are never alone. I always have 6 hands crawling all over me. I have loud voices and demands. But I am alone, I am isolated.”
‘At our 12 week scan the doctors confirmed there were two strong heartbeats. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. We had made it, and made it with twins no less!’
“The doctor pulled us aside. I could tell from the look on her face she didn’t have good news. The heartbeat was strong, yes, but they had detected an ‘abnormality’ on one of the twins’ scans.”
‘I don’t know how your husband allows that. I don’t know how you’re able to hang out with your Ex. I couldn’t do that.’
“We canceled lawyers, court dates and dropped needless stress. We have celebrated almost every holiday together with our son, so he never has to feel split.”
‘You promise you’ll hang a wind chime for my son?’ I felt each syllable. His shaky jaw dropped against my shoulder.’: Nurse hangs wind chimes to honor each ‘angel baby’ she delivers
“For a year, it’s been my greatest honor to litter chimes among tree leaves where hummingbirds fly. You and your husband know this. Shared from one of the private corridors of my heart. Spilled out of my trembling mouth during one of our many discussions of how Nurses behave at home. How we process bad outcomes. How we offload shifts like the very one I was in the middle of. Dead babies are not supposed to happen to us, but here you are. A nurse. One of us. Your son was my 21st wind chime.”
‘The waitress came to our table and in her hand, she had a name tag. She asked if she could pin the name tag on his shirt. It says ‘Captain America’
“An act of kindness may seem like a small thing but never underestimate it’s power.”
‘Sorry we missed you – Bear in driveway’: UPS delivery driver’s HILARIOUS excuse for not leaving package
“Like I say. Only in Asheville!”
