“Growing up in south Mississippi, I was able to easily see how my own father was the most racist and hateful person I had ever met. As I got older, he would call me sissy, mama’s boy, and queer. That was bad enough, but the things I can recall him saying towards black Americans were just as bad, if not worse.”
“Before we could blink, we had teenagers and a daughter in college. I know people in their forties adopt, but my husband was not on board. We met Rachel when she was five. She had a background of neglect and abuse. I officially became a new mama at 54.”
“When the day comes you have to take a step back and realize, to others, your child’s speech is unintelligible, and it hurts. Then it hits you hard. Harder than you could imagine. But we can never give up.”
“When I ask him how his day was, in which he always replies, ‘hot.’ I can tell by the look in his eyes, he’s exhausted. But, he will be playing with our kids and building new shelves for my classroom without a complaint. You know why? He loves us.”
“I’m going to have to tell your kindergartners they can’t hold hands, even though we spend SO MUCH TIME teaching kids to be friends with each other. I’m going to have to tell that shy, little boy who reaches for my hand for some security, he can’t hold my hand.”
“‘I promise when this pandemic is over, I’m going to let you ride in my truck.’ I told Lonnie we were 2 weeks away from moving, and we were so disappointed. As we were hurrying down the hallway, we heard the truck beep the horn, and I knew they could only be honking for Charles. All the neighbors had huge smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes.”
“I know judging gazes find us in the grocery store parking lot, as his head rests on my shoulder and his legs dangle well below my waist. ‘Will this be the last time?’ I will throw out my back if that’s what it takes.”
“When you tell her to stop running, she hears, ‘Run faster, knock down a shelf of sanitary pads, and bounce into someone with a drink spilling it all over them.’ I try, I do. She’s just the Blair witch.”
“We found out we were pregnant with our 4th child. We were very surprised! So many people tried to talk us out of renewing our license. I felt like I ‘couldn’t handle it.’ Then, we got a call. ‘Can you take him?’ I am willing to risk a broken heart.”
“I shouted, ‘No! That’s not an option. My baby HAS to be okay.’ While high on Oxycontin I realized why people become drug addicts. I went to bed not knowing if I’d wake up.”
