“I heard a knock, and I knew it was Rich. My beloved. Bringer of dreams. Rich gave me his million dollar smile then the color drained from his face. I shut the door, go to the mirror to check out the damage. There were two dark dots staring at him.”
‘Every time Rich comes to deliver, I’m in nice clothes. As his eyes climbed up, he stopped at my chest and looked away.’: Mom suffers hilarious wardrobe malfunction during delivery, ‘There were two dark dots staring at him’
‘Mama, will that happen to me? I have black skin too.’ He wasn’t supposed to see the news clip, but there it was, out in the open.’: Woman urges ‘talk about racism, even if it’s uncomfortable’
“The news was on when two pairs of small feet walked into the room. A lanky 10-year-old and pint-sized 6-year-old boys. They caught a glipse of George Floyd. The image of a police officer with his knee on a Black man’s neck, squeezing the life out of him.”
‘My stomach was ‘without signs of life.’ I was uncontrollably weeping. The thing I was meant to do, I couldn’t.’: Woman recalls infertility and adoption journey, ‘Our world changed forever’
“I had pain no one could identify with no hope of healing. A crawling on my hands and knees kind of pain. I felt forgotten.”
‘Jack went to his classmate’s first birthday party, played with friends, and even sat down to sing before cake.’: Mom of twins learns important lesson, ‘We learned about the magic of autism’
“We began to see glimpses of the life we thought may be ahead for our boys. But then, something clicked. We learned about the magic of autism.”
‘I called the midwife at 4 a.m. She came in and immediately asked, ‘Where is HE from?’ She pointed at my husband.’: Woman in interracial marriage says ‘our story is beautiful, but racism is woven into it’
“I told my friend all about Emmanuel’s amazing qualities and pulled out my phone to show a photo of him. To my dismay she said, ‘Is he poor? Does he live in a mud hut?’ I was completely taken aback. It never crossed my mind others would not be as accepting as I was. Not long after, I left and never returned.”
‘Dear firstborn, I held you in the hospital and knew our lives had seismically shifted. I am so lucky God gave you to me.’: Mom pens touching letter to firstborn child
“I discovered a sea of love in my heart that had no beginning and no end. I wouldn’t change a single thing on the road that brought you to me.”
‘Oh no!’ I cried. I thought this only happened in movies. The doctor said, ‘I’m so sorry.’: Mom describes having a baby with Down syndrome, ‘I would choose him again and again’
“I felt like I was holding my breath for the remaining 27 weeks. Was I going to be able to love him as much as I love Lucas? I thought the Down syndrome label would consume this little being, that he would be more Down syndrome’s son than mine.”
‘They are precious now, young mamas. But just wait until they grow up.’: Mom to teens says ‘one day you’ll see just how deep beneath the surface their beauty goes’
“One day, you will see just how deep beneath the surface their beauty goes. One day, it will all be worth it.”
‘My baby’s placenta never stopped growing. The doctors were confused.’: Couple pursues open adoption, ‘I will never forget those sacred moments’
“We were told her mama needed space. She had very little support and I just wanted to wrap my arms around her. I told the nurse, ‘Please let her know we love her.'”
‘On our way home, we ended up front and center for a local protest. My daughter said, ‘Mama.’: Mom wonders about George Floyd’s final words, ‘I wonder if in those last few breaths, he was calling not on her, but us’
“I thought she was asking for me. She wasn’t.”