“Just then, a police officer blew his horn and turned back around to introduce himself. He wanted to know everything AJ has been through. He vowed, ‘I will teach my kids to love everyone.’ I want my son to know you don’t need a big crowd to voice your opinion.”
“There have been times you have said ‘no’ when you wanted to say ‘yes.’ I have seen this photo before and it always takes me back and makes me think.”
“I found my husband, dirty from work and his face buried in his hands. Several police officers stared at me as he paced and yelled, ‘Come on buddy, come on.’ I went behind the curtain and saw my son looking so tiny on the hospital bed in just his diaper, and a dozen doctors and nurses around him trying to start his heart.”
“His name was Jack. I replay it in my head every day. He is so loved and so so wanted.”
“Please, just sit beside me. Say nothing. Do not offer a cure. Or a pill, or a word, or a potion. Witness my suffering and don’t turn away from me. Please be gentle with me. And I will try to be gentle with me too.”
“I felt this huge need to protect him. Children would laugh at him and call him stupid. I screamed at them and stood up for him. The older I got, the angrier I was and the more pain I felt. I didn’t know what to do.”
“I see a flight attendant lock eyes and head our way, I freeze a bit. Since it feels like exactly zero people are ready to fly, I feel like this is a safe space to finally unpack this. It was the last flight of a very long travel day.”
“Usually life changes slowly in real-time and so quickly when one looks back. Lately, though, things are changing so quickly it’s hard to keep up!”
“Infertility has been my battle for 500 and some-odd days. Test after test, to the point where I want to quit taking them. Ovulation sticks that seem to just be a waste of money. Do not get me started on the scheduled sex, that is always a blast.”
“I’ve been ignored, called names, and spit on. Not only as a black man, but also as a black police officer. I want something different for my daughter.”
