“I’ll admit, I wasn’t up every second checking your breathing. Yes, your clothes might be second hand, and the milestone photos aren’t as planned out. My soft sing-song voice is usually interrupted by a crash somewhere and more yelling. I often catch myself saying, ‘Hold on a second,’ ‘Wait a second.’ But this doesn’t mean you come second.”
Susan Tollefsen of Britain was in her late fifties when she became the country’s oldest first-time mother.
“‘I’m sorry, but he will definitely have mental issues and live in a home.’ The doctor told me to go home. The second I made it to the car, I lost it. I was crying uncontrollably. I called my husband, but I couldn’t get anything out. ‘Ashley, I need you to PULL OVER. I’m coming to get you.’ I couldn’t, I was so distraught. I just wanted to get home where no one could see me.”
“You cannot deny a child an education based upon his nationality.”
“I thought my husband would tell me to stop being so dramatic and ridiculous. After all, I was only 32 and I had a 0.0014% chance. Instead, he looked back at me, glossy-eyed, and said, ‘Maybe.’ My heart sank. The nurse unswaddled my baby and stared as my eyes filled with tears. I felt like my life, as I knew it, was over.”
“I was pregnant for a few short days with baby #4 only to have that ‘PREGNANT’ reading turn to ‘NOT PREGNANT’ in a matter of 72 hours. I had gotten excited. I had told the kids. When a woman miscarries, she will never not be carrying the pain of that loss within her. I beg you, don’t dare miss a chance at being there for her. It was me. It could be you. Or it might be her.”
“I don’t really know my dad. I’ve heard more stories from others than I’ve heard from him. I’d go weeks without talking to him, months without seeing him, and we’ve always lived in the same town, only miles apart. When it all fell into place, I knew he would be my biggest fan.”
“She holds back tears as she looks at the disassembled crib leaning against the wall. She sits in the audience with a tissue in her hands, and the proudest smile on her face. She sees that baby up on stage in a cap and gown, and she wonders where the time went. Her heart beats with a mixture of pride and pain.”
“I never reached out to anyone for help in any way — whether it be a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, or just some advice, support, and borrowed strength. I know many reading this have been there as well. We are not so different.”
“Surgery isn’t sexy. A man by your side going along with your crazy ideas because he loves you so much…that is sexy.”
