“The ones who grab the extra pack of crayons for them at the restaurant. The friend who will playfully rock your toddler while you finish your cup of coffee. The ones who welcome them with a big smile that says, ‘I’m happy to see you.’ You don’t deserve to feel like you’d be better off staying home.”
“Within seconds of feeling the weight of my babies against my chest for the first time, my heart was made to love them. It was an unexplainable love at first sight I thought was only reserved for mothers who gave birth to their children. And now, a decade later, science is proving what I’ve always known in my heart.”
“I figured it was my son Lennox, but it was pitch-black. I blinked away the sleep so I could help him up into our bed. In the doorway was a set of terrifying glowing eyes and mouth hovering a foot or so above the ground. ‘Lord, it’s Angela. If you’ve got any of that white light lying around, would you mind sprinkling some around my bed?’ I was completely freaking out.”
“We do not take her out of the house. Her life depends on it. We are trying our best to plan ahead, but as stores quickly lose stock and people hoard items to resell at an upcharge, we have begun to scramble. She is immunocompromised.”
“Picture it: Spring Break, 2000. We spent the week playing volleyball in the burning sand and drinking $1 rum concoctions as Sisqó’s ‘Thong Song’ pounded through the speakers of every club we went to. It was inconvenient, exhausting, and absolutely amazing. Spring break at 40 looks a little different.”
“Gag me with a spoon, right? I wasn’t sure it was true. I mean, who would leave this fine specimen of the male species? He asked for my number and we agreed to meet for coffee. It was snowing, pretty hard. This guy offered to drive over an hour in it to see me. This was a big. freaking. deal.”
“I totally cried. As my mom told them, I hid behind my tea mug (it was a pretty big mug) because I didn’t want them to see me crying. I thought I was strong enough to not. Of course, my dad then joined as well and stated, ‘Yeah, I’m straight, I like women.’ We all laughed as he looked at my mom.”
“I stood behind him, yelling to my husband to watch as I clapped repeatedly behind his head loudly. He didn’t even flinch. I said, ‘He’s deaf, right?’ When he was in elementary school, he was physically abused by a speech pathologist. I reached out to anyone and everyone for help, but I was left empty-handed for a very long time.”
“There it was. Or should I say, there she was. Mystery solved. She helped me craft a letter. My husband was having an affair. He felt I had abandoned him when he needed me most. He was an easy mark for any woman. I would pray my husband would have a heart for me. My husband was becoming a new man.”
“Today when I was met with a disproving look, one of shock and full of judgement about her not wanting to toilet train. I confidently shook my head and I proudly said, ‘She will do it. In her own time.'”
