“24 weeks pregnant, we got devastating results, yet again. But this time was different. We found out our miracle child had a rare diagnosis. We were given the option of terminating her, just after I finished telling the doctor how beautiful she was. After 5 long, painful, and agonizing years, I cried. Nothing was going to stop us from having the family we dreamt of.”
“Why does this holiday season feel so weird? Maybe it’s because all I want to do is sit around and watch Christmas movies, but there’s always somewhere to be. Or maybe it’s because I’m so busy buying the things the stores are telling me I need to be busy buying that I’m not looking at the gifts right in front of me. Can we just…oh, I don’t know…stop? And breathe. And enjoy. And be with each other. THAT is where the holiday lives.”
“The sonographer saw a tiny little egg. It turned out that tiny egg was the one that was going to make me a mum. The very next day, I had a phone call, telling me my baby was at ‘high risk’ of having Down syndrome. Until she was born, it was easier to pretend everything was normal, so we did just that.”
“I was 19 when I decided I was going to adopt a baby. My husband shrugged, smiled, and said, ‘Sounds good to me!’ We had 4 days to do…everything. We laid in bed, trying to fathom the idea this would be our last night alone. When the day came, the grief rocked me to the core. While we were gaining a son, his first family was losing a son.”
“I had thoughts of ’maybe something is wrong with me. Will I ever have another healthy pregnancy again?’ My doctor told us we could start trying again as soon as we felt ready. I slowly looked down. ‘Alex, there are TWO lines!’ We’d made it to the safe zone. ’I think this baby is going to be just fine, congratulations!’”
“To say I am jealous is an understatement. I’m not ashamed to admit it. I am extremely jealous. It’s just not fair. The going to see Santa Claus, throwing birthday parties – it all stings. Hearing what cool new toy they added to their Christmas list to Santa. My children have never cared about any of that.”
“My mom covered her mouth and ran out of the room with tears in her eyes as my brother sat next to me. I was dying. I took 30 more pills slowly, not realizing what was happening. I should have died, and I almost did.”
“To the person from my hometown who started a rumor that I was on fertility drugs. To my youngest child’s doctor who asked the question I had been asked a million times. ‘First child?’ ‘Nope! 3rd child, first pregnancy!’ then had the gall to say, ‘but having your own is different, isn’t it?’”
“Let us take a moment to remember the true reason why we celebrate Christmas.”
“A photo of my son with a shirt saying, ‘I Love My Gay Dads’ got me 500 messages from people telling me, ‘You’re disgusting.’ On time at an event, a mother yelled at me. ‘Don’t do this in front of your son…or whatever he is…can you even have kids?!’ Here I was, a stay-at-home Papa, completely devoted to raising my child, having to prove I had a right to do so. No matter what, I will always be there for him. We honor our son.”
