“She caught me by surprise. ‘What would you do if I dated a girl?’ I immediately told her, ‘If you date a girl, you’re going to hell.’ The instant the words escaped my lips, something else hit me harder than the fear of my child in hell. I broke her heart. I never thought my child would be gay. I began noticing small cuts on her arms. I was losing her. I would have risked anything for her to find herself and be happy.”
“I traded a life of steady income and comfort for a life on the streets in order to support my addiction. I slept in homeless camps, under bridges, along railroad tracks, and in strangers’ houses. My sign, ‘Support my whiskey right for a frisky night,’ made more money than any other sign asking for help. I was living on the street, so no one cared. It came with the territory.”
“This couldn’t be happening to me. I couldn’t breathe, and to top it off my husband was out of town on business. I tried calling him and he didn’t answer. ‘This can’t be how my story ends.’”
“I wasn’t quite prepared for what I was about to see. They told us his wrist was shattered and he had amnesia. Two weeks before his surgery, I had a prophylactic double mastectomy. Sounds crazy, right? This past summer, the radiologist made a mistake and didn’t compare my scans and basically stated that I had cancer. I decided to go flat. The anxiety was real.”
“I kissed her on the forehead and whispered, ‘I will always love you.’ I wondered if I would ever see her again. While I reveled in my three biological sons and one adoptive son, my thoughts often wondered back to her. I couldn’t take care of her at birth, but now I could.”
“Gunner was never been a ‘problem child.’ He had a whole life ahead of him. Goals, aspirations. He wanted to be a dad. He wanted to continue playing football in college. Gunner wasn’t done. One bad choice, one stupid minor mistake, was all it took. Gunner, I would do just about anything to bring you back. For one more hug. For one more smile. For one more, ‘Hey, Aunt Brandi.’ The pill had enough poison to kill 10 adult males.”
“Sadie’s birthday was such a bittersweet day. We saw all our hopes and dreams vanish. She is so smart, but we know this will all change soon. Before Sadie was born, we dreamed of her playing sports, helping her get ready for prom, college, and her dad walking her down the aisle. Today, we dream our sweet girl lives past the age of 14. We knew we had to fight this.”
“We often describe our 10-year-old as ‘oblivious.’ We don’t mean it in a cruel way, she’s just often so blissfully unaware of what’s going on. Today, her shirt was on backwards. Again. Before Dad got to her room, she burst into tears, sad because her mother was laughing at her. He calls out, ‘Wait! I’m coming! Hold on one second.'”
“He must have seen us inside the grocery store. It was the first time we were going in without a stroller. ‘Everybody listen for Momma, okay?’ Six innocent eyes peered back at me. We were here for a mission. ‘Looks like you have your hands full.’ There was every cliché of panic on my face.”
“I wished for a loyal man that would love me unconditionally and…a nice and loving mother in law. He wanted me to ‘learn’ about you all, not ‘hear’ or ‘read’ about you. As time went on and we grew closer, it was time for that first trip together. Minnesota to meet the ENTIRE family! I held your hand until your last breath.”
