“He was admitted to the hospital ‘just to do some routine stuff’ since he was young for such a high fever. I didn’t love the idea, but I was willing to do whatever was needed. Then something unexpected happened. Trevor started screaming. The nurse reached for the ‘Code Blue’ button on the wall.”
“‘I think so too, hun,’ I said. I’ve known far longer than she has that she’s gay. The entire conversation, one she will likely forget by the time her first girlfriend asks about her coming out story, was just 18 words.”
“When my son’s best friend passed from cancer, he said, ‘Mom, he spent so much time in the hospital that he didn’t get the chance to be a kid. He didn’t even get to go fishing!’ You see, Jake’s passion is fishing. He’s been doing it since he was 5 and it’s grown to be his absolute favorite activity. ‘Mom, kids fighting cancer should get to fish!’ I told him he should do something about that, and so he did. Ryan made my son feel like he belonged. He wanted to do for cancer patients what Ryan did for him.”
“I’ve heard stay-at-home mothers ask to buy something like they are 15 years old again! Asking for $10 to buy a bra. It’s no longer ours, it’s HIS money. And if he wants to buy $400 shoes, well he can, because he worked.”
“His little body leaped off the ground and dove for the iPad in my lap. In between hiccups, coughs, deep gasps, he said, ‘MOMMY… I… NEED… IT.’ I replied a stern, ‘No, baby. You do NOT need it.’ Then, mommy did the unthinkable. ‘We’re going on an adventure.'”
“He spent over an hour with me. He would say, ‘Okay, now it’s your turn – show me,’ and then he would say things like, ‘Look at you! You’re doing a great job!’ I drove away thinking, ‘How cool would it be if he was my dad…?’”
“You’re used to being a high-flying businesswoman, and now you’re sitting on the floor with a load of people who all seem to know the words to ‘Baa Baa Black Sheep!’ I was bloody mad!”
“No one could figure out what was wrong me. My hair was falling out in chunks, my joints were swollen, and I could no longer form complete sentences. Once I decided my implants could be poisoning me, I made the decision to get them taken out. ‘You’re going to be unhappy after removing them,’ my surgeon told me. I walked out and I knew he was not the guy for the job.”
“We treated her with ibuprofen, heat, and ice. It seemed to ease it some. The next morning when she got up, she was in a tremendous amount of pain. It was followed by a week of unending pain. ‘Why my baby?’ All I wanted to do was hold her and sob.”
“‘You’re definitely pregnant and probably farther along than me!’ I was completely overwhelmed. It wasn’t about me, it wasn’t just my life anymore. It was about this little baby growing. I was a mess, a completely reckless teenager. Sometime after getting put on probation, totaling my car, and losing credit from skipping school, I decided I needed a change. I was focused on giving her the life I never had.”
