“My girlfriend of 9 months was pregnant. ‘I need to tell you something.’ She slid a card across the table. As soon as I opened it, I saw pink and started tearing up. I was disappointed in myself and embarrassed I was careless. I had always dreamed this moment would be joyous. It was not.”
“‘Of course, honey.’ I smiled to him, stuffing down my feelings of wanting to explode. He smiled and thanked the man, who shook his hand and smiled back. Then, as we asked our waiter to take our bill, he said it was taken care of. Paid for. In full.”
“What would happen to Easton? Who would raise him? Where would he go? How do you figure this out in just a few days’ time? Something told me to step up. ‘You’re supposed to be his mom. Tell your dad. Tell him now.’ I tried for an entire day to quiet this voice, but it kept pushing. It felt like the most insane thing to tell my dying father.”
“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!”
