“I must have read that text a million times. I called my husband and told him about the twins and how my heart and gut was telling me to say yes to this placement. He simply said, ‘I trust you and if you’re okay with it, I am okay with it.’ It was time to stop waiting and make a difference.”
“When I look at my children, I feel invincible. I grew them, I birthed them, and I have the scars to prove it. Talk to yourself as if you’re the most important person in the world, because to little humans, you are.”
“I put on my backpack, left school, and walked across the street. I was surprised to be greeted by two smiling men who didn’t offer me a Coke, but real alcohol. I was flattered to be included in such grown-up activity. All three of us got into the car. I was naïve to their motives.”
“I’m 7 when a stranger approaches, points. ‘Who does she belong to?’ ‘Where are your real parents?’ I’m 12 and a group of boys spit on me, call me racist slurs. My crush’s mom tells me he isn’t allowed to be with people ‘like me.’ I can’t sleep. ‘You’re not really black.’ ‘You can’t really be Mennonite.’ I’m just now learning to be gentle with myself, and my past.”
“‘Don’t settle. 17-year-old’s aren’t supposed to get married! You’ll ruin your life!!’ We’d fantasized about an early June wedding at sunset the following year. Life roared to a halt. ‘Pregnant,’ it read. Wife I was ready for, but mother?! ‘I’m not supposed to be a mama yet!’ Reality hit. ‘We’ve found your son to be several weeks premature. We’ve also discovered a mass.’ Oh our hearts. I can feel the shatter to this day. At 29, we welcomed our 10th precious baby at home.”
“I was on the top of a waterfall with my 11-year-old son, waiting for him to jump, when he looked like he was about to cry. He made a dozen half starts, but then backed away. My father would’ve told me to toughen up.”
“‘That is such irresponsible parenting.’ He knew his own story. He knew the battles I’d faced when he was just a tiny little thing, and he wanted to help other families who were not as lucky as us. He had this big grin on his face when he touched the back of his head and felt his neck.”
“My baby is sitting in the flowers. ALL OF A SUDDEN, A MASSIVE WOLF SPIDER MAKES HIS DEBUT ON HER MOTHER LOVIN’ DRESS! It sees me, I see him, and we lock eyes.”
“Panic started to set in. Time went by, and no one showed up. Finally someone answered their phone. My knees buckled. I dropped to the ground. They weren’t coming. They wouldn’t tell me where she was. My daughter cried in the background. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t know if I would ever see her again. He had filed for divorce without my knowledge and was granted full custody. Everything was chaos.”
“You are living a cruel joke. Our insurance covered nothing! The financial aspects were flat out ridiculous and unfair. You literally throw thousands of dollars down the toilet with every unsuccessful attempt.”
