“Being a stepmom is so complicated. She’d only ask her dad for things. But then, hand-foot-and-mouth disease struck our house. My husband was down for the count – which left my stepdaughter completely reliant on me. Let the games begin.”
‘If you do that one more time, you’re going in TIME OUT.’ As soon as that door shut, she ran over to the couch. I thought, ‘Please get down. Don’t you know I’m the fun parent?! I do books, not time out!’
‘She was severely malnourished. ‘We don’t expect her to live very long in the orphanage.’ I was in it for the long haul.’: Woman adopts orphan into her forever family, ‘She became mine and I became hers’
“I knew the dangers of short-term volunteers going into orphanages and getting attached. ‘She won’t let anyone play with her. She’s very stubborn.’ But I was stubborn too. Our doctor took off his glasses and looked me in the eyes. ‘Have you considered pursuing custody?’ I felt the weight of his words. I was young. Really young.”
‘Your future husband is 2 years old. Will he tell me, ‘Mom, she’s the one!’? It’s hard to believe my place as his mother will be eclipsed by your place as his wife.’
“I will recognize my son’s loyalty is first to you. I will refrain from gossiping about you to family members. I will not harbor a grudge if you tell me, ‘I’m sorry, but we just can’t make that work right now.'”
‘Our child dumped his piggy bank onto his bed. He’s having a Mardi Gras moment, hurling coins like beaded necklaces. ‘You can’t jump off the top bunk!,’ he tells our daughter.’
“I crack open a tired eyelid to see it’s not even 6 a.m. The rain beating down on our roof is drowned out by the billowing coming from our kids’ room. I lose my cool. It’s been under an hour of complete chaos. This is when my husband and I shift from relying on each other, to turning on each other.”
‘My dad told us, ‘Make someone’s day better.’ I watched him take his last breath. ‘Just because he couldn’t receive my kidney, doesn’t mean somebody else shouldn’t.’ This is for you, dad.’
“I was nervous and excited the morning of the surgery. This was finally happening! We could feel my dad’s presence in the room. We each donated to a stranger, for him.”
‘My dad began boarding up the windows for fear of people watching him. Spending nights in our attic filming neighbors. Insisting there was footage of a red laser being shined into his room.’
“My father was not a part of my life early on. He was successful businessman and wasn’t ready for a kid. But my mom was struggling, and he could give me what my mom couldn’t. Until he changed too.”
‘Let’s check on those babies just for fun!’ When he got the twins on the monitor, he was dead silent. My stomach dropped. Then my phone started to vibrate.’
“‘Mrs. Filcik, we got the results.’ I was on the floor in the middle of the hallway with tears running down my cheeks. The doctor asked, ‘Mrs. Filcik, are you OK?’ I managed to say, ‘Yes, I will be. Thank you for calling,’ before hanging up.”
‘I was told it was the ‘Cadillac of disabilities.’ His pediatrician even said, ‘Out of all the heartbreaking disabilities, his is also heartwarming.’ Down syndrome isn’t easy. We ARE special.’
“I’m here to call us out on all of our mild-mannered modesty. I’ve realized we ARE special, and we deserve that title. No, not everyone can do it. You are different. Your child is different. I am tired of wearing the martyr mask with an ‘aw shucks’ and a ‘not little ol me.’”
‘My friend is having her first baby the same month I lost mine. But you are NOT my trigger.’
“It’s baby season. I am honored to celebrate with you. I love attending your baby showers and purchasing those little newborn clothes. But we all grieve differently.”
‘Two blonde girls at the playground told my daughter she couldn’t play with them because she doesn’t have blonde hair. The girls’ parents did not intervene.’
“You better believe I did.”