“The next morning, I awoke in our empty bed and reality came crashing down around me. I completely shattered. It had been almost a year since I walked out on our back deck and breathed in the gorgeous fragrance of the fruit trees in full bloom, felt the warm sun on my skin, and took a big, deep breath as my heart swelled with gratitude. Now, my life felt unsurvivable.”
“We are almost completely out of milk for her. I am continuing my fight daily in hopes I’m able to watch all of my children grow up, and grow old myself with my husband.”
“I didn’t need him in my life. ‘We can make it on our own,’ she would say. And I did, for so many years. Then, in early July, he called.”
“We were vacationing in Florida. My husband and I are both active-duty Army. I was 35 weeks pregnant when we flew for one last vacation as a family of 3. I had fallen forward on my belly. I was placed on a gurney, in full uniform, and wheeled through the ER. Little did we know, our little man was about to make a big entrance!”
“And then, with a deep breath, he handed it to me to be graded. I quickly worked my way through the test and calculated his score. Immediately his eyes filled with tears.”
“The epidural I was given hours ago never worked, I was feeling every intense pain throughout my labor. I clung to his words.”
“Strength was required to face the inevitable questions of ‘is this your first pregnancy?’ Or, ‘how many children do you have?’”
“I cried a little bit thinking about my dad and how much I miss him and wish he were here. I fell asleep for a bit, but a weird dream jolted me awake. There were some creaks. Then, there was silence.”
“Reaching from a gaping hole in my beautiful wife’s stomach was the head of a bloody, powder white, child-like creature. I recall Mel lying naked in front of the doctors; her stomach like a deflated balloon. But nothing shocked me as much as the next day. She was the most badass person I knew.”
“Some people say they loved each other MORE after having children. I think that’s surely got to be a crock.”
