“I was getting ready for senior prom when I started throwing up. I slipped out of my Bebe cocktail dress and into sweats. My vision faded. The doctors warned, ‘You’ve gone blind. We have no idea if your vision will come back.’ Soon, I was told I’d be moved to hospice. ‘You’re going to die.'”
“No waiting mass of family and friends in the waiting room. No hospital bedside meeting with your sissy. Just us. And you.”
“Mama’s only human. I can’t promise I won’t ever let bad thoughts creep in or have bad days. But I can promise I’ll always be there.”
“I called my dad crying and told him the truth. I was living a secret life, raising a 4-year-old. Not once did he scold me or judge me. He came to my rescue.”
“I contemplated if I was in love with the pills and white powder he seemed to always have or if I loved him. Any loyalty I had eventually shifted to the drugs.”
“The system isn’t perfect. Gifts aren’t always easy or life-changing or neatly packaged. Little things like spending more time outdoors with my kids during the pandemic can be a gift within a tragedy. I’ve also had hardships that didn’t seem to yield any gifts.”
“My doctor scanned back and forth. ’There’s two.’ I looked at my daughter, who had her arms folded. She said, very matter-of-factly, ‘I told you.’”
“We met when online dating was considered ‘unusual.’ We were two black women from conservative households. We made the life-changing decision to embrace the unknown.”
“I felt so proud but looking back, it was just sad. Unfortunately, it was the norm for girls my age.”
“I line up rocks with my daughter at the park instead of watching her play with peers. She is a CHILD, not a milestone checklist.”
