“Late at night, when the rest of the family has gone to bed, he sits in the darkness of the living room. ‘Did I lose my patience too much? Did I apologize too much for my complicated boy?’ Deep inside, he is full of doubt and worry. This tender father is fighting a battle many will never understand.”
“I ran into an old friend the other day. We caught up for a while and then I saw him look down at my arm. Looking back and forth from my tattoo to my eyes he finally said, ‘I know about Blake.'”
“Did I lock the door? I wondered, ‘Does one need pants to fight off bad guys?’ Halfway down the stairs, I heard the noise again. Thump—scraaaaatch—THUMP. My blood ran cold.”
“I used to plan my life meticulously in a paper planner. Every week was planned out ahead of time. Every meal, every event…Matt was the fun parent. If you get the chance, go on that trip.”
“They are ‘lazy’ and ‘unmotivated.’ We call them ‘attention seeking’ and ‘over-sharers.’ Their insatiable need and desire to socialize is selfish and irresponsible.”
“My father would call me ‘sissy’ and ‘mama’s boy,’ and it hurt. A lot. Words like these never leave you. But it forced me to rise up.”
“The delivery was terrifying. I remember seeing bags of blood brought into the room. The doctor told me, ‘This will DEFINITELY be your last time carrying a baby.’ But I knew my family was complete.”
“You’re not a bad mom. Some days this less than ideal situation is less than less than ideal. It’s okay if you don’t ‘got this.'”
“After my mother passed, he took my grief and wrapped it in humor and laughter. He took the darkness, and filled it with light. It’s not just houses he fixes, it’s people too.”
“I saw their eyes when others asked them why they had a white mom, their faces as they kept justifying their family for the rest of their lives. ‘Of course the boys will always have a place with me, but this isn’t the end. You have to fight.’”
