“I sped to the house and scooped up her purple lipped, shivering body, then dropped to the floor and set her on top of my chest. We had to be on our top game 24 hours a day because if we slacked, she’d die. Discussions of death were as common as, ‘Hey, I emptied the dishwasher.’”
“Today was hard. You woke up angry. ‘Want my mommy,’ was said more times than I could count. You were attached to my leg, pushing and shoving and prodding. By the end of the day, I had enough. But as I closed your bedroom door, I felt a whisper over my heart. ‘It’s not going to be like this for long.’ Soon, everything will change. Soon, I’m going to have to start letting you go, little by little.”
“It’s day 2 as a stay-at-home dad and I’ve already lost it. Actually, I lost it at day 1.5. I’m not cut out for this.”
“It took every fiber of my being not to scream when it started, not to break down. They messed up and didn’t get everything. Other than my husband, no one knew.”
“These men, strangers just a few minutes prior, went above and beyond. I’ll never forget the look on his face.”
“She asked, ‘Where’s my mommy?’ I was standing right beside her. She had a confused look, her pulse was RACING. I took Ayzlee to the ER thinking she was just dehydrated and needed fluids. ‘This will be a quick trip.’ We’d all had our flu shots. Never in a million years did I think my beautiful, healthy 3-year-old would be fighting for her life.”
“He is not a ‘unicorn.’ Men like these exist. The kind who wash the dishes after you cook. Who do the yard work because they know you hate it. Who work 60+ hour work weeks and still come home and play with their kids. Who gives the kids baths and puts them down for bed.”
“The minute I left, I immediately felt eyes on the back of my head. Trust me, they weren’t admiring my beauty. I felt exposed.”
“I have 5 kids across three grade levels, K-2, and a 1-year-old. And yes, I chose to have 6 children. But I didn’t choose a pandemic. Nobody did. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what the better crappy option is. Because they’re all crappy options.”
“Your growth would probably be slower than other babies. You might have trouble walking or talking or eating or going to school. We wouldn’t know until we knew. One thing we knew: you are scrappy as hell.”
