“I encouraged her to take a home pregnancy test. She did, and texted me later that it was negative. Imagine her surprise a couple of weeks later when she was seven weeks pregnant! Then the bleeding started, and never really stopped. There was no headstone, no cards, no calls, no casseroles.”
“What if the beautiful woman we call Mom is secretly our greatest enemy? It taught me a valuable lesson, which I wish I learned way sooner. Yes, the situation was rough.”
“With a guest list of only 75 people, little did I know that this picture would be one of the only pictures where I would look like the bride I dreamed to be.”
“You hugged my legs so tightly. ‘I just wanted to say goodnight, because I’m tired.’ I forgot who you were. A little boy. But you’ve taught me a lesson today.”
“Her biological mom was a ready to fight to get her baby back home. ‘Your daughter is safe and there is hope for you.’ Penelope’s mom wrote a note back to me. ‘This isn’t goodbye, it’s see you later. You will see Penelope again. We’re family now.’ I read it and bawled my eyes out.”
“My boy is only 4 years old and his battles are just beginning. The bullying hasn’t come to him. Yet. I want to believe his battles will be small, just like he is now. But today I let the ugly in the world get the better of me.”
“My son, Bates, was only 7 years old. He started coughing up blood uncontrollably – over and over. It wouldn’t stop. I remember the horrific scene of him leaning over the sink. Earlier that day, I’d been frustrated with him for not remembering to put something away. In this moment, I realized how trivial it seemed.”
“The hardest thing was breaking our son’s heart. After shedding tears, he proudly wore his ‘Big Brother’ shirt the next day. He told me, ‘Even if sissy looks funny, I’m going to love her just the same. And if anyone makes fun of her, I’ll tell them she is who she is and we love her.’”
“Finn threw up in my arms before the paramedics arrived, but I never put him down. A social worker and chaplain ushered us into a small waiting room and told us, ‘This occuring was a 1 in 100 million chance.’ Something in me knew this was the end. I could feel my heart ripping from my chest. We were not giving up on our boy.”
“I was taught that only women and men were meant to be in holy matrimony, and same sex marriage is a sin. I was raised to be homophobic, but I will raise my kids to love everyone. If I’m going to inspire change, I have to start with myself.”
