“I whined about my stresses over the phone. I cried about how hard life is with a special needs child. I must have sounded so self-absorbed. And then you said, ‘I can’t relate at all, but you’re doing amazing. Don’t feel bad for venting, ever.’ Instantly, my anxiety washed away.”
“I was the only deaf student. The truth is, it killed me inside. When you are young and your peers see your hearing aids, they can be cruel as heck.”
“Someone honked their horn. Was I just involved in a hit-and-run and didn’t even know? I had hallucinations of objects flashing before me.”
“I felt I didn’t have the right to enjoy anything while my mom and dad were suffering so greatly. I felt guilty I didn’t take care of her from the minute I woke up until the minute I went to sleep. I stopped living my life because they couldn’t live theirs.”
“Think back on your favorite memories. The ones that shaped you into who you are today. Most likely they do not involve television.”
“I put back the two bottles of Diet Coke I had picked out and hurried out of line over to my mom. ‘I don’t understand.’ She looked hurt and confused.”
“Friends would talk about how cute he was going to be. It was painful to hear family talk about his height or what sports he’d play. I knew there was a possibility we weren’t going to experience it.”
“I’ve felt different my whole life. By high school, I was beginning to figure out I was queer. I’d assumed that was the thing ‘different’ about me. That’s not what happened. I was different at my core.”
“My son looked at me with heavy, sad eyes. ‘Mommy, can you PLEASE call the doctor and ask if I can go play yet?!’ My heart sank. Co-workers bombarded me with, ‘Oh, great. Just what I need. Now I’m supposed to get tested TOO?’ I felt I let everyone down for simply being exposed. I cried the whole way home.”
“He told me, ‘I started seeing the counselor when dad was being really mean to me about football.’ The more time Ethan spent with his father, the more my role became to be there to pick up the pieces. He confessed, ‘I thought about killing myself.’”
