“Make no mistake. My wonderful students have not been social distancing. They haven’t been wearing masks. I’ve seen their social media posts all summer, living life as though we aren’t in the heat of a global pandemic. I’ve worked hard to protect myself and others for 6 months. Soon, I’ll be in a classroom with no windows and more teenagers than is safe.”
“Just like that, everything changed. I knew I didn’t want to terminate my pregnancy. My only choice was to pray I stayed pregnant. I looked at the clock at midnight. It was officially July 3rd, my birthday. She was so small. Less than a pound. I held Rose in my arms. Tears ran down my face. I knew at any moment God was going to take her heaven.”
“I wish we could take you through every single way we are preparing to protect your child, but we simply don’t have enough time. Put trust in the gap and give your child’s teacher some grace.”
“The doctor abruptly gave Max a quick examination. WHAT?? Our world flipped off its axle. I cried incessantly. The overwhelming feeling of grief felt too much to handle. I said to my husband, ‘If anyone can cure this kid, it’s us! We were chosen to be his parents for a reason.'”
“I spent today removing my personal belongings from my classroom. Nothing but empty desks remained. I cried all the way home. Right now, we’re scared to death.”
“He had tubes all over his body and when they put him on my chest, I barely felt the weight of him. I was faced with a baby labeled ‘Failure to Thrive.’ He looked strange to me. He was unlike any other baby I had ever seen.”
“My day was too perfect, too good. I remember turning to my boyfriend and literally saying, ‘This day feels too good to be true, nothing has gone wrong.’ Boy, was I in for a wild ride. Overnight, I became a second mother to my siblings.”
“I stared at the doctor with tears rolling down my face. ‘Go through with what? My child I have dreamed about since I was a little girl?’ She was asking me if I wanted to end my pregnancy because my son had a birth defect that was not life-threatening.”
“I didn’t want to face it. It was scary and unknown. My husband had an even more difficult time. He stood fast, insisting Beckham just needed time. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore.”
“I got a call I could have never expected. ‘The doctor thinks I may have cancer.’ Our dreams and future slipped out of our grasp. I looked at that little stick and thought, ‘Maybe things are looking up after all.’ But I just had this feeling deep down in my gut something wasn’t right.’”
