“Just then, a police officer blew his horn and turned back around to introduce himself. He wanted to know everything AJ has been through. He vowed, ‘I will teach my kids to love everyone.’ I want my son to know you don’t need a big crowd to voice your opinion.”
“The hospital gave us a Build-A-Bear which plays your recorded heartbeat when you squeeze it – Alivia loves to squeeze it and tell us she is hugging Uncle Corey.”
“In some way, shape, or form, I wanted her to be part of my wedding, even if it was before the fact.”
“I found my husband, dirty from work and his face buried in his hands. Several police officers stared at me as he paced and yelled, ‘Come on buddy, come on.’ I went behind the curtain and saw my son looking so tiny on the hospital bed in just his diaper, and a dozen doctors and nurses around him trying to start his heart.”
“She stopped me as I was leaving the gym. The rage I felt in my teen years surged back right under the surface, and for the rest of the week, I stewed on this backhanded compliment. ‘If I lost weight…’ I had just lost 140 pounds and never felt better.”
“I see a flight attendant lock eyes and head our way, I freeze a bit. Since it feels like exactly zero people are ready to fly, I feel like this is a safe space to finally unpack this. It was the last flight of a very long travel day.”
“Usually life changes slowly in real-time and so quickly when one looks back. Lately, though, things are changing so quickly it’s hard to keep up!”
“My younger self was so happy and full of life. Her smile was genuine and her eyes glistened with hope. Her little laugh radiated so much joy. She was beautiful and unafraid. No meal was too big and no mountain was too high to overcome. She deserved so much more than who I became.”
“I say, ‘You’re not a bad person.’ I hold my boyfriend in my arms, feeling his normally strong chest shake uncontrollably with giant, heart wrenching sobs. There’s nothing I can do, except hold him tighter.”
“‘Sir, can you take it to a hospital?’ He pulled his truck past me and tipped his hat. ‘Hail nawl, little lady. That thang is all on you.’ Pretty soon I was standing alone, next to my car, with a half-dead thing in a shoe box that was IN MY HANDS. I was hyperventilating. This was not okay.”
