“I silently made the decision to remove my ring. I worried about being seen as a single mother, a single woman. ‘Would I feel judged? Would they think differently of me?’ I wasn’t ‘over it.’ But I was going out with girlfriends for girl’s night. It wasn’t that I was looking to meet someone. But as I awoke that next morning, I couldn’t help but feel paralyzed by sadness.”
“We hadn’t spoken in 10 plus years. I noticed Jimmy liking things on my Facebook, so I messaged him. A week later we had our first date, and that was it! I knew he was the one. Everyone was in tears. It was a surprise for Olivia.”
“‘I could never do what you do.’ That’s a phrase I’ve heard countless times, but I honestly wouldn’t change a thing.”
“Tell me about your mom, I’d love to hear all about her. I will sit right here with you. I understand you are hiding behind that smile. You miss them so much. It’s hard to breathe. Your heart feels like it could actually burst at the seams.”
“I’m a closet Web MD researcher. I typed in all the things I was born with and a term popped up. Low and behold, there were kids all around the world that looked like me! I’ve always made up wild exaggerations as to why I was born this way. Now, I need no answer. For the first time in my life, I can say, ‘Me too.'”
“I will never forget the shame and fear in her eyes as she looked up at me and asked, ‘Am I?’ Those kind brown eyes searched my face for the truth. Kind of chubby… Those words reached down into my body, grabbed my heart with a fierce grip and punched me in the stomach.”
“The sonographer went very quiet and kept putting her body in strange positions. She said the baby was laying awkwardly. We had to sign papers prior to his surgery warning us of the risks… death being one of them. We were so helpless. He was so tiny. It didn’t seem fair. I was so excited to see my little boy and give him a big kiss.”
“I’d been dating this guy. He was respectful to me. The kind of guy any mom would be thrilled to see their daughter dating. Then he broke up with me. I had to make the pain go away. I swallowed the entire bottle. I didn’t count, I just took. I called my mom to tell her what I’d just done. By the time she arrived, I was slowly drifting in and out.”
“We agreed my best friend would be their godmother. But after they were both diagnosed with autism, I felt the overwhelming urge to free her from that responsibility. Taking on two children is a lot. Taking on two children with special needs even more. She didn’t agree to autism—none of us did. So, I messaged her.”
“The language ‘women have periods’ is not entirely inclusive.”
