“As a single parent, every decision takes on a new meaning. If I give my child an applesauce pouch made in China, will my ex bring it up in court? But back to the easy stuff. Remember naps? You know, those times when you could sleep in on a weekend without your ex coming in and yelling at you? There’s a silver lining in all this.”
“You were sending me strange text messages. I returned home to you acting even stranger. The paranoia set in. I fell to the front porch screaming. Why would you do that?! Why would you leave me?! Our sons!!! My neighbors heard my screams and came rushing to my side.”
“Yes, they’re all ours. Yes, we know where babies come from and what causes pregnancy. Yes, we bring the party wherever we go. We can now jokingly, but truthfully, say we have 5 baby-daddies. It’s surprisingly easy and perfectly natural. All 11 are completely ours.”
“We were told we were taking too much of a risk. We were advised against it because she ‘wouldn’t be able to give back to us in any way or support us once we were old.’ I couldn’t understand why that mattered to them more than giving a child a home. All I could see was this amazingly strong and gorgeous little girl.”
“We were t-boned while making a left turn, and pushed into a light pole. A few weeks before the accident, I posted a picture of the kids sleeping in my backseat. Someone commented and asked if Andrew, my 4-year-old, was still rear facing.”
“There’s nothing I want more than to see his beautiful smile. But part of being in love with someone struggling with mental health is dealing with the ugly. It’s true what they say. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel. But there’s also a damn dimmer switch in that tunnel too.”
“I now had a 4-year-old, a 2-year-old, and I was newly divorced. ‘How were you able to give up the baby?’ I felt like I signed my life away. They needed to make sure I wasn’t going to go crazy.”
“When I get home, all his things are gone. Like he was never there. I don’t make it two steps past the house door. I lay there and I cry. I cannot move. I cannot breathe. I do not want to be here. This is going to kill me.”
“My friends were planning their future prince charming and the number of kids they want when they grow up. I scratched my head and proceeded to tell them about the countries I wanted to visit. I always hoped my ‘maternal instincts’ would finally kick in.”
“For 5 years you’ve never left the kids to cry. You never want them to be alone. I did that wild scream you did. I know where it comes from now.”
