“The school’s solution to my son’s meltdowns were suspensions. The principal balked at me and said, ‘Your son is NOT Autistic. He can make eye contact when he wants to. The only thing your son is, is manipulative.’ This began the years-long mission to diagnose Jonah, and allow him a fair chance at education.”
“His birth mother held him with tears running down her cheeks. In that moment, we knew the sacrifices and heartbreak birth mothers live through. We all hugged and cried together, knowing this was the right decision all around.”
“I initially set a goal of a 30-day break from alcohol. What I would discover in that 30 days would change my life forever.”
“Your existence matters. Your life matters. Your feelings matter.”
“A couple years ago, I watched the season finale of a show I’d never seen before. I endured the gruesome 2 hours of it, just for one conversation by the coffee maker.”
“We are not meant to do it all. Even if we are being asked to by the world.”
“Living with epilepsy isn’t easy but we have an option: we can make it easier on ourselves or harder. Look for the silver linings in the storm.”
“I have learned to not run away from, but to go through the pain, to get to the other side.”
“My paternal grandparents sacrificed their retirement to step in as my caregivers. They never once made me feel like a burden.”
“They’d ask if I burned myself or bleached my skin. The ‘popular’ boys barked at me and called me a pit bull. I’d wear long-sleeved shirts to cover my arms, even in extreme heat while on the verge of passing out. I really, really wanted to fit in. But then I realized this is the only body I get, and I deserve to enjoy all that this life has to offer.”
