“I awoke in pain. ‘God, if this is serious, please let me know!’ Not a second later, my color drained. Pouring sweat, every ounce of energy left my body. ‘We have to get you to the hospital! We don’t have time to wait!’ The look on my husband’s face confirmed it: I was dying.”
“We were in the middle of making pancakes when the doorbell rang. And just like that, we were parents. There was no turning back now.”
“I asked if I could see her face for a moment before they took her. We heard her crying and they brought over this new, perfect baby. I kissed her cheek, welcomed her to the world and told her to go meet her daddies.”
“My hair put me in the spotlight. People thought I was strange or unhappy, but on the inside was a party full of light and laughter. I had to choose ME.”
“We had a 50/50 chance of working out. My emotions had me laughing at the irony of finally finding a boyfriend after being single for five years – yet, here we were, in the middle of a pandemic on lockdown.”
“After SO much pain and anguish, I felt relief. I wasn’t changed, but for the first time, I accepted myself. For the first time, I said out loud, ‘I am gay.'”
“’Is it okay for Black girls to be Elsa for Halloween?’ I said, ‘ANYONE can be Elsa! Even a boy!’ She cried, ‘They told me if I want to be Elsa, I should wash my dirty skin.’ I was FUMING.”
“Recently, I was asked, ‘Would you remove it if you could?’ I thought about it: ‘No.’ 10-year-old me would have never believed I’d be saying this!”
“As I held our son, I wept for his first mommy and daddy. Their sacrifice and dedication to love were beyond unfathomable. I kissed him on his little forehead, and quietly promised to first mommy and daddy I would continue the torch lit by their sacrifice. I would adore our son. I would honor his story. And I would teach him about sacrificial love.”
“I tucked her rosary into her hands as I played her favorite song, leaned over, and kissed her forehead. And with that, she was gone. With the same quiet softness with which she cradled me in her arms as a babe and whispered me a lullaby, she slipped out of this world and onto the next, where my dad was waiting to greet her.”
