“I told my son, ‘Your present is in the van, you can go get it.’ He stopped dead in his tracks and exhaled, ‘Mom?’ He took off sprinting into her arms, sobbing.”
‘I just want you to know we are the family who adopted your son.’ She hadn’t gone a single day without thinking about him. ‘Can you be here in 2 weeks?!’: Adopted boy surprised with biological mom, now part of open adoption
‘You don’t fit in. Old friends move on without you. They go to theme parks. You go to hospital rooms.’: Special needs mom pens ode to ‘the parents who feel like they don’t belong’
“When the people you used to be close with stop checking in. When it all starts to feel too heavy for you to carry. When you feel like you don’t belong. Take a step back and look at your life. You’re exactly where you need to be. No one could do it better or love them harder than you.”
‘The last time you saw me, you left me on the side of a bridge. Did you cry?’: Adoptee pens powerful letter to birth mom, ‘Thank you for giving me a better life’
“I often wonder what that day in February was like, the last day you saw me. Did you leave in the dead of night so you wouldn’t be caught? Did you wait until a stranger found me, or did you rush to leave, eager to forget? Because of you, I begged my parents to quit Chinese dance. Because of you, I laughed at Chinese jokes to show I wasn’t one of THEM. I was an outcast in the only world I knew and exiled from the world where I belonged.”
‘I got a call from my babysitter saying, ‘Your son fell and hit his head.’ I believed it.’: Mom shares powerful PSA after losing son to abusive babysitter, ‘Know who is watching your kids’
“Less than 30 minutes later, I got a second call about my other son, Ivan. When he got to the hospital, he had a big handprint on the side of his face and a 118-degree fever. He was fighting so hard, but we both knew it was time to let go. I was a single mom of 4 and I needed a babysitter. I trusted him with my kids.”
‘I’m a people pleaser. I help carry all your burdens. I overthink and over-analyze. I put my needs last.’: Woman urges ‘your desire to love isn’t bad, it’s your God-given talent’
“I’m not a small talker. I want to KNOW you. I want to know your hurts so I can help dress your wounds. I can tell if you’re having a bad day faster than a toddler throwing a tantrum over spilled milk. But can I be honest about it? It’s a lot of work, all this people pleasing.”
‘What if I can’t do this?’ I would wake up in the night, wracked with sobs. I leaped into the unknown.’: Mom says daughter with Down syndrome is ‘my greatest, most compassionate teacher’
“Her voice was full of pity. ‘One in nine.’ The electricity of paralyzing grief that overcame my body on that day is something I still have difficulty putting into words. But as I cradled her tiny body close for the first time, I felt a wave of peace.”
‘Your heart is abnormal.’ I sent emails for a month with no reply. I already fainted at work and threw up blood.’: Woman with congenital heart defect shares struggles, ‘Keep fighting, warriors’
“I was constantly having hot flashes. I ended up throwing up blood and fainted at work. ’Go to Urgent Care.’ They weren’t really sure what was causing my problems. I was constantly waiting in the doctor’s office to get bad news.”
‘I don’t look like your stereotypical pregnant woman. I won’t have that little bump. This isn’t the body I envisioned myself carrying in, but it so worthy.’: Expecting mom ‘thankful’ for unplanned pregnancy, ‘My weight stopped me from happiness’
“I used to think I would allow myself to get pregnant once I had lost all this weight. I blackmailed myself against the one thing I truly wanted in life. All my life, I’ve written off happiness because I wasn’t the ‘correct’ size.”
‘I’m scared he’s going to die.’ The receptionist cheerily asked me to choose some photos of our son. I couldn’t.’: Mom gives birth to baby born sleeping, ‘He’s a part of our family’
“I was preparing myself to hear the words, ‘I’m sorry but there’s no heartbeat.’ Rather, I was met with, ‘There’s your baby.’ There was so much joy in the room. Everything changed in a matter of minutes.”
‘I started to compare her to the other two and blame myself. Somehow, I was responsible.’: Mom talks importance of not comparing your children to others
“I did my best to breastfeed, and I gave them formula. I did my best to socialize them and teach them, and I let them watch TV and play on their iPads. By my third, I stopped caring.”