“I knew within that moment two things could happen. As I sat up from my spot on the couch, she immediately took my breath away. I wanted to remember it all.”

“I knew within that moment two things could happen. As I sat up from my spot on the couch, she immediately took my breath away. I wanted to remember it all.”
“It has changed both our lives, needless to say.”
“I’ll often hear things like, ‘Every kid has tantrums.’ He cried outside in negative degree weather for over 10 minutes because he wasn’t the first person to walk in the house. He started hitting me, throwing things, hysterically crying. I felt like it was my fault.”
“Not once has any individual in Japan told me, ‘This is Japan. We speak Japanese here. Go back to where you came from.’ Not one time. I love my country dearly, hear that. But in so many ways, I KNOW we can do better.”
“Two middle-school kids from totally different cultures are bringing joy to others.”
“I used to see pictures of myself and think I looked FAB. Until I wasn’t. Until I got married, had one baby, and then two. I’m not picture-perfect.”
“I don’t open up easily, and I definitely don’t spill my guts to a stranger in the checkout. The truth is, this is not our first baby.”
“She dialed my mom’s number on speaker. ‘Hi, Diane. This is the nurse at your daughter’s school. Katherine has something to tell you.’ Seriously lady? I got on the phone, played dumb. ‘Oh my gosh, Katherine! What is going on?’ My parents had NO idea I was sexually active. Little did I know, there were bigger problems to worry about. ‘If he was wearing his seatbelt, he would have survived.’ A funeral was planned without me or my daughter in attendance.”
“I remember the silence, then sirens. People running from their houses, lights shining, and the rush of an emergency situation. People asked me, ‘Who are you? Where were you going? Have you been drinking?’ I had no idea what happened or how I got there.”
“We were told, ‘The swelling must be from the position she slept in. It’s nothing. It will go away soon.’ Weeks went by, but nothing changed. When puberty hit, my face was growing faster than I was. I had unexplainable headaches and nosebleeds. I was sleeping all day long. Everywhere I went, I got stares, whispers, and pointing fingers.”