“She was so upset I was at the hospital versus at college studying for my final exams for my senior year. She kept writing ‘I am okay’ on a notepad. She held on a few moments longer. My last visual memory is her sitting up, waving goodbye because she was doing ‘better.’ I can’t help but think that was her plan all along.”
“This is a true story and I’m here to say what others might not. I was there. I wanted to love and be loved unconditionally.”
“Expect mud, expect stink. Expect him to grow wild and fast, expect to raise your voice. But most of all, expect more love than you could ever imagine. Truth is, nothing can ever really prepare you for this kind of joy and calling.”
“You’ve been in Heaven for 75 days now, and there is this pandemic thing going on. Yep, right after you went to be with Jesus, the entire country shut down. On really ‘important days,’ like today, I find myself searching for you, even more than usual.”
“I don’t know what it’s like to watch behind me when I run, or worry someone may shoot me. I am a middle-aged white woman living in suburbia. I don’t know what it’s like to be you, but I do have a vulnerable child—not for the color of his skin, but for the invisible wiring inside his brain.”
“The mama we had matched with for adoption, though not due for 16 weeks, was in crisis. I cried uncontrollably. All I saw was the most beautiful, amazing baby boy, fighting to live.”
“As a full-time-working-stay-at-home-home-schooling-mom-wife-teacher-writer, we can get so incredibly busy and burdened. Sometimes we need people to listen to us vent or shed some light for us.”
“My father had passed away. ‘What do you mean?’ I was a little confused. ‘When he was in your tummy, grandpa played trains with me in my room. He said he was going to be my baby brother now so we could play trains together all of the time soon.’ I stood there, truly taken aback.”
“There have been decisions Steph and I have made as parents that we know our children may have opinions on. If one day my children question them, I hope my heart is proud to have raised children who can think for themselves.”
“The artwork on the walls is full of shamrocks and gold, rainbows, and leprechauns. Spring was right within their grasp. They said, ‘I’ll see you in a little while.’ A little while has gone on longer than anyone imagined it would, but in that classroom, time stands still.”
