“I signed my 1-year-old daughter up for a local early children center. My coworker shook her head in disbelief. ‘Your husband must make a lot of money, because I send my kids to an in-home daycare. It’s like, two-thirds of the price!’ My husband and I are teachers, so clearly we’re not in it for the fat paychecks. As the $700 monthly bills continued to roll in, I was tempted.”
“I said, ‘I love you,’ and she didn’t say it back. You lose so much of the person along the way that by the end, you are practically begging for them to die. But at the same time, you dread the thought of it. I say, ‘See ya later,’ and she says, ‘Alligator.’ You can’t tell me she’s not still in there.”
“‘How long has it been since you talked to your mom?’ He replied, ‘Oh, it’s been a long time.’ ‘Do me a favor. Call your mom to let her know you’re alive – will you do that for me?’ His face lit up. ‘Sure, I’ll call her right now if I can borrow your phone.’ I’ll admit, there was a nano second of hesitation that he might take off with it. She answered right away. My own son was that young man not long ago, on the street, begging for money, unsure if he was dead.”
“It was 6 months post my 4th open heart surgery. I was celebrating turning 26, a milestone my mother and doctors never thought I’d reach. That night, I met Ryan. ‘You don’t want to be interested in me. I have a lot of baggage.’ He replied, ‘What do you mean?’ ‘I’m probably going to die soon.’ Within 8 months, we were engaged. Not everyone approved of us looking for a surrogate, you know, because ‘I might die soon.’”
“When a dancer dances during labor, you all love the idea that she is doing what she loves, but when a makeup artist does her makeup during labor, you mom-shame her?”
“It was time for Nick’s body to be taken away. Ryan and I hadn’t yet told the kids. In a choked up voice, he broke the news. I held Fayth and Noah. We sat there and cried in silence. His dad put his hand on his shoulder. ‘I’m here, bud.’”
“My results were in. I was shocked at what I found. There was my biological father’s name. It was a parent/child match. I couldn’t believe it was true. ‘How did you find me?,’ he asked. My first question was, ‘Did you know I existed?’ He did not. I never believed this day would come.”
“I made the decision not to see and hold Jensen. It’s one of my biggest regrets I’ll ever have in my life. Honestly, I didn’t know how I could do it. I didn’t realize the permanence of him being really gone. Instead, I asked for a lock of his hair, and for them to take pictures of him. I wish I could go back to that moment, spend time kissing him. I wish I could’ve whispered in his ear, ‘I love you.’”
“The light flashed green. I looked both ways and saw a black Jeep heading towards me. I assumed it would slow down. Why wouldn’t it? It did not. Instead, it slammed right into the back-right door. My baby didn’t scream. She didn’t even have time. All I heard was a big, deep gasp. Then, silence. Red and blue lights.”
“Something happened today that gave me chills. To be honest, I’m still trying to take it in. As we were walking back to the car, I spotted this area. ‘This would be the perfect spot to take a photo.’ It looked like the secret garden my grandmother loved. This photo was taken in 100% shade, no sun.”
