“Take the girls trip. Vacationing with other moms is the best. We fall asleep at 8:30 p.m. and wake up at 7 a.m. because our kids messed us up that way. We don’t judge if someone had to FaceTime their kids loudly and we laugh hilariously when those kids get in a fight we get to hang. Up. The. Phone. And let our husbands deal with it.”
“I second guessed returning to work after my maternity leave ended. Would it be worth it? But I had to go back. I finally expressed my anxiety to my manager. Her first response? ‘Just bring her with you when you come back! We can have an office baby!’ It was unbelievable. She can’t be serious! But she and everyone else in the office were so excited and supportive and ready for Baby P to join the team!”
“As I was driving one day, I looked at my boys in the rearview mirror and nonchalantly told them they should carry a tampon in case one of their friends had an emergency. ‘Bleed-throughs happen,’ I explained. ‘Kindness and understanding from ANY friend goes a long way. Be that person.'”
“’I don’t know what’s wrong, but please fix him!’ She was treating my son like a mole that could simply be removed and thrown in the trash. I knew I had to protect him. Handing him over to the surgeons knowing I may never see my baby boy again was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. We are better people because of Eli.”
“My father signed over custody to me. The judge granted it one day before he died. We were settling into our new lives when I heard a knock at my door. A USPS worker handed me a certified envelope. I read the horrific accusations. Homicide. Someone is saying I murdered my father. Murdered. That I killed him. Me. His daughter. I hit my knees, sobbing, wanting to die. ‘This is it. I’m going to be arrested.’ I was petrified. What if someone actually believes this?”
“You don’t know God! You don’t know what He can do!’ I know doctors have knowledge, but maybe, just maybe, God has other plans. And they were wrong! I am proud of Addie and her fighting attitude.”
“For 20 years, I drank. I missed birthdays, sports, parent-teacher conferences. My kids never knew if they were getting the calm, sober mom or the angry-drunk mom. Guilt ate me alive and my sobriety turned me into a new person: the yes mom. Volunteer as a coach for my daughter’s softball team? Sure thing! Soccer team needs a manager? Oh, me, me. I’ll do it! I was in over my head. I thought this PTO gig would make it up to my kids, but I was DONE.”
“Not the glamorous kind that wear pink on Wednesdays, but the kind of girl who felt so insecure with herself she took it out on the girls around her.”
“I put my stepdaughter’s plate on the table. She looked at me. ‘Is being a stepmom really hard?’ All I could think was, ‘we don’t have enough time in the day.’ I braced myself for more. She sat for a minute, eating her eggs and fruit. I thought I was in the clear. Wrong. Here came the hardest question. ‘Why did my mom and dad break up?’ she asked. ‘Uhhhh… Uhhhh… Uhhhh…’ I couldn’t give her all the dirty details.”
“‘Dad, Sean isn’t answering. I’m scared.’ I see breaking news. There was a shooting at an apartment complex. I hear the reporter, ‘People are saying an officer was involved in the shooting.’ My heart sank. I knew right then, it was Sean. Then the black SUVs stopped in front of our house.”
