“Go back to work 6 weeks after having the baby. The baby you spent 9-10 months growing inside of your body. Make sure to break the glass ceiling and excel at your job – you can do anything a man can do! It is your job to show society this! Show the world that women can do it all. Rise to the top of your career.”
“My husband and I began to brainstorm. Peyton and Parker were always our favorites. That was the easy part — Peyton and Parker were alive. Several floors below, in the hospital morgue, was our peaceful angel, only known as ‘Baby A.’ How was I supposed to name a child I only looked at for a few hours?”
“She told me she lost her husband and that tomorrow would have been their 60th anniversary.”
“It didn’t work out. He wasn’t mine to keep, but I finally realized what our relationship was meant for. I thank my daughter’s father for giving me the greatest gift I could ever know.”
‘I was in survivor mode. I wouldn’t let myself feel. I couldn’t be weak; I had to keep going. People asked, ‘When will they grow out of it?’ I remember getting to a point where I thought, ‘This is going to kill me. I need to accept it.'”
“We went back to his apartment. I was hesitant, because, what would happen next?! It was getting into the early morning hours, so I thought to myself, now or never. What was happening to me?!”
“She stepped out of the room to give my OB a call. My mind went crazy. She must’ve been calling for backup. I was crying in complete confusion. Two? TWINS? No one gets pregnant and thinks ‘Yay! I’m going to have babies!’ It’s always, ‘Yay! I’m going to have A baby!’ But I had this strange feeling in my chest.”
“I went back to work after maternity leave. I felt pretty good about the babysitter I found. She had a baby of her own whom she stayed at home with. I met her boyfriend (father of her baby). For two weeks, I went over on every lunch to check on him. Then I got the phone call.”
“You’re thinking: ‘How are we supposed to know if you don’t tell us?’ It doesn’t work like that, at least not for me. I haven’t been there recently. Have you noticed? I don’t have it in me.”
“I spotted a large white, fluffy dog. There was no owner attached to his leash, and the dog was running frantically down the middle of a busy intersection. We ran in dress shoes, heels, and sneakers until we had blisters. The next 3 miles were a blur. We were shouting, but most of all, determined.”
