“I told him I would let him know when I was home from school, so he could come pick me up. Little did I know when I made that phone call, the details I heard on the other end would change our lives forever. Nothing would ever, ever be the same.”
‘Who is this?,’ I asked. ‘This is Ty’s assistant principal. I came upon a car accident on my way home. It’s Ty.’ Wait, what?’: High school sweethearts overcome horrific car accident to start a family
‘Whoa! He has some really blonde hair.’ I JUST KNEW. My husband smiled. ‘He’s an albino.’: Mother of 2 sons with albinism says the best thing she can instill in them is ‘confidence’
“The doctor was staring inside me with a flashlight. We realized there was something extra special with him when nurses were coming in to see the ‘baby with the white hair.’ It was so white it would sparkle in the sunlight. My mother in law stared in awe and said, ‘He’s like a special little fairy.’”
‘When my kids were babies I fantasized about sleep. In my most desperate times I’d volunteer to be the road the matchbox cars would drive on to shut my eyeballs. I was so tired.’
“Now I’m up until all hours with bigs doing homework, or driving around in my van/taxi all hours. I’m still up at night. You guys there are a million reasons moms aren’t sleeping.”
‘I pictured a perfect Christmas. I was pregnant with triplets and expected a chaotic holiday. But reality set in more than 4 months prior to my due date.’
“As my husband and I decorated our tree, the tears trickled onto the pine needles. I hung an ornament with the words ‘Baby’s First Christmas’ stretched across. Suddenly it hit me.”
‘An 80 year old man tried to open something that helped me do strong Kegels, while his wife kept nudging him, telling him to put it down. It’s not a toy.’
“My son sensed he was making me uncomfortable. He does a side eye at me, then smiles at the elderly couple, and says, ‘I’ll go get mommy’s egg surprise.’ He returned with my pelvic floor weight that you use to strengthen your baby making muscles. He starts shaking it right in front of them!”
‘Everything went dark, and when I came to, I had no idea if I had been out for 5 minutes or 5 hours. There was no one left to call, and no one was coming.’
“I started drinking at what felt like a normal age – 12 or 13 years old. I was in 7th grade. I had no idea pretty, little girls from affluent East Coast towns could wind up alcoholic.”
‘I was supposed to become a wife, but I woke up alone. Today was supposed to be the best day of my life.’: Woman loses fiancé in motorcycle accident, ‘I love you, forever and always’
“I was supposed to wake up, put on my wedding dress, and walk down the aisle to the man of my dreams. I will not get to see the look on Randy’s face at the end of that aisle because a person made a choice NOT to stop.”
‘Thanksgiving is a time of year when I’m supposed to focus on what I have. No, thank you.’: Grieving mom shares candid look inside holiday season
“If we were talking about some materialistic item like a new pair of Frye boots, than I would be inclined to agree with your opinion. But, we’re not. I’m grieving my child.”
‘You are my mom and you need to come get me.’ She was never going to be alone again.’: Mom surprised by twin pregnancy after adopting child with Down syndrome, now has 3 kids with Down syndrome
“‘We think your baby has Down Syndrome.’ She was blessing, not a burden. I found the lost, sad eyes of a 4-year old waiting in an orphanage. She too had Down syndrome. ‘What if this was Bree’s fate?’ We had no idea it was going to be the start of such an incredible journey.”
‘A 4-pound bundle of goodness was placed in my arms. By a stranger. In the middle of my street. Just before 10 p.m.’
“As the effects of cocaine crippled his central nervous system, we fought. We walked and bounced and rocked, and walked more. And here’s the thing… he will never remember me.”