“It’s exhausting trying to pump gas or sit in my kids’ karate class and be stared at constantly. When people see my face, they assume my intelligence.”
‘I can’t understand you!’ I wrote it down on my hand. He started speaking slowly, as if I was less intelligent.’: Woman with facial anomaly hopes to ‘normalize all bodies’
‘This clueless, white momma is humbly coming to you to ask for your help…’ I’d never met her. She was a stranger. ‘I can help.’: Woman helps adoptive mom learn to style African-American hair
“‘I need help. I don’t know how to style her hair.’ Stephanie and her daughter have different hair and skin. One of the questions people asked me was, ‘Why would a white woman adopt a black child?’ The only answer I had was LOVE! I immediately responded, ‘Let’s set a date and time.’ Every little girl deserves to look and feel great.”
‘I asked the doctor, ‘Are you sure they’re identical twins? They look nothing alike. I think you guys misdiagnosed them!’: Twin mom urges us to celebrate differences, ‘Every child has their own unique, extraordinary soul’
“One baby was much paler than the other and born 2 pounds lighter. ‘How could one be so different than the other?’ The science didn’t make sense. I had no idea of the world I would be thrown into. I started to feel like maybe something was wrong with my babies. They had two totally different souls.”
‘Mom, I’m an atheist.’ Our family is deeply religious. He appeared to be bracing himself for a battle.’: Christian mom says ‘I will love and accept my son NO MATTER WHAT’
“All I had to say was, ‘I could not be more proud of the man you are becoming.'”
‘Hey, Daddy. Come here. You’ve got to see this!’ I called out. She burst into tears, embarrassed.’: Mom learns valuable lesson on ‘parenting’ from husband
“We often describe our 10-year-old as ‘oblivious.’ We don’t mean it in a cruel way, she’s just often so blissfully unaware of what’s going on. Today, her shirt was on backwards. Again. Before Dad got to her room, she burst into tears, sad because her mother was laughing at her. He calls out, ‘Wait! I’m coming! Hold on one second.'”
‘That girl’s going to wish she didn’t sit by that nasty homeless chick.’ Patrons gave me side-eye.’: Woman encourages compassion after random act of kindness for homeless woman, ‘We’ve gotten so afraid to connect’
“After I placed my muffin on the table, I noticed a pile of filthy, worn bags filled with her belongings. A large piece of folded cardboard peeked out from the top of the bag. Immediately after I sat down, she asked me a question. ‘Have you seen any phone books anywhere?’”
‘It’s not where the work happens. It’s just our rest stop and place to refuel.’: Woman encourages others to realize church is not where Christians really need to be
“It’s in striving to understand and love those who see the world differently, and believe different things than we do. It’s in inviting those who are standing alone into our conversation, even if it makes you feel sweaty and awkward. It’s in standing up for what is good and noble and true.”
‘I rushed to the hospital. ‘I’ve never seen anything like this,’ the surgeon said. Our pregnancy checkup had gone well. There was never a reason to believe something was wrong. Our excitement turned to disbelief.’
“Her skin was pulled so tightly that her eyelids had flipped inside out. We were informed her limbs could suddenly detach on their own. Every day, we faced a new challenge.”
‘An airline employee quietly asked about ‘my rash,’ and if I had a letter from a doctor stating it was ‘OK for me to fly.’ I explained to him it was a genetic skin condition.’: Woman with Ichthyosis removed from plane, ‘This was unacceptable and uncalled for’
“He walked up to talk to the crew. He also Googled it during that time. He came back and said he apologized, but we ‘wouldn’t be able to fly,’ and we ‘had to get off the plane.’”
‘It’s a bambino!’ I was like, ‘what??’ All I saw was all the HAIR she had! Then 5 seconds later, she was whisked way to the NICU.’: Parents shocked by daughter’s Cornelia De Lange Syndrome diagnosis
“When I first looked at her, I knew something was different. I asked my husband, ‘What did you think when you went to see her?’ He replied, ‘She’s just so perfect and beautiful.’ I couldn’t shake what was in the back of my mind.”
