“‘I heard the words, ‘She’s gone.’ I couldn’t breathe. ‘No, no this isn’t happening. I can’t be picking out her outfit. I can’t do this.’ I felt sick. They put too much makeup on her. ‘Wake up, please wake up.”
‘I was 12 when I met the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. ‘What if she didn’t know how much I loved her? I didn’t tell her. I never told her. What if she didn’t know?,’ I asked.’
‘Oh, I would NEVER do that to you,’ they’ll laugh and promise. ‘I love you.’ Yes. They will. It’s not matter of if, but when. I want friends who are good. Period.’
“I don’t want friends who are good to me, and then treat the waitress like garbage. I don’t want friends who are good to me, and then run down their spouse. I don’t want friends who are good to me, and then center their conversation around petty gossip, who they’re mad at this week.”
‘On my wedding night, she grabbed me by the shoulders. ‘This will be the last time we see each other,’ she said, tears in her eyes. She was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. There were so many red flags.’
“I looked at her, puzzled. ‘Don’t be so dramatic. I’ll see you tomorrow at the house.’ Little did I know, these words were going to be our last. She decided to go out with a bang, turning what was supposed to be a joyous day into a painful one. She couldn’t bare to see me happy.”
‘I let our friendship go on for far too long. It was toxic. I would hear things she’d say about me that were simply not true. It was hurtful. Once I realized she was a liar, I knew it was time to let go.’
“Life is too short. Do yourself a favor and weed your circle. Eliminating toxic friendships is one of the hardest things about growing up, but let’s face it. Friends can break your heart too. It’s okay to find the strength to let go.”
‘I need to talk to you. Please.’ My best friend sat me down. I knew she did something really wrong. ‘Promise you won’t hate me.’ I didn’t see it coming. I had no idea.’
“My heart dropped. All I could muster was, ‘What?’ She tried to hold my hands, but I pulled away. ‘We can’t choose who we love!’ It was surreal to take in. I pictured her in my future. Now I can only tear up thinking about it.”
‘We went in thinking it’d be a fling. Neither of us had been part of a same-sex couple. Months in, we decided to come out to our families. It was all or nothing. It went as badly as it could have.’
“Up until that point, they had presumed we were just good friends. My parents believed they had done something wrong in raising me and asked me to keep the relationship a secret. We didn’t know anyone like us, and we didn’t have any role models. We had to put our faith in each other and in science.”
‘He told me he had been married before, and divorced. He now shared 2 children with his ex-wife. In that moment, time stood still.’
“The first time I met their mother, I was terrified. My mind raced with a million possible scenarios of who she was, of how this meeting would go, NONE of which I could see ending well. Hell no.”
‘It finally happened. I was introduced as her ‘new Grandma.’ My heart was so full. This is what I’d been missing for so long.’
“I thought, ‘Well, what the heck.’ A lovely young lady messaged me. Turns out, her girls needed a grandma in their lives just as much as I needed grandbabies to love. She has struggles she is unable to disclose to her own mom, so I have become her confidant. All I ever wanted to be is a good mom, and an even better Grandma.”
‘I woke up with the worst pain. ‘They’re just headaches,’ I said. Something in my mom’s heart kept pushing. ‘There’s something in your brain,’ the doctor said. I was 11, and so confused.’
“I was rushed to the PICU. I tried to stay calm, but I was terrified. I couldn’t help but think, ‘How could I have done anything wrong to deserve this?’ I hid everything behind a smile, but I knew my life would never be ‘normal’ again.”
‘My friend is having her first baby the same month I lost mine. But you are NOT my trigger.’
“It’s baby season. I am honored to celebrate with you. I love attending your baby showers and purchasing those little newborn clothes. But we all grieve differently.”
