“We stayed at his parents’ house several times, but never his. I began to suspect Rob had a wife or a girlfriend, and that’s why we never went to his place. He always had an excuse, and I always believed him. Then one night, he told me he had something to tell me.”
‘Then Rob messaged me. And everything changed. We decided to go out on a date. For the next few weeks, Rob and I were each other’s world. Or so I thought.’
‘I’m so happy, but honestly a little confused. I really thought we were going to have twins… Exactly one month later, we were contacted by our second attorney. I just knew someone was missing.’
“I knew I couldn’t sit around and wait any longer. The feeling was urgent. Our baby needed us now and no one was going to fight harder for that baby to join our family than me.”
‘Mom kept saying, ‘He’s gone. We lost him.’ When I lost my two babies, I could see my children sitting on my dad’s lap, tears of joy streaming down his face. I closed my eyes. My dad was a grandpa.’
“I remember seeing my dad sitting on the couch. I could tell he didn’t feel great. Later that afternoon I was with my mom and sister when we got a call from the local hospital. My dad had collapsed at work.”
‘My friend was sure I was dead. I was pronounced dead on arrival. The first call was to the hospital to get the body bag ready, then my aunt to tell her I was clinically dead for 6 minutes.’
“We stopped in the middle of our street after a car drove up next to us. My mother asked for my clothes and shoes, but my aunt told her they were too drenched with blood to save. Blood was pouring out of my shoes.”
‘Shotgun!,’ they yelled as we left. Travis got in the front and Isaac got in behind me. They both fell asleep on the ride home. The next thing I remember is waking up in excruciating pain.’
“In one second, I became the kid from the accident. The boy whose brother died. To the prosecutor, I was the delinquent child who murdered his brother. The guy who survived the wreck that killed his brother.”
‘I was raised not to have sex before marriage, and now I am unwed and pregnant. I sat in the bathroom alone and terrified.’
“I found out he was seeing another woman and everything came crashing down. I ruined myself all for someone who never loved me.”
‘I am SICKENED this is on a lunch box. ‘Why does my 5-year-old call herself ‘fat?’ ‘Why does my middle schooler stand in the mirror and find her flaws?’ We scratch our heads when we see little girls struggle with body image.’
“See this? This is a picture I snapped today of a little girl’s lunchbox I saw for sale. THIS. This is the reason why. ‘You’re overreacting!,’ you might say. No.”
‘I don’t fit in. They don’t really want me there. I wonder why I wasn’t invited. I walk up to a circle of people and don’t know whether to force my way in, or hang on the outside, twiddling my thumbs.’
“Circles are great if you’re on the inside. But circles can be awfully cruel if you’re left on the outskirts. They can be excluding. Exhausting. Cliquish. Childish. They are far, far too common.”
‘It’s the heart! Something is wrong with our baby’s heart’ The kicking and screaming slowly stopped and he was limp and asleep.
“We hugged and kissed and told SJ how much we love him. He was emotional this time. He cried and cried saying no more pokies mommy. I want to go home. With each tear that fell from his eyes my heart was crushed a little more.”
‘I was prepared for surgery. Panic took over. I counted the tiles on the floor to keep from having a major panic attack. All I could think about were my two sweet babies at home. 3. 2. 1…and I was asleep.’
“It was a quiet dinner; not many words were exchanged. We just sat together and acknowledged what was coming. He held my hand and made sure I drank and ate whatever I wanted. When we were done, I went home to feelings of intense physical pain. I didn’t want to go to the ER. I just had to wait.”
