“I know you feel like there is no real right answer. I know the what-if’s seem paralyzing and all-consuming right now. You don’t need to justify your decision to anyone. They don’t pay your bills, sister!”
‘To the Mama writing a school intent letter for her children, you don’t need to justify your decision to anyone.’: Mom reminds us ‘there is no right answer’ for back-to-school concerns
‘300 plus families passed on a baby boy.’ What would happen to my son? ‘Are you interested in special needs adoption?’: Moms discuss open adoption journeys, ‘We really are a family’
“MOM is in there nursing the baby.’ What? I WAS the mom! I just wanted to know how my son was. I was so angry at her ex-husband for leaving. My trust had been rocked. When Noah’s first birthday was coming up, we decided to meet.”
‘Lie down.’ She held a suction straw to her weak mother’s lips. Mama had been living in the hospital for nearly two weeks.’: Daughter thanks kind and devoted mom, ‘Someone loves her, too’
“During the night of her vigil, I saw my mother illuminated by a crack in the door and holding a suction straw to her weak mother’s lips. Mama patiently reassured Maw Maw time after time that she was fine, that she was safe.”
‘First they crawl, then walk. You delight in the progress. And then, for the first time, he calls you, ‘Mama.’: Mom says ‘the growing up is so very beautiful and heartbreakingly painful’
“All the other firsts eclipse as you hear that sweet word. And you know, without a doubt, he knows exactly what it means.”
‘On our way home, we ended up front and center for a local protest. My daughter said, ‘Mama.’: Mom wonders about George Floyd’s final words, ‘I wonder if in those last few breaths, he was calling not on her, but us’
“I thought she was asking for me. She wasn’t.”
‘When I feel frustrated with my children and need to reset, I fill my sink and wash their hands and feet.’: Mom urges ‘they just need a steady, loving hand’
“He often comes inside with scrapes and muddy feet. Even if I’m feeling irritated and ready to wrap up the day, this small act humbles me.”
‘This isn’t the introduction to motherhood you expected. Even though I have not been able to see you, I see you.’: Woman urges ‘you are loved, you are enough’ to new moms during pandemic
“It wasn’t meant to be this way. But Mama, please remember…although this world is upside down, you are the world to them. What I would give to sit in solace with you.”
‘You should get up before your kids.’ I’ve tried it your way, but I’m a night owl. My brain functions best around 10 p.m.’: Mom pens ode to night owls, ‘We are just as valuable’
“My house gets cleaned at 10 p.m. That’s when my lists get made. That’s when I have all my ‘bright’ ideas. When I find myself up before the sun, all I want to do is cry and stare at the wall and go back to sleep. I can prepare for the day just as well at midnight.”
‘For the mom who isn’t sure she can make it another day inside her house…you’re doing this beautifully.’: Mom says ‘hold tight, we’ll get through this together’
“You got out of bed this morning. You fed your children and took care of your responsibilities. Maybe you took a shower and got yourself ready. That’s courage, mama. You were chosen for this moment, for such a time as this.”
‘It goes by so fast, but a mama always thinks she has more time.’: Mom encourages us to cherish every moment, ‘They grow in the blink of an eye’
“She holds back tears as she looks at the disassembled crib leaning against the wall. She sits in the audience with a tissue in her hands, and the proudest smile on her face. She sees that baby up on stage in a cap and gown, and she wonders where the time went. Her heart beats with a mixture of pride and pain.”
