“I asked her, ‘How did you do it all with 4 children?’ I will never forget her answer. ‘You find a way to make it work.’ That next month, I got pregnant with our third son! My first class began the exact day I was in the hospital delivering Wyatt.”
‘He asked me, very plainly, ‘What do you like to do outside of work?’ I awkwardly tried to explain things that didn’t start with being a Mom. Later he asked, ‘Do you want to get your MBA?’ Mother of 3 goes back to school in her 30s
‘I keep telling myself, ‘Today is the day.’ The day I get it together. Workout more, eat healthier. Serve less frozen foods. Then, week after week, I don’t.’ Woman explains self-care is more than a ‘bubble bath’ or ‘weekend out with the girls’
“We’d never want our children to run on empty. Put themselves last. So, what are YOU doing? Life isn’t meant to be a series of checklists and drive-bys. Stop trying to fill up everyone’s cup and take a look at your own. It’s empty, isn’t it? That’s not living, sister – that’s just going through the motions.”
‘Me at 19: ‘I’m pregnant.’ Him: ‘Get an abortion!,’ he exclaimed. My life was over. ‘Why would you do this to me?’ I felt a wave of fog fall over me.’
“I was working 80 hours a week. All the while, my baby daddy was partying and sleeping with other girls. I remember crying and feeling so close to death. Yet, this life was forming inside of me. I wanted to give my unborn child a chance.”
‘His daughter didn’t get home until after 9 p.m. each night, then she still had to do her homework and shower before bed. Hearing this child’s schedule was exhausting. Then I had an epiphany.’
“I was at the courthouse when he told me his wife was busy hauling their 8 year-old daughter, who is a few years older than my daughters, to after school activities. Let me see if I remember this correctly. His daughter partook in ten activities. You didn’t read it wrong. TEN.”
‘I received a message that stopped me in my tracks and brought me to tears. Big, waterfall, sobbing tears. Scarlett would never want this for me. She was love and joy personified.’
“Hello, we were gifted a gift card in memory of Scarlett. I came across your family’s story. The date matches what the man mentioned. I was very stressed, adding numbers in my head trying to get my daughter what she needed for school when this happened. I sat in my car afterwards and cried.”
‘There’s one season that really brings out my working mom guilt. Hint, hint, it’s the same as swimsuit season.’
“The teachers are counting down, the students are hyping up, the pools are about to open, and everyone’s ready for some good summer fun! Everyone except those of us who don’t get a break. The faint tune of the ice cream truck on a Tuesday afternoon is all the gut-punch it takes to make my eyes swell with tears.”
‘I got pregnant on my 21st birthday. I was a sophomore in college and my family was 400 miles away. I had to create an exit plan. Things took a turn for the worst.’
“I moved in with family members I didn’t have contact with growing up. It was the the beginning of a harsh series of months. I remember one person telling me, ‘The reason this is happening to you is because you’re always chasing money.’ I knew there had to be something better coming.”
‘If I did good at work, I felt like I was failing at home. Fighting between the two worlds broke my heart. I put on a mask of perfection. I felt like I was drowning and couldn’t come up for air.’
“So, I did the only thing I knew how to do. I wish I could tell you everything was fine the next day. That my feelings resolved themselves or my prayers were magically delivered to my doorstep. In fact, it was quite the opposite.”
‘I yelled to my husband, ‘This is the only child you’re getting, I can’t do this again!’ The doctor had to take the baby out in a split second. He was purple, had the cord around his neck, not crying.’
“The waiting game absolutely killed me. I was crying, desperate and confused. I felt like somebody was trying to take my baby away. My husband and I had to plan to spend time together. Our marriage and our relationship come before everything, and we don’t take it lightly.”
‘Guess what? It’s happened!’ I threw the pregnancy test to my 19-year-old boyfriend. ‘Are you sure you’re pregnant? You hide it so well.’ We had been trying for a baby for months.’
“While I was in labor, I had no support from my partner. At the time, I didn’t care. ‘This is the best day of my life,’ I whispered to my daughter. Then the arguing started. ‘Might as well be a single mom!,’ I said to him.”
