Elizabeth Grow is an editor and content writer for Love What Matters. A graduate of Utah State University, she now lives in Las Vegas with her husband and two dogs. Elizabeth loves sharing stories that raise awareness for neglected populations within our society, particularly the mentally ill. She loves music, any kind of DIY craft project, and a good movie.
“It felt hard to breathe that week. Breathing reminded me of the breaths my babies never took. Three babies I would never meet.”
“In 4 short years, I’d been removed at birth from my mother, placed into foster care, reunified with my birth father, and then placed back into foster care. I’d experienced family separation, failed reunification, abuse, neglect, and had already been named, renamed, and named again.”
“I won’t treat you like a princess forever. Because soon, you’ll be the queen.”
“We completely discredit this mother if we disregard the intent behind her worry. We label her a perfectionist. But the fear of getting it wrong, their children missing out, their needs not being met… it’s the glue keeping it ALL running smoothly.”
“The day after my firstborn joined our family, I remember thinking, ‘I’ll never be alone again!’ I loved our newborn and my husband and didn’t want to start resenting them. It was up to me to ensure I got the self-care I needed to be a happy mommy.”
“The first Mother’s Day I experienced post placement, I felt hollow. No one said a word. I didn’t communicate that Mother’s Day would be a trigger for my grief, but somehow this 19-year-old boy knew and validated those feelings in a tangible way.”
“I was praying every day that someday she would want to know me. ‘Can you repeat that? I want to make sure I understand you correctly.’ My jaw hinged open and I was rendered speechless.”
“Death didn’t make me love him differently or less, in fact, it may make me love him even just a little bit more.”
“My son had a birth defect, and the reality of it cut through me like a knife.”
“I missed my workouts and I missed feeling like myself. So, I decided right then and there my new motto moving forward would be, ‘Something is better than nothing.’”
