As a Digital Editor of Love What Matters, I'm here to pull on your heartstrings and make you smile. After spending nearly six years as a Digital Reporter for ABC News' "Good Morning America," I'm thrilled to continue sharing touching and inspiring stories that the world is so craving. We can all use more love in our lives -- now you've found the perfect place to get it.
“‘If you have more children, you could spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair.’ I can still hear those words echoing in my ears. There was no panic. Just calm. They didn’t even come with a photo. We didn’t need a photo to be drawn to the baby boy and his toddler sister looking for their family. They ran right to us and gave us big hugs. They are my babies, they always have been and they always will be.”
“My life was quickly thrown upside down. The love of my life was suddenly killed in a car accident. I handled it with anger and bitterness. The economy began to crumble. I quickly became the best possible cab driver I could be. Shifts were 12 hours long. I pulled my boots up and reinvented myself. Then everything changed again. The ginger ale sat on the kitchen counter, slowly turning into a bomb. At the exact second Shelly passed the sink, the bottle exploded. I was horrified. What a battle it has been.”
“His only symptom was a fever that lasted no more than an hour or two. I gave him some Tylenol he spat out. He went to sleep soundly. He was perfectly fine. His fever was completely gone, he was in great spirits, and his coloring was healthy. This was not a sick kid.”
“It was EXTREMELY rare. After hearing the news, we walked across the street and got pedicures, because what else do you do when you find out you’re pregnant with triplets? After already having twins! I don’t think we said a word to each other the entire time – we were completely dumbfounded.”
“We did not go to court to fight over our son, as James’s parents had thought I would try to take him. But we sat down, talked, and through mediation, we legally share 50-50. James is an amazing father and a good man. And even though there are things he does in his personal life and with raising our son that I don’t always agree with, I know he wants the absolute best for him. It would be nothing but unfair and selfish to take that sweet boy away from his loving father.”
“It took me 3 years to take a chance and take a year leave of absence. Three years of planning, asking opinions, making budgets, obsessing. When I put in my leave, I expected to hear, ‘how can you let the students down,’ ‘how will you afford it,’ ‘are you giving up your career,’ ‘have you really thought about this?’ Trust me, I did hear all of those comments and then some, but what really stuck with me were the unexpected responses.”
“I went to a party up the street. I somehow made it home, brought a guy with me, and my body became an object. I remember my mom coming down and demanding the guy leave, and as it was happening, the house was getting robbed. I played the victim. I went to work while my family was left to deal with the mess. I had a beautiful baby girl and still, this did not stop me. I was physically taking care of my baby and bathing, feeding, and caring for her. But did I really care? Those words are haunting.”
“I didn’t want to waste any moment I could have with him. It was hard not to notice his body changing, the color leaving, his skin hardening and getting so cold. I often wonder if I made the right decision keeping him with me for so long–but I know I did. Then the time came to hand him over. The nurse kept telling me to take as much time as I needed and I finally had to tell her, ‘If you keep telling me that, I will never leave.’ He gave me the biggest gift of all: he made me a mother.”
“When I was a little boy, my dad drove from our home in Harlan County down to Cherokee, North Carolina. That’s where Dad bought me my first store-bought toy: a wood-and-string bow and arrow, carved by the Cherokee on the reservation. Boy, I thought I was hot stuff. We were dirt poor. But my aim was improving, and years later, others noticed I could shoot. I was bad news for anyone who came up against me in competition.”
“‘How could you not know!?’ I was holding this huge secret. I had power nobody else could have. When you don’t know which child you’re about to meet, it gives you an unmatched energy and grit to get through the pains. There’s no comparison to the emotion before your baby comes out. Pushing was so much easier when I knew I was about to get the biggest surprise of my life. Waiting drives everyone else INSANE. People get so frustrated you chose to wait.”
