“Two years ago, my three-year-old daughter, Mila, looked at me with sadness and asked, ‘Mommy, why doesn’t anyone in my books have cochlear implants, like me?’ My heart sank. I knew I had to do something about the lack of hearing representation. Because if I didn’t, then who would?”
“I finally reach the window, and sure enough, there is a man taking a dung five feet away. He is smiling at us. A weird, creepy smile. At this point, I’m desperately trying to close the blinds so none of my other students get a glimpse, but the classrooms were old and everything sucked. As I was trying to put the blinds down, they broke. THEY BROKE.”
“I had a lot of mixed feelings about taking yet another big step in life alone, but this one felt less sad and more like I was manifesting my dreams and making them a reality.”
“Just 6 weeks ago, I’d worn a fitted mermaid bridal gown. You would never be able to tell I had a massive tumor growing inside of me. I was about to get the ultimate education in cancer.”
“Words, schedules, and plans are not needed in these moments—just the reconnection to momma.”
“Autonomy starts from the moment we’re born. And as parents, we often (accidentally) stomp on our child’s autonomy by making decisions for them and helping too much.”
“We thought fighting for our love was the hardest? Our IVF journey was 10x harder.”
“When did I develop Ogre’s hands? With every tug, my finger becomes more and more engorged. Dear God, I am going to be fingerless. My grave is going to say, ‘Here lies Lisa, the woman who lost her finger because she was too stupid to take her wedding ring off before the 3rd trimester.’ I am panicking. I run to my husband screaming, waving my hands all around.”
“Don’t tell my son he needs to ‘man up’ when he’s afraid. Don’t tell him not to cry. Don’t assume my little boy has a ‘girlfriend’ at this age. Don’t suggest that certain toys are ‘not for boys.’ We’re setting higher standards.”
“You were the puppeteer. The actor. The artist. You were the singer and dancer. You were my everything — and I was your everything, too. You taught me how to rediscover the magic in my life.”
