“People are saying how if only you were a better parent, or provided more discipline, or followed through more…it wouldn’t be like this. They don’t know that every day you pray about how you can do this ADHD thing better. That your biggest fear is you are giving too much discipline to your often misunderstood kid.”
“I know it might feel like most of my time, thoughts, and efforts are spent on your brother, but please know that I see you.”
“The next time you get frustrated with the person rushing past you to the elevator, or getting called from the waiting room before you, keep in mind this could literally be the worst day of someone’s life.”
“I don’t think everything happens ‘for a reason,’ but I do believe beautiful things come out of suffering. My perfect children are proof of that.”
“I knew very young I wanted to have a baby. Since the world taught me this is what moms do, I must be a girl. I would soon discover this is not true.”
“Dirty boots. Messy counters. Stuffies in every corner possible. All signs of this beautiful, messy life we share together. Someday, I will miss this.”
“I no longer cried countless tears over calories. I no longer looked into my child’s terrified eyes when the bottle would come near him. I no longer frantically called my mom asking if 2 ounces was all he really consumed that day.”
“Remember the sleep deprivation of having a newborn? Remember the mental drain of potty-training a toddler? Or the worry of dropping your five-year-old to kindergarten? Multiply that by ten.”
“Maybe the mom who wasn’t ‘watching her kid’ was on an important work call. Maybe the mom with ‘no patience’ was just having a bad day. Maybe the mom ‘not enforcing the rules’ has a child with ADHD. Maybe the ‘lazy’ mom who gave her child an iPad just needed a 30-minute break after being non-stop all day.”
“‘What happens in this house STAYS in this house.’ I lived in a world where not only my adoptive mother would cover this up, but my own biological sisters AND our assistant pastor. The minute I turned 18, I was escaping.”
