“3 weeks after the adoption agency told us ‘it will take years for a child,’ we received the call that changed everything. A brave mama was waiting for us.”
‘We met the birth mom. ‘Come to the hospital to greet your daughter.’ Days later, I got an email: ‘Your birth mother has been located.’: Adoptee adopts child from birth mom and foster care, becomes biological mother
‘You’re meant to have a daughter.’ If I heard I’d have another son, I’d move on. We had a decision to make.’: Family fosters to adopt brother/sister pair, ‘They are ours forever’
“We saw signs everywhere. ‘What if I told you coming home to your boys was only PART of your purpose?’ We knew she was coming. It was a shock, but we were going to move forward.”
‘MOM, why did you say no!? We want that kid to come here!’ We fell in love. and it wasn’t hard or forced or even on purpose.’: Mom’s long foster journey leads to adoption, ‘It wasn’t a dream anymore. This was real’
“My jaw dropped when I saw your little face. ‘Why did you give me a baby who seems like my own?’ It didn’t seem fair to have to give you back. This was only supposed to be a seven-day thing.”
‘It was horrendously painful. She would’ve been your friend, too. It’s too much for me to bear alone.’: Struggling through loss of friend, woman realizes ‘she was one of my soulmates’s
“Does it matter whether we called each other soulmates? I was in awe and had dreams about her. Her death was sudden and painful.”
‘They asked, ‘Where’s your real Mom? She didn’t want you? Is there something wrong with you?’ Everywhere I went, I stuck out like a sore thumb.’: Transracial adoptee says ‘it’s okay to grieve the loss of your birth family’
“I wasn’t white enough, but I also wasn’t black enough. I’d be in line checking out with my mom when cashiers would remind me to put down the grocery dividers between us. It was a constant reminder others didn’t see me as belonging to my parents. Every birthday, I wondered if my birth mother thought about me. Every holiday, I wondered if she missed me.”
‘A friend broke up with him after he was outed to her as trans.’: Mom of 11-year-old trans son shares ‘frightening’ story
“The child’s parent who dropped her off chastised me (out of earshot of the kids) for having a pride flag outside my house and asked me to ‘not talk about inappropriate matters with his daughter.’ My heart literally couldn’t handle it.”
‘An older woman came up to me in Publix. ‘Wow, those boys are lucky to have been chosen by a white woman.’ I was shocked into silence.’: Foster mom to twins urges ‘we need to do better’
“I didn’t know how to respond. I just looked at her, shocked into silence. The night I got my foster twins, I knew our life would look different to others. I knew there would be stares. But I wasn’t fully prepared for the comments that would unfold.”
‘I don’t know how to tell you.’ He looked fearfully at her twin. My body turned into a science experiment.’: Preemie twin diagnosed with Down syndrome, ‘We truly are the lucky few’
“The nurse said, ‘Ariel is perfect too.’ I looked at her tiny 3-pound body covered in wires. She was starving.”
‘We take the backseat. Our job never ends. We give every bit of who we are and stare at reflections, searching for a small part of who we once were.’: Mom urges ‘you’re motherf**king superwoman’
“We live repetitive groundhog days. We argue with tiny people who think they know better. We cook meals that aren’t up to their satisfaction, and bend over backwards until we collapse. We may not get ‘paid’ for our job, but it’s 24/7. Our lives consist of putting everyone else first.”
‘I can pull her arm out of the socket. I can put my finger in.’ He examined me, muttering, ‘Oh wow.’: Student diagnosed with Hypermobility Syndrome, ‘I’m proud of my invisible illness’
“My hips started hurting, which I’d never felt before. I used painkillers and energy drinks to get through. The pain was unmatched. ‘It’s finally happening.’ I knew this was going to change my life.”