“I never made it back because life got busy. I always thought there would be another time. There won’t be. Now, it’s someone else’s home, with someone else’s family.”
‘233 Bossler Street. I’ve written that address hundreds of times. I’ll never write that address again.’ Woman reminisces on unexpected ‘last time’ she’d ever visit her grandparents’ home
‘I asked her when vacation starts. ‘In a week. I’m DREADING it. I already lied to my church and said Nicholas was 5 so he could go to Vacation Bible School.’ This warmed my soul.’
“One of my girlfriends called. We’ve been friends for almost 20 years. We sugarcoat nothing. Summer is NOT amazing. And if you ask your kids, it’s BORING. These vacation snapshots are the best 5 minutes of the day. The other 23 hours and 55 minutes are a complete cesspool.”
‘His daughter didn’t get home until after 9 p.m. each night, then she still had to do her homework and shower before bed. Hearing this child’s schedule was exhausting. Then I had an epiphany.’
“I was at the courthouse when he told me his wife was busy hauling their 8 year-old daughter, who is a few years older than my daughters, to after school activities. Let me see if I remember this correctly. His daughter partook in ten activities. You didn’t read it wrong. TEN.”
‘May we have our ball back?,’ the mom asked. She was ignored. Second attempt. No luck. ONE more time. The boy gave her careless smirk, then went back to ignoring her.’
“I kept watching. This time, the husband, calm as could be, approached the young boy. ‘May we have our ball back?,’ he asked. I could see the shock on his face. The boy’s mother wasn’t oblivious to what was happening. She SAW it go down.”
‘Our life came to a halt. Our son was gravely ill. Looks can be deceiving. I tell him how guilty I am. His eyes become glassy. ‘I’m OK. I have a son,’ he says with a smile. I begin to sob.’
“As we pack up our belongings and head to the car, my husband can tell something is off. The moment we get into the car, I break down. We had been faced with the unimaginable. Two of our children passed away.”
‘School is hard for my daughter who has never made less than an ‘A.’ She practices and prints off extra homework. The thought of failure invokes panic in her busy little mind.’
“I have one child who has brought home a handful of awards year after year, and another who faithfully collects his lone participation certificate. His best will never look like scholar of the year. But success looks different on every child.”
‘I crashed the party my 16 year-old-daughter was at. I rolled up on it to hear, ‘drink, drink, drink.’ I had visions of my sweet girl suspended in the air, held up by football players as she gulped cheap beer.’
“I raced to the front porch, paralyzed. Do I swing open the door and just run in? Do I call the cops? As I stood with my hand up in the knocking position, the door opened.”
‘I lost one of my kids. As the crowd dispersed, two of my boys walked over to me, but my son was nowhere to be seen. I called his name, paralyzed in fear.’
“I hadn’t laid eyes on him for at least 10 minutes — or had it been 20? Immediately, everything around me swirled and blurred. The only thing in focus was the red flag flapping violently above the lifeguard station. The white-capped waves were deafening. Horrible scenarios flooded my mind.”
‘I am done trying to cram him in a box he was never made to fit into. I have to let it go before it kills my little boy’s spirit, or worse, our relationship.’
“I lost it and yelled in a tone that shocked me and scared him. I wondered what my little boy thought. I wondered if he still knew I love him. I am losing my opportunity to enjoy him because I am so wrapped up in fixing him – but the truth is, he isn’t broken, and he doesn’t need to be fixed.”
‘Pardon my smell. This is how I attended my kids’ end-of-the-year school performance. Like a sweaty, hot mess.’
“Today being a special, celebratory event for my munchkins, I probably could have (and maybe should have) dressed up a bit, or at least not looked so wrecked. But, I didn’t.”
