"I could feel hot, salty tears coming down my face. I sat and cried silently... I was scrunching myself up against the wall as far as I could. All of a sudden, someone from behind us taps on the guy’s shoulder..."
I am an assistant principal in a middle school (grades 6-8). When I have to search a student's cell phone, I often get sick to my stomach at what I find. It gets worse and worse every year.
I can understand that young children won’t remember things like the fully-balanced meals every night or what grade they got in their school subjects, but they will remember Oreos and snuggles.
When I was 13 years old, I found out I would never be able to have children. It was then that I started researching adoption. As I grew older my biggest fear was to have to someday tell a prospective spouse that I would never be able to birth our children. Then I met Jason. He was a single dad to 2 wonderful little boys and we fell head over heels.
It’s easy to see parenting as a chore. It’s work! It’s the hardest job you’ll ever love. It’s moments of ridiculous frustration mixed with moments of surpassing joy. It’s a love/hate relationship that you’d never let go. This is the calling.
"I am not your girl. I’ve had the privilege to walk a lot of life with single moms. I’ve seen first hand the kind of courageousness and bravery it takes to be a single mom. I didn’t possess that kind of strength. I’m not capable or qualified."
"I couldn’t walk around with a sign that said, ‘Flying alone with twins to say goodbye to my dying father while also leaving behind my other two daughters.’"
