"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.
"You are about to be surprised little lady. My tirade I am about to have right here, well, it is not one in which you will be put in your place and reminded to be respectful."
"I wanted to stand in front of the mirror and suck it in at different angles... I wanted to lift up my boobs and try to see my waist... I wanted to say “nope not wearing this” as I tried to stretch out the waistband."
Somewhere out there is a boy, who sees all of the babies getting adopted, getting a chance to have a forever family, and he’s saying, “What about me?” He deserves a family too.
"We don’t talk about the day she’ll go to her first dance, or get a driver’s license, or go to college. Or about her getting married, or becoming a mom, or what kind of home she wants to own."
"With the recent announcement of my third pregnancy, I’ve received a surprising number of folks in shock. Of note, aside from the speechless faces and mouths agape, I’ve heard a particular phrase way more than I expected..."
When I first received the Down syndrome diagnosis for your brother, the first coherent thought I had was, “Poor him”, which quickly turned to “poor you.” I exited the present and started living in your futures.