For months, my brother Nathan kept checking the mailbox like it held a dream inside. All he wanted was a job. Something real. Something of his own. He said, “I…
GRANDMA TURNED 86 IN A HOSPITAL BED—AND STILL ASKED IF WE WERE OKAY
We didn’t plan for her birthday to look like this. There was supposed to be music. Her favorite lemon cake. The grandkids running around her living room while she sat…
I LOST 92 KILOS—BUT WHAT I GAINED MATTERS MORE
I used to avoid mirrors. Photos. Even hugs. At my heaviest, I felt like I was shrinking inside myself while my body just kept getting bigger. Everything hurt—my joints, my…
MY HUSBAND HAD AN AFFAIR AND LEFT ME FOR HIS COWORKER
We took this photo three months before everything fell apart. I remember setting the timer on my phone, rushing to sit down, trying to make sure everyone was smiling. I…
I PLACED MY DAUGHTER FOR ADOPTION—BUT I NEVER STOPPED LOVING HER FOR A SECOND
People love to say I “gave her up.” Like I just walked away. Like it was easy. Like I didn’t cry myself to sleep for months wondering if she’d hate…
TO THE PEOPLE WHO DON’T GET WHY WE CHOSE OPEN ADOPTION—IT’S NOT ABOUT US, IT’S ABOUT HIM
I used to think open adoption would be confusing. Messy. Maybe even painful. Why let the birthparents stay involved? Wouldn’t that make it harder for everyone? Then I became a…
MY SON’S BIO DAD GOT FULL CUSTODY—AND THEN ASKED ME TO STAY IN HIS LIFE
When the caseworker called and said Jackson was going home, I froze. I knew this day might come. Foster placements are always temporary—at least, that’s what they tell you to…
IT’S BEEN EIGHT YEARS SINCE I’VE SEEN OR SPOKEN TO MY DAUGHTER—AND I STILL SET A PLACE FOR HER AT THE TABLE
You don’t expect silence from your own child. Not after birthdays, bedtime stories, late-night hospital visits, and a thousand packed lunches. But here I am—eight years later—and I still don’t…
OUR ADOPTION MATCH FELL THROUGH—AND THAT’S HOW WE FOUND HER
We were supposed to bring a baby home that weekend. Her name was already on the nursery wall. We had the car seat installed, tiny clothes folded, and our hearts…
RIGHT BEFORE MY DAD PASSED, HE SAID SOMETHING THAT COMPLETELY SHIFTED HOW I SEE MYSELF
We were just sitting on the couch. Nothing dramatic, no hospital monitors or dim lighting. Just sunlight pouring in through the windows, and the soft hum of a cartoon playing…