Campaign Story

We are currently a family of three. I work in healthcare administration, and my husband works in banking. I’m an avid gardener! I have trees that smell good, fruit vines, vegetables, and lots of flowers. I love color, and I love variety. My child will be three herself soon, and she helps mommy pick blackberries and such in our backyard. I’m almost 41, and I lived in my current city of Birmingham for 25 years. I met my husband randomly at a local coffee shop near the college he attended. I knew as soon as I met him I would marry him. I talked to him for about six hours immediately, and we pretty much started dating right off. I was scared when I met him. I had been in a series of bad relationships. I told my parents I was done! I wore a right-hand ring, and married myself back then. I was ‘self-coupled’. I took myself out on dates, to dinner, the movies, wherever. I learned to live singularly and for myself. I told my parents I would adopt. They thought that was fine. Shortly after this, I met my husband. I told him a few weeks into our relationship that ‘I wasn’t going to marry him, and I wasn’t going to have his kids.’ I was scared of the feelings I was feeling. I knew.. I knew it would be him. I’ve never been so happy to be wrong, but we took a long time to be sure we were right for each other. We weren’t in any hurry, and I was sort of in a fragile state. I was scared to be vulnerable. Those days are long gone now! We just celebrated 8 years of marriage, and 15 altogether. I was at the tail-end of my twenties, and I knew so much more back then than I do now!

Fast forward, we went through a lot of loss. I lost my best friend in the world unexpectedly. I lost my dad. I grieved everyday for so long. I was in such a fog. If I didn’t have Tyler, I really don’t know what I would’ve done. I meant to have a kid while dad was alive. Life happens while you’re making plans. I totally reinvented myself. I lost all of my vices in this period. I wanted to make sure wherever he was, dad would be proud of me. I went hard into the career path he originally chose. I got hired into the University that denied him an administration job. I surpassed him. I wish I could tell him everyday how far I’ve come. I took my sadness and I rose. Life wasn’t without its obstacles though.

Life happens while you’re making plans. After so many tries and fails, I became pregnant with my now daughter. She was at first a twin, but I’m just so very happy I can hold her, see her personality show. I worked in the hospital portion of the University while I became pregnant. This was November 2019. Something big was around the corner! During COVID, and working in a hospital the entire time, I was terrified I would lose her. Here we are though! A family of three! She was due on my dad’s birthday. How unlikely she would be born on that day, but she was! I wish there was a world where they overlapped, but how good is my life that I had them both!?

I think that my house is full of strength, love, and perseverance. I didn’t know how my parenting journey would go until I had the first one. I didn’t dare to dream past her until I had held her in my arms so many nights. Here we are! My world is almost complete. My child talks about having a sibling as she overhears us talk about it. She thinks we should call them Buddy, and she oscillates on what gender this sibling is. My child’s name is Sarah Kate, after her grandmothers’ the way I was also named. She’s born from a long line of strong women. She is no different. She goes to the Alabama Waldorf School, and we give her all of our attention, love, hope, and care. We aren’t perfect parents. She teaches us the beauty in our vulnerability. Mostly, she raises us. She certainly raises our spirits and our hearts. I hope her sibling would be like her, and I would also delight in what differences they would have. I want this with all of my heart, and there isn’t a day it’s not on my mind. This is my brightest hope, my biggest dream is to have a sister or brother for Sarah Kate.