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The Mother With Empty Arms

          What do you think of when you think of motherhood? I think of a mom snuggling her new baby while breathing in that intoxicating smell of a newborn. I think of waking up in the middle of the night to the cries of a hungry baby. I think of first words, first steps, and first days of school. I think of giggling and sticky messes. I imagine it being exhausting, yet full of joy and love. 
          When I think of motherhood, I do not imagine a doctor saying, "I'm sorry, but I don't think your baby is going to survive." I never imagined when I got pregnant that the day we welcomed our son into this world was also the day we would say goodbye and that my husband and I would leave the hospital with empty arms and broken hearts. I never would have guessed that the first big baby purchase we would make would be a burial plot and a head stone. Every plan I ever had for when I became a mother didn't happen. Unfortunately this is what motherhood holds for many women.
          When some women think of motherhood they think of painful, invasive, and expensive fertility treatments. They think of negative pregnancy tests month after month or miscarriage after miscarriage. They ache for a child of their own or for the child that they lost. Please remember these mothers with empty arms this Mother's Day. Mother's Day is one of the hardest days of the year for many of us and I can tell you from personal experience that the most amazing gift my friends and family gave to me last year was remind me that I'm a mother and that they will never forget Hunter. I know so many of you are hurting because you hold your children in your heart instead of your arms. Whether you are a mother of a child who has been lost or you have a mother's heart and you are waiting for the time when you will be blessed with a child, I am thinking of you and sending my love. Happy Mother's Day my sweet friends.


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