My sister B came with me to the retrieval this morning and I asked her if she wanted to do a guest blog post. Here it is!
“Family is the most important thing,” I find myself saying to friends, colleagues and even strangers, on a regular basis in all sorts of contexts. No question. It was an honor to be with my sister K today for her retrieval, and to be the first guest blogger on solo mama project!
When she asked me to be there for her today I did not hesitate. Yes, I gained clarity and conviction in making family a major priority in my life and schedule several years ago, however my strong drive to support K is as much a testament to her unwavering conviction and drive to create a family of her own.
One year ago we sat by a pond at the SF Botanical Gardens brainstorming on a name for her blog. Her choice to write and express her feelings and her journey has been such a wonderful gift to herself and to us all. What a journey the past year has been! K has taught us all so much in the past year about perseverance, passion, and community.
She sat in the comfy chair at the clinic, with a hairnet and hospital gown, covered in a warm blanket, looking up at the nurse. The nurse put the thermometer under her tongue and K kept her eyes on the nurse with gentle obedience. She looked so much like a child and I felt a wave of emotion rise in my throat. I took a breath and cherished the moment. Her vulnerability was so beautiful and childlike. She is laying it all on the line for her dream and she has been every day for the past year!
What are you willing to risk it all for? What are you willing to challenge your emotional limits to create? What are you willing to share with your community?
I am confident that K will become a parent, somehow some way. Thank you to each and every one of you who is reading this blog, cheering her on and loving her every step of the way. I speak on behalf of my whole family by saying that your words of encouragement, calls, texts and emails have meant the world to K and to all of us.
The details of our lives are different yet there is a “solo” in all of our “projects,” and journeys. Whether we have several parents or one, several siblings or none, or a partner or none. No matter what our lives look like there is a community, a world, of love and support when we open up to it. K, thank you for following your dream. Thank you for being you. Thank you for sharing the journey with us. I love you. Family is the most important thing.
– K’s youngest sister B
the solo mama project 