She Said My Daughter Was A Mistake
My mother said don’t do it.
“You’re just a child.”
I heard that phrase more times than my mind can file.
“You’re throwing away your future.”
I heard that when we decided to keep our child.
No baby showers.
No gifts.
No celebrations.
My daughter was born into a world that did not want her to exist.
She’s a mistake.
That’s what my night school teacher told me. My daughter was months old by then. I’d already held her, bathed her, fed her, stared at her inside her crib as she slept.