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pullingcandyHow To Say Goodbye
Published: 2012-03-05 18:53:04 +0000 UTC; Views: 21748; Favourites: 872; Downloads: 614
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Description Dear Unborn Child, Whom I Let Go;

When I was thirteen and four months old, and you were thirteen years younger, I decided to let you go. You squirmed in opposition beneath my ribcage, up against my pelvis, and I licked my lips and tried to smile while I leaned my forehead on the cool glass of the car, hellbound.

I remember sea weed insertion, dilation, cramps and bleeding. Orange smoothies from Dairy Queen that I threw up, and I hoped you were mingling in the remains of my summer day treat, so I could put this behind me. Pretend I was 'moving on'. I laid in the bathtub of a hotel room for six hours, trying to melt you away in scalding water from a rusty tap, yet you clung on, holding tightly to the walls of my pelvic region. Wiggling upwards, towards my throat. Past my teeth. You're trying to get out, but my family has decided you won't breathe when you're released from your bloody shackles; you may as well settle down now, sweet son, settle down.

The rest of this, to me, is a blur. There is a car ride, and protestors. I know you had finger nails, eyelids, heft and weight. I know how you were created. I am (was) just stupid, and I knew (thought) I was in love with a deviant, and a bastard, but after you are expelled I will go back to him. I think we both knew that. There is a chair, and an elderly woman, forceps, an injection. And after...there is a hazy forty-five minutes where I believe that I have died. Hope I have died. Realize I have not, and blink slowly under the glare of clinical lighting.

I caught a glimpse of you, my boy, before you were completely removed from this world; bloody chunks quiet and gleaming, no longer moving, no longer clawing your way up my windpipe to exit through the gaps in my teeth.

I don't know if I will miss you.

Antibiotics. My mother cried as she handed me the bulky package. I don't know if she cried for you, or for me, or for herself at my age. I will never know, I won't ever care. I don't even know why I remember that she asked me, after, if I was sure. I believe the proper question would have been are YOU sure, Mother. Are you sure the steps you've taken in your life that have brought us to this point were the ones you intended. Are you sure?

I remember you, small being, as I hold my daughter's hand, now. In a crowded mall, or sweeping dust bunnies from the floor in my kitchen. When my youngest wears blue, I wonder if she looks like you would have, and when my eldest stares at me in that unsettling way, that way only children know how to do, I believe that somewhere, somehow, you're staring at me like that too.

Always;
Your Mother
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Comments: 1187

DementedlyMe In reply to ??? [2012-04-13 02:26:30 +0000 UTC]

No, thank YOU for posting this. My mother wasn't the best around, and I had three potential siblings that I know of that were aborted. With the periods of time she was gone, there might be a dozen more. Because of that, this really spoke to me and moved me beyond the point of tears.

Thank you again.

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pullingcandy In reply to DementedlyMe [2012-04-13 02:30:41 +0000 UTC]

You're very welcome.

I'm so sorry about your mother, though.

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FriendsWithSpiders In reply to ??? [2012-04-12 23:50:27 +0000 UTC]

This is a really powerful piece. I cried.

I'm so sorry you had to go through this experience.

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pullingcandy In reply to FriendsWithSpiders [2012-04-13 02:01:07 +0000 UTC]

I'm so sorry about your tears, truly. I do thank you for taking the time to read the piece though. That means so much.

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Kalistik-Cheryzia In reply to ??? [2012-04-12 23:48:46 +0000 UTC]

This is just amazing. Just the right amount of figurative language and a realistic portrayal- Hard not to be realistic if it actually happened. I think, because I'm the age described in the piece, it affects me a bit more than most people- I can't imagine going through that.

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pullingcandy In reply to Kalistik-Cheryzia [2012-04-13 02:19:06 +0000 UTC]

I hope you never have to go through anything like that, ever. Thank you for reading.

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Jester-of-the-Clown In reply to ??? [2012-04-12 23:32:31 +0000 UTC]

Oh dear God THE TRAUMA

Ppl will justify this way or that, but there's truth in the middle of the madness- a life, ending....

You'd have to be very dead inside for something like that not to stay with you, clawing the back of your mind. The potent concepts of life and death from a half-distant, half-intimate perspective by itself is...

Well, you know.

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pullingcandy In reply to Jester-of-the-Clown [2012-04-13 02:01:49 +0000 UTC]

I am not entirely certain which way to take your comment.

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Jester-of-the-Clown In reply to pullingcandy [2012-04-13 02:02:47 +0000 UTC]

Take it as potent sympathy.

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pullingcandy In reply to Jester-of-the-Clown [2012-04-13 02:08:07 +0000 UTC]

Alright.

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partygirl24 In reply to ??? [2012-04-12 23:26:38 +0000 UTC]

O MY GOOD THIS IS SO BEAUTIFULLY WRITEN I LOVE THIS! ^^

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pullingcandy In reply to partygirl24 [2012-04-13 02:17:57 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much.

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partygirl24 In reply to pullingcandy [2012-04-13 03:14:44 +0000 UTC]

your welcome ^^

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Exillior In reply to ??? [2012-04-12 23:19:14 +0000 UTC]

The moment ^lightningmonkey noted me back to tell me this deviation would be featured was one of the happiest moments of my recent life. Congratulations on such a well-deserved DD!

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pullingcandy In reply to Exillior [2012-04-13 02:17:14 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so, so much once again. Truly. Really. Absolutely. From the bottom of my heart.

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Exillior In reply to pullingcandy [2012-04-13 20:24:49 +0000 UTC]

I've just read all the comments, and I have to say... I can't believe there are people who would read what you have written, and then tell you that you should feel more guilty and ashamed. I think they stopped reading at the first line. I'm sorry I contributed to bringing people like that your way. -__- But you have even more of my respect for how politely and calmly you've responded to each comment.

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pullingcandy In reply to Exillior [2012-04-13 21:16:02 +0000 UTC]

You didn't do anything at all wrong by bringing people my way like that. All you did was make me a very, very happy person for a day. And that's nothing to be sorry about.

I'm probably one of the least dramatic people on the planet, so it wasn't any big problem on my part. Seriously.

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kirafaclaws22 In reply to ??? [2012-04-12 23:13:46 +0000 UTC]

this moved me to tears, even if i am personally pro-life. wow. i feel so bad for you when this happened...it must have been really hard. thank you for sharing this; it is indeed beautiful.

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pullingcandy In reply to kirafaclaws22 [2012-04-13 02:03:06 +0000 UTC]

It was hard. It was very, very hard. I had no say in the matter, being so young, and truthfully, because of a handful of other things, it was probably the best choice in the long run regardless. I know it sounds harsh of me to speak that way about it, but I am just being realistic.
I am pro-choice, myself, because I know there are just some things that happen to other people that...well. You know. This isn't a debate, of course.
Thank you so much for reading it, and leaving your comment. I enjoyed reading it.

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kirafaclaws22 In reply to pullingcandy [2012-04-13 19:35:09 +0000 UTC]

you're welcome. i agree when you say that it was probably the best choice, i don't think that you sounded harsh at all.

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pullingcandy In reply to kirafaclaws22 [2012-04-13 20:07:50 +0000 UTC]

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dagoth-jeff In reply to kirafaclaws22 [2012-04-12 23:23:25 +0000 UTC]

I dunno, isn't this written from a pro-life stance? The mother might not have acknowledged that an unborn baby is...a baby--prior to this scenario; perhaps she's pro-life now, I dunno. Some people can tell themselves that it's just a soda can or something, I don't know how they do it.

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kirafaclaws22 In reply to dagoth-jeff [2012-04-13 00:22:36 +0000 UTC]

hmm...i never thought about it that way. you're right.thank you for allowing me to see another perspective!
And, um...i don't quite understand the soda can thing, can you explain what you mean please?

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dagoth-jeff In reply to kirafaclaws22 [2012-04-13 00:29:42 +0000 UTC]

It was a metaphor... convince yourself it's something lifeless and that makes everything okay. Despite the fact that it is in fact a baby, pro-choice people can blab all day about how abortions are perfectly fine, and normal--so much easier than actual birth control methods, and/or common sense! Though there are situations where abortions are necessary, in some opinions (rape, incest, life threatening situations, etc) where that line must be drawn is open for interpretation. Many people are unable to have children, and wait years to adopt, spending so much money; it's a shame on the human population that while some wish they had a child, others throw them away. Just saying.

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kirafaclaws22 In reply to dagoth-jeff [2012-04-13 00:43:31 +0000 UTC]

oh i understand now! thank you.
i perfectly agree with you. i agree with someone having an abortion when actually having the baby would be life threatening. but someone having an abortion just because they cant live with the idea of having a child just tears me to pieces. i think that in the situation described here, it was a hard choice to make, and she probably didn't want to make that choice.

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ValiantShadow In reply to ??? [2012-04-12 23:11:37 +0000 UTC]

This is both incredibly sad and beautiful at the same time.

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pullingcandy In reply to ValiantShadow [2012-04-13 02:03:11 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much.

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Sachi-pon In reply to ??? [2012-04-12 23:10:13 +0000 UTC]

"Dear Unborn Child, Whom I Let Go"

"Let Go..." a nice way of sugarcoating it.

i'd go on further but i see that anyone who disagrees with your opinion will be labeled as "propaganda" so i guess i'll stop there.

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WitchVine In reply to Sachi-pon [2012-04-13 03:23:19 +0000 UTC]

Why don't you read a little before you spout off? She was only thirteen at the time and it wasn't her decision. Do you realize how incredibly insensitive you are?!?

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pullingcandy In reply to Sachi-pon [2012-04-13 02:06:04 +0000 UTC]

No.

Rick Santorum links on my piece, notes about him, about how that baby had finger nails and hair and emotions - that's propaganda.

Belitting a past me who had no say, no choice, no opinion in the matter - that's just rude.

This is the internet. People can say what they want. I'd rather have a constructive comment, but if you've got something to say, it is a free country and you're welcome to say it.

Also. I didn't sugar coat it. This haunted me for 18 years. But thank you for assuming you knew well enough to consider my motive for my choice of words. I appreciate it.

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Exillior In reply to Sachi-pon [2012-04-12 23:39:26 +0000 UTC]

I think that if you believe that "let go" is a sugarcoating term... you don't really know what letting go is.

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AmethystSadachbia In reply to ??? [2012-04-12 23:05:53 +0000 UTC]

Decisions like this are never easy. However, sometimes they're the best course of action. If nothing else, we can be thankful that we live in a world where it is a safe and legal option.

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pullingcandy In reply to AmethystSadachbia [2012-04-13 02:17:54 +0000 UTC]

Now. It's a safe option now.

Thank you so much for taking the time to comment.

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AmethystSadachbia In reply to pullingcandy [2012-04-13 03:19:17 +0000 UTC]

You're most welcome. It was a very emotional piece of writing. I've never had to make such a decision myself, but I have a very close friend who had to when she was younger.

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pullingcandy In reply to AmethystSadachbia [2012-04-13 05:04:46 +0000 UTC]

I am sorry to hear that. Hopefully she is alright.

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AmethystSadachbia In reply to pullingcandy [2012-04-13 05:10:14 +0000 UTC]

It was several years ago, so she's doing better now. I wonder if the pain never truly goes away, though.

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pullingcandy In reply to AmethystSadachbia [2012-04-13 05:20:10 +0000 UTC]

I don't think it does, but time helps to dull it.

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ardcor In reply to ??? [2012-04-12 22:58:06 +0000 UTC]

Fantastic. Very touching.

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pullingcandy In reply to ardcor [2012-04-13 02:17:18 +0000 UTC]

Thank yous o much.

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JustMeBeingADork In reply to ??? [2012-04-12 22:55:03 +0000 UTC]

Inspiring work. I am happy that this got a Daily Deviation, because those religion-obsessed protesters need to see the OTHER side of abortion - the side of the young, unprepared, and frightened mothers who deserve a chance at a better life. Once again, really fantastic! You should be proud

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pullingcandy In reply to JustMeBeingADork [2012-04-13 02:20:28 +0000 UTC]

Thank you. There is another side to it, indeed, and it's a rough side - it may not have been the right decision, but it wasn't even my decision to make. And it certainly isn't something anybody else can make a judgement on. Though, this is the internet, and I cannot expect less, right?
Thank you for taking the time to read, and comment. I appreciate it.

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Briallen In reply to ??? [2012-04-12 22:48:02 +0000 UTC]

This is a very touching piece. I have something sort of similar. When my aunt was 18, she gave birth to a daughter and gave her up for adoption. My grandmother wouldn't let anyone in the family take the little girl (There was a few family members who wanted her). She was born just a few months before I was. I often wonder about her, what she's like, if I've ever past her on the street and didn't know. There's always that feeling of wondering. And also, I'm sorry people are sending you notes like that, I think it's inappropriate given the context of the story. I'm personally pro-life, but recently I've come to see that I'm not here to judge and condemn, only love. It saddens me that this happened, I can feel the emotion behind it. Again, thank you for sharing this story with us. I pray for your continued happiness

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pullingcandy In reply to Briallen [2012-04-13 02:21:17 +0000 UTC]

It saddens me that it happened too. It wasn't my decision to make, but it was my life to write about - sadly, people don't see it that way.

Thank you for sharing your story. And the prayer. I appreciate it.

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christchild6 In reply to ??? [2012-04-12 22:46:48 +0000 UTC]

I was there. I was 17. My mother, too. She was not there for me, but she was there to "fix" things. I admire this writing. I like this writing. I have one as well about mine. God bless you. Your baby is safe and will be there waiting for you.

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pullingcandy In reply to christchild6 [2012-04-13 02:18:18 +0000 UTC]

I certainly hope so. I really, truly do. Thank you.

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Ptollemy In reply to ??? [2012-04-12 22:40:39 +0000 UTC]

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pullingcandy In reply to Ptollemy [2012-04-13 02:18:21 +0000 UTC]

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Rumblephil In reply to ??? [2012-04-12 22:36:41 +0000 UTC]

It is beautiful, in a way. Nobody ever really forgets those things, and you always try to prevent those memories from obsessing you, so you tell them goodbye, and these children who were not born, were they to have a soul, like us, would we not want to at least tell them something? To appease, either our conscience or their own? I don't know, I can't really imagine it either, since I am male, but still. I would want to say goodbye.

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pullingcandy In reply to Rumblephil [2012-04-13 02:43:47 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much, once more.

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Rumblephil In reply to pullingcandy [2012-04-13 14:32:43 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome.

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