{"id":1521,"date":"2026-01-01T12:21:39","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T12:21:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vibepress.us\/?p=1521"},"modified":"2026-01-01T12:21:41","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T12:21:41","slug":"the-friend-who-forgot-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vibepress.us\/?p=1521","title":{"rendered":"The Friend Who Forgot Me"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover aligncenter is-light mycontentblock has-medium-font-size\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0;min-height:162px;aspect-ratio:unset;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"186\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-198 size-large\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/vibepress.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-04-at-2.47.25-PM-1-1024x186.png\" style=\"object-position:50% 50%\" data-object-fit=\"cover\" data-object-position=\"50% 50%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/vibepress.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-04-at-2.47.25-PM-1-1024x186.png 1024w, https:\/\/vibepress.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-04-at-2.47.25-PM-1-300x54.png 300w, https:\/\/vibepress.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-04-at-2.47.25-PM-1-768x139.png 768w, https:\/\/vibepress.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-04-at-2.47.25-PM-1-1536x279.png 1536w, https:\/\/vibepress.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-04-at-2.47.25-PM-1-2048x372.png 2048w, https:\/\/vibepress.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-04-at-2.47.25-PM-1-1320x239.png 1320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-background-dim-0 has-background-dim\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-cover-is-layout-4d396166 wp-block-cover-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center my-cover-title has-ast-global-color-8-color has-ast-global-color-5-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-24bd4348902d4b01744b15d0ffa68f31\"><strong>The Friend Who Forgot Me<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a4d2a8aace264794ec7c08a684d0d058\">My best friend of 17 years had a baby after decades of pain and infertility. I was on cloud nine, supported her, bought pricey gifts for her baby. At her baby shower,<strong> I stood up to congratulate her. Suddenly, she cut me off mid-speech and, to my shock, said, \u201cPlease sit down, I don\u2019t want this moment to be about you.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n    atOptions = {\n        'key' : '9e49f4ce267f7bab92bbdb38b733742b',\n        'format' : 'iframe',\n        'height' : 90,\n        'width' : 728,\n        'params' : {}\n    };\n<\/script>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"\/\/brillianceremisswhistled.com\/9e49f4ce267f7bab92bbdb38b733742b\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b14faf7df58167fe5bfcc2f721dbadbd\">The room fell silent. I laughed nervously, thinking maybe it was a joke. But her eyes weren\u2019t playful. She looked\u2026 irritated. Even embarrassed. I stood there frozen, holding a glass of juice in one hand and a card I wrote with so much love in the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-eb6e0d6ceb295a2955fa931c15209926\">I sat down quietly, cheeks burning, heart pounding in my ears. A few people gave me sideways glances. One woman even whispered something to the person next to her, and they both looked at me with pity. I felt like the air had been punched out of my lungs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a01242ecd5eaa1ceb6ab5ad9ba18a78d\">Afterward, I tried to brush it off. I told myself, \u201cShe\u2019s probably overwhelmed, maybe hormonal. It\u2019s her big day.\u201d But the ache in my chest didn\u2019t go away. Neither did the fact that she didn\u2019t even come to talk to me afterward. I waited. I lingered. But she never came.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-6cb8064e16b1378d7883a629e8cfa4a2\">When I got home, I cried. Not because of embarrassment\u2014though there was plenty of that\u2014but because someone I\u2019d considered my person had turned cold on me, out of nowhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-eeec9042651e194ef514a2b834eccb21\">Let me take you back a little.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-fd3396596f8f4e178028152d8405df18\">Her name was Clara. We met in college. She spilled coffee on my favorite hoodie and offered to buy me a new one. I laughed it off, and somehow, that turned into us getting lunch, then late-night talks, and eventually, years of friendship that saw us through heartbreaks, new jobs, family deaths, and moves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-df991e4baa11d5416193c07daf115450\">Clara had always wanted to be a mother. She tried for years. I was there for every IVF cycle, every miscarriage, every breakdown. I once stayed on the phone with her for four hours after she got a negative test, just listening as she cried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-249e7281b4993ca38e61929d1f291f8e\">I never wanted kids. It just wasn\u2019t something I saw for myself. But I loved Clara\u2019s dream like it was my own. When she finally got pregnant at 40, it felt like we had won. I remember screaming when she told me. I drove over with cupcakes and a baby blanket I\u2019d bought years ago\u2014just in case the miracle happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-96d730e8c0fe482bc60c8dc1b132a5ae\">And now, here I was, being told to sit down like some outsider who was making a scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-7987caceb84a446f70dfbcaa2844f976\">I didn\u2019t reach out the next day. I thought maybe she\u2019d call and apologize. Or explain. Or at least text. But nothing came.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-befe5381da3d517e9aa525dd64de5ca9\">A week passed. Then two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-8cc5f1aa60a286f729f65983199b21a8\">I finally sent her a message. Just a simple: Hey, hope you\u2019re settling in okay. I\u2019m here if you need anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-8244710faa8b2febc6d7707696434024\">Seen. No reply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b2700e20ebd4d4648e17ea22f652e358\">I gave it another week. Then I called. Straight to voicemail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d51999510c515634f879f2879c182245\">I told myself maybe she was busy. Newborns take over your life, right? Still, something didn\u2019t sit right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ad24069a254031e1ad9387503b61cb70\">Then, another twist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-9d4c0d4a3bc183b4822e5a944d597068\">I was scrolling through social media one night when I saw her post a picture of a lunch out\u2014with a few mutual friends. I wasn\u2019t invited. The caption said, \u201cSo grateful for the women who supported me through this journey. My real sisters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-04d9e39aff74c0b0331888d53e9993a1\">I stared at it for a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-6ed11015208a1dd4ff9337c1d7b0958d\">I wasn\u2019t even tagged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-436d8309cbcf65ea9808b4395f5e1f28\">We had a group chat with those friends. I opened it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-4e4441c8c7c820eb4b749b0c2ecd016e\">I wasn\u2019t in it anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-0d818e297cee177fbeb3505c242b901c\">I was removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-f4467f051a4d9d86140ddfc67c66e28e\">I was being ghosted. Cut off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1d72e9a5f01c52ec86e5308968a2dacb\">And I had no idea why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-3d39389355e68a197e281b793974f4b9\">It broke me. Truly. I\u2019d never felt betrayal like that. Not even in romantic relationships. Because with friendships, especially ones that span nearly two decades, you never think they\u2019ll just\u2026 end. Without explanation. Without closure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-829ebe23473cdd6154b272fef5eecd6a\">I went into a dark place. Stopped going out. Didn\u2019t really talk to people. I became bitter, if I\u2019m honest. I started assuming people would leave. That they weren\u2019t real. That loyalty was a lie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-6d93f9d7103f790a8dafeea16f7520d9\">Then, about six months later, I got a message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a2c3b2ea4b94b8cf6ebe624c66182cdf\">From Clara.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-4793fda9b7afde3661c0457917546fb7\">It just said: Hey. I know I hurt you. Can we talk?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-0782db5eb9d6cab3a4becea5daa02442\">I didn\u2019t know how to feel. My heart raced. Anger rose first. Then confusion. Then a weird sense of hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-9222860de69f38cb14e1fc115e2292fc\">We met at a quiet caf\u00e9. She looked tired. Paler than usual. She held her coffee with both hands like she was grounding herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-0d8cbe6f9f61c7f80f128c8981d6d49b\">\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d she said, before I even sat down. \u201cI was a coward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1a83576283670655ff50e189470ddb11\">I didn\u2019t say anything. I waited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-15967297d0abdc189ec3a505d1c0e0af\">She looked down at her drink. \u201cI wasn\u2019t okay during my pregnancy. I didn\u2019t tell anyone, but I was terrified. And after I had the baby\u2026 I had postpartum depression. Bad. I pushed away anyone who reminded me of who I used to be. You reminded me of all the years I felt like I wasn\u2019t enough. It wasn\u2019t fair. But I made you a symbol of that pain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-123188ed2d95050aea90098c52eae27c\">I blinked. That was\u2026 not what I expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a511f8e11c4b3fdec7553e85c856d3d6\">She continued, \u201cYou were always so strong. So put together. You didn\u2019t want kids, yet you supported me more than anyone. And it made me feel\u2026 small. I resented you for being there when I thought I deserved to suffer alone. It makes no sense, I know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-33b911a8640d2ce6bff5e16c3810e54b\">She looked up. Her eyes were watery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-6a6c3fc5b4f5b62a2a3e0d4499e031dd\">\u201cI didn\u2019t know how to say that. So I just\u2026 cut you off. And I hate myself for it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a00f98369d73c5a14e1f9943a15408b9\">I felt a lump in my throat. I had imagined a hundred scenarios. None like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d1734679e2630fc3fd617406a159c794\">I asked quietly, \u201cWhy now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-e52d42d3583d601966e1234ac7e844b5\">Clara gave a sad smile. \u201cBecause I hit rock bottom. I checked myself into therapy after I nearly screamed at my own baby. I realized I was drowning. And when the therapist asked who I missed most in my life\u2026 I said your name without even thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-2cc4cccd12b5e1b9a10e1d96208c23d8\">That broke something in me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-766edd26a013d8484349b03bcfb5aa56\">We sat in silence for a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-7e3fd629ce74e9e4af7058ee6058dcf8\">Then, I said, \u201cThat day at your baby shower\u2026 I wasn\u2019t trying to make it about me. I just wanted to tell everyone how proud I was of you. How much I admired your strength.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-3175aa12ba7786aa20ff19e83e51e66f\">She started crying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-6543cc93346dff43581791cf93a67ab4\">\u201cI know,\u201d she whispered. \u201cI watched the video later. You looked so happy. And I ruined it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a5f21d1a877502417edd4f30fe3b47c7\">We talked for hours. About everything. The pain, the silence, the wounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-6ee716776ddea544e5089c3a008970ea\">It wasn\u2019t an instant fix. Trust doesn\u2019t come back overnight. But it was a start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-73c1751b88e7ad4f1a09e5fa87186b02\">A few weeks later, I met her daughter. Clara was more open, honest now. She didn\u2019t pretend everything was perfect. She told me about the guilt, the shame, the healing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-39a2ede94746e16fe1ea0087ec7c41a8\">And I told her about the void her absence had left in my life. How it had changed me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-401a6cdad2e269a7ae65d2ef1af88f0c\">We promised each other something that day\u2014that we wouldn\u2019t lie again. That if things ever got hard, we\u2019d speak up instead of disappearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-f4a76ec521c575cf17b07714741b28c1\">But that wasn\u2019t the end of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-3f1610a6a75fc0f985b52fc1d181059f\">About three months later, something unexpected happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d065f9f7162edcb2f47a7b12f009c9c0\">I got a message on Instagram. From one of the women who had been at that lunch Clara posted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-53d917f6cf1399d9607311f09fa374b7\">She said, \u201cHey, I owe you an apology too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-49698aabb85ed0236ce5fcd49d3daed7\">Apparently, Clara had told everyone I was trying to \u201csteal her moment\u201d and was being selfish. They believed her. Not because they thought badly of me\u2014but because they thought Clara wouldn\u2019t lie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-9dba58939e27b2474a91c05356ba9e25\">Until she came clean to them too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a365a62ddff217a7b91d2bbda13b3e90\">She\u2019d told them the truth. That she\u2019d pushed me away out of unresolved pain. That I hadn\u2019t done anything wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d0d62163cfcb1980a80101f7f3a354e7\">The woman messaged: \u201cYou were a real one, and we shouldn\u2019t have judged. I\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-5489ed2b1a25aadd8ecb1df0da7a9446\">It felt good to hear. But also\u2026 strange. Like I\u2019d been part of a silent war I didn\u2019t even know was happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-73537ae1310d4ede2a145aeb8581bd81\">Still, it helped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-36a469f25ae28e3ca09a971f61cdc14d\">Months passed. Our friendship changed. It became more grounded. More vulnerable. Less about appearances, more about truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-46088741155ccd42ed75768afbe6dc04\">Clara even started a blog, writing about postpartum struggles. She used her story to help other moms feel less alone. I edited her posts. Cheered her on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a51712aa3a864fef01979658ba3ec835\">One day, she wrote a post titled \u201cThe Friend I Almost Lost.\u201d She described everything\u2014honestly. She tagged me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-407133192b020ed96114cd71771c7bbc\">The comments were flooded with people who had been on both sides. People who\u2019d pushed others away, or who\u2019d been pushed. It started conversations. Real ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-f49974b9135e5324c4bef4ba1177c72f\">Clara\u2019s story became something bigger than us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-060f3e6fc6c5928891cad89d26fa2207\">And me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-2bab9d7fe595319982b98b6760b9546f\">I learned to be more open too. About how friendships can break. How even good people mess up. And how forgiveness doesn\u2019t mean forgetting\u2014it means choosing to heal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-bd1742d0cc49f2a58a111d0100383e6a\">Life\u2019s funny like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-f5ad6b23ac4a9e09a9ce476f9f98ec12\">Sometimes, the people you love most will hurt you the deepest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b9589ceae7fcfe8d1ee49efe7e509a05\">And sometimes, they come back. Not as the same person\u2014but as someone who\u2019s grown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-5fe8facc76e36075a9e36e37a53f04bb\">I don\u2019t believe every friendship deserves a second chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-48a41d4b9776758d33c86f856358c962\">But I do believe some do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-33acb284985e053201e69cbda5fd4351\">Clara and I aren\u2019t the same as before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-eda1f996997af2a8dafda9ec9716565f\">We\u2019re better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-98c45cfbd1958234aa0c5b4abdcebd84\">Because we\u2019ve seen each other at our worst. And chose to stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-7da976dc689a7d00a0707613f9c02c46\">Life Lesson?<br>Friendship isn\u2019t just about the good times. It\u2019s about whether you can weather the storm, own your mistakes, and still show up after the silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-e94fc31dd824f61c7e2d16ac1d8b6a44\">If someone\u2019s on your heart today\u2014someone you miss but feel too hurt to reach out to\u2014maybe this is your sign to start the conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-08cdbabc6716c91771a7f89945dc3c4d\">You never know what healing might be waiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-3ec5cda60225500a87fdb9464c742804\">If this story touched you, share it with someone who might need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ad2bffb19e31d4216cddd13fcaeba6d5\">And if you\u2019ve ever been the one who stayed, or the one who walked away\u2014drop a \u2764\ufe0f. Let\u2019s remind each other that growth is always possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My best friend of 17 years had a baby after decades of pain and infertility. I was on cloud nine, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1522,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vibepress.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vibepress.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vibepress.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vibepress.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vibepress.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1521"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vibepress.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1521\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1523,"href":"https:\/\/vibepress.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1521\/revisions\/1523"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vibepress.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vibepress.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vibepress.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vibepress.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}