{"id":681,"date":"2025-12-14T15:08:24","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T15:08:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vibepress.us\/?p=681"},"modified":"2025-12-14T15:08:26","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T15:08:26","slug":"youre-stronger-than-you-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vibepress.us\/?p=681","title":{"rendered":"YOU\u2019RE STRONGER THAN YOU THINK"},"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:80px;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-small-font-size wp-elements-bda5a32d769ab958603fa6b7fb123eee\"><strong>YOU\u2019RE STRONGER THAN YOU THINK<br><\/strong><br><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-5851789534382a7300277df09a37a5c5\">During labor, I heard a woman screaming in the next room.<br>\u201cShe sounds like me, <strong>but more desperate,\u201d I told my nurse.<br>\u201cShe\u2019s also alone tonight,\u201d she said.<\/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-b800c2f035e7515e20ccec9910b70a9f\">After giving birth, I sent that woman my blanket and a note: <strong>\u201cYou\u2019re stronger than you think.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-fc7a3189e3ccea94f6150690c40ad0d7\">Months later, I was rushing through the grocery store, juggling a fussy baby in one arm and a shopping basket in the other. My hair was barely brushed, and my shirt had a faint smear of mashed banana on it. Honestly, I was too tired to care. As I stood in line, rocking my daughter with one foot while mentally calculating whether I had enough diapers at home, someone touched my shoulder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-2be0a43232b82eee08a46072510fa332\">\u201cExcuse me\u2026 were you at St. Mary\u2019s Hospital about four months ago?\u201d a woman asked softly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d58a4db510274318b3f6a89c5f770fc9\">I turned and blinked at her. She had kind eyes and a tired smile. Something about her face felt familiar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-75ae7fc4fc5487b421eb5364e0961996\">\u201cYeah,\u201d I said, wary but curious. \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-11c990b26be4d73efdee59dbc878102f\">She looked down for a second, then met my eyes again. \u201cI think you sent me a blanket.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ea7957cde002b3c140d71afc28be4447\">I froze. \u201cThat was you?\u201d<br>Her eyes filled with tears, but she didn\u2019t cry. \u201cI was alone. My boyfriend left a week before I went into labor. My mom refused to come. I thought I couldn\u2019t do it. And then the nurse brought in that blanket and your note. I can\u2019t explain it, but\u2026 it helped me breathe again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-e5a675074d6190da1e277c3e89e864c4\">Something warm and heavy settled in my chest.<strong> I remembered that moment clearly\u2014exhausted, holding my daughter, hearing the other woman still crying softly behind the wall.<\/strong> I\u2019d asked the nurse if I could send something. It wasn\u2019t much, just a note scribbled in a daze and the hospital blanket I\u2019d clutched during labor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-dd1ede3f370f1b03fe167928cbceb39d\">\u201cI didn\u2019t think it would matter,\u201d I admitted.<br>She shook her head. \u201cIt mattered. I kept that note. It\u2019s on my fridge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-fdd3fb4f5058222bcf3c915e9c308490\">We stood there in the middle of the cereal aisle, two strangers connected by pain and kindness, and laughed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-6d33aaa91fc90164e2e81968be39faf4\">Her name was Shireen. Her son, Marcus, was born three hours after my daughter, Lily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-18e1be7f04382195fa9e3c9f397d4f23\">We started talking more after that\u2014texts at first, mostly jokes about explosive diapers and weird pediatrician advice. Then we started walking together in the mornings, pushing our strollers through the park while we vented about everything\u2014late-night feeds, loneliness, the weirdness of suddenly being someone\u2019s entire universe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-e2492946f1840abe806cfa747c21861c\">She told me more about her story. She\u2019d been in nursing school, top of her class. Then she got pregnant, and her boyfriend bailed. She\u2019d been too ashamed to tell her professors and dropped out quietly. She was living in her aunt\u2019s spare room and trying to piece together a future while raising a baby solo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-847cc77c658761dfaa994a9eb386a4b1\"><br>\u201cI always thought I was weak,\u201d she confessed one morning. \u201cBut after that night\u2026 and meeting you\u2026 I\u2019ve started thinking maybe I\u2019m not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-2aa11c91917c3cbafcac13d2177ef483\">\u201cYou\u2019re not,\u201d I told her. \u201cYou\u2019re just tired. That\u2019s not the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a4eee51f3fe90549654ce9dedf9dd7f0\">We became each other\u2019s lifelines\u2014tag-teaming grocery runs, swapping meals, watching each other\u2019s kids for a couple of precious solo hours a week. It wasn\u2019t glamorous, but it was real. And it kept both of us from breaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-c1a54eb4570294e20aa79624a6ff0b08\">Then, one rainy afternoon while we were hanging out at my place, my husband came home early from work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-6912b1b529b4171492daacba3dab6461\">He barely nodded at Shireen. \u201cShe\u2019s here again?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ed072bb79c55db20b5189beeb8d1347f\">I stiffened. \u201cShe helped me fix the leaky faucet. You were supposed to do it last week, remember?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-18b828dd396f916af1562419c3a39d5c\">He ignored that and walked past us. Later, he pulled me aside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b9dc13f93947d46fac5977465f496bdf\">\u201cI get that you\u2019re trying to be supportive or whatever,\u201d he said, \u201cbut don\u2019t you think you\u2019re getting too involved? She\u2019s not your responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-603ca67878bdde4490e689413f82c254\">That hit a nerve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-baf926e7705529396bcc884206e9e9e2\">\u201cShe\u2019s my friend,\u201d I said flatly. \u201cAnd she was there when you weren\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ec8c2f3c70f756b7c9f4065476706629\">He looked like I slapped him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-776dd7bd4cd413a77d8dc48f3444c96f\">Things had been tense between us since Lily was born. He worked late a lot, said he was \u201cproviding,\u201d but barely held her or asked how I was doing. We\u2019d gone from being a couple to roommates with a shared project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b8d7eaa1d2069a1fe23062a0e98e193e\">Later that week, I caught him scrolling on his phone and smiling. He wouldn\u2019t say why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-0ffa040d994e3fabb5491485d2475b48\">So I did what I never thought I\u2019d do. I looked through his messages while he slept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-93ad3341641b09b8bc23937510f9e359\">And there it was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-0c229634218d9c64e8ba8e4a03b1f843\">Her name was Jessica. A coworker. The messages weren\u2019t explicit, but they didn\u2019t need to be. Flirty jokes. Weekend plans. One photo that made my stomach churn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-33da346df2f9584b276ba45bbca89121\">I didn\u2019t wake him. I just stared at the wall, my mind racing. I thought of Lily asleep in her crib. I thought of the bills stacked on the kitchen table. And then I thought of Shireen, how she\u2019d survived something worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-4e3db6143b79d13eda148f182abefdf6\">The next morning, I packed a bag and went to my sister\u2019s. I didn\u2019t say anything dramatic. I just left a note on the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-147c1eaa91a0e7eac98548f50ddfc79d\">I filed for separation two days later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-facdcd3974733ad385ddeba0bb07ea3f\">When I told Shireen, she just held my hand. \u201cYou\u2019re stronger than you think,\u201d she whispered, the words I\u2019d written to her months ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-70603f09467b73ebc568b9e8389c101a\">Funny how they came back around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b288f239d5a025cfa09dd54acaf53502\">The weeks that followed were brutal. My husband begged, then threatened, then guilt-tripped. He said I was breaking our family. I reminded him he\u2019d already done that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d5203ff47dbd447c0b3e53534faad1f2\">I started therapy. Got a part-time job. My sister helped with Lily. Shireen helped, too\u2014more than she should\u2019ve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-90ef9e7b0e027a16d4f82d2e18ebd15d\">Then one day, I found a folded application in Lily\u2019s diaper bag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-9fbd7396d65629ca8696e9b3bf8460ea\">\u201cNursing school,\u201d it said across the top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-6331dea416b6314cc3c308cc1b571ab9\">I blinked and looked up at Shireen, who just shrugged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a4b618ede15aaecef08c7e538c3564b4\">\u201cI\u2019ve been thinking about going back,\u201d she said. \u201cYou made me believe I could.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a0ba83fae4d3d0e6c1d3d99d49d9ac10\">I stared at her. \u201cI didn\u2019t do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b38823c4981ae9c9868cc87edb00a6a2\">\u201cYou gave me a blanket,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd you stayed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d7b94157cdf0935ab77185791613968e\">That stuck with me. Sometimes, all someone needs is for someone to stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a71cc4da69b010e37de2e730d964f79e\">Two years passed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-9031e44d4603daf88570fd6ed3959b24\">Lily turned two with chocolate on her face and a wonky balloon arch I made myself. Shireen and Marcus came early to help set up. She was halfway through nursing school now, commuting twice a week while her aunt watched Marcus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-4ac9cdd2c8cb64dc67e0e0da32e68982\">We\u2019d both come so far from those scared, broken girls screaming into hospital pillows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-22ea7f750ad2a568a507e34683707a02\">Then came another twist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-60cec8e491aac1abbdc50ecc5d08d65e\">A woman named Rachel moved in next door. Single mom, baby girl. Quiet, pale, looked exhausted all the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-650f208f800b69687ae83b9bad31588c\">I waved when we crossed paths but she never said much. Until one day, I heard crying through the wall. Not the baby\u2014Rachel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-002af6be4c9cecac82da8751c0cef645\">I didn\u2019t knock. I just sent Lily to play with Shireen and knocked on Rachel\u2019s door with a warm cup of tea and a blanket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a669a7330d19450e03cb1baef0f1a50f\">\u201cI know this might sound strange,\u201d I said gently, \u201cbut\u2026 you\u2019re stronger than you think.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d715236477e9c9aaf09cf2c28b61b02b\">Her eyes filled instantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-02d8184e9dd2e07e2dc51ba2b67edf6e\">We sat on her floor for two hours, talking. Or, well, she talked and I listened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-00da5c6cb0f9ea82cdf03d66e49e6227\">Turns out she was battling postnatal depression. Her husband had died in a car crash six months into her pregnancy. She had no nearby family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-60cc31f7ed972a482be3bcb5ef8ad4ee\">\u201cI feel so guilty,\u201d she admitted. \u201cLike I\u2019m failing her already.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-3ad75c2e109d5c6674c8ac48fd3615b1\">I looked her in the eye. \u201cYou\u2019re showing up. That\u2019s not failing. That\u2019s brave.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d5d0841df21ae709745c3e5926f39ffe\">Weeks passed. We included her in stroller walks. Baby playdates. Shared dinners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-dc6ca84c3225e4c57b6f843dc1159bb3\">And slowly, she started smiling again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-82c1c24199aab506684a6e1cd02de696\">One night, I came home to find a note taped to my door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-aee0e83546b5d114da067522495d0539\">It just said, \u201cYou\u2019re stronger than you think.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a8a908a8d95bb8ef48b83e90ffe3a409\">My own words, sent back to me again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1a39901217d22245715bfcfaa105be5b\">I kept that note. It lives on my fridge now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-83276c7d0f3412b084fb83c52dd5a988\">Life didn\u2019t magically become perfect. I still had court hearings with my ex. Money was tight. Some nights, Lily wouldn\u2019t sleep and I\u2019d sit in the dark crying silently, wondering if I was doing anything right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-40db271ff21413ee7b85f7ff56762564\">But I had a tribe now. Women who\u2019d been alone, who knew what it felt like to fall apart and build yourself back piece by piece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-9b12ea8af48df9c7fb163b344690800d\">We celebrated each other\u2019s wins\u2014Shireen passing her exams, Rachel getting a part-time job, me finally feeling like I could breathe without waiting for the next disaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-525f9c2c8ff5c9086bd8635892b522c2\">And we helped through the losses\u2014teething nightmares, broken boilers, bad days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-047b95f18016f041a62233dfcef40851\">The blanket I\u2019d sent Shireen? She passed it to Rachel when she needed it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-85048ffe43e4570cbff6ae9f0a379810\">Rachel gave it to another mom later\u2014someone she met at a support group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-875465559696937ef419ee9178252b47\">It became a thing. The \u201cstrong blanket.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-fc823c498f68bdf09e3313e5d4e86341\">Passed on from one woman to another, always with the same note: You\u2019re stronger than you think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-e5341324d2e5cf33512310cd78f25231\">I don\u2019t know where that blanket is now. But I like to believe it\u2019s still out there, being passed from hand to hand, heart to heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-fb113371b0c131f87c5ac7e75fc0a0bf\">And maybe that\u2019s the point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-0eef29bb326e08bae19fd736730a4c3d\">Sometimes, the smallest acts ripple out in ways we can\u2019t imagine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-46760ce066329a7d074e0be2f7d4886b\">A blanket. A note. A cup of tea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-aaced0f07bca370456cedcfccbd36e06\">A moment of kindness when the world feels like it\u2019s caving in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1c8114cc2282aa9bc34e1142171856d6\">You never know how far it\u2019ll go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-8682dcdbc034c0157fc347d26764a897\">So if you\u2019re reading this, and you\u2019re tired or scared or just hanging on by a thread\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-e67e5f7360550d2edc815c0be8145880\">You\u2019re stronger than you think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d1e2de456c56a66d79b88806e514b015\">Really.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-f81afd35678b6332eff380c40fefb670\">And if you\u2019ve made it through something hard? Maybe look around. Someone else might be screaming in the next room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b93d387b22a928df56f089d233f15f12\">Pass it on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a32fdce8f9d0199ca073ddff2530b6e0\"><strong>\ud83d\udcac If this story touched you, give it a like or share it with someone who might need to hear these words today. You never know who needs a blanket.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>During labor, I heard a woman screaming in the next room.\u201cShe sounds like me, but more desperate,\u201d I told my [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":682,"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-681","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\/681","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=681"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vibepress.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":683,"href":"https:\/\/vibepress.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681\/revisions\/683"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vibepress.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vibepress.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vibepress.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vibepress.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}