Michelle Schultz
Bio
I'm mostly an editorial writer. I love to share my opinions and experiences. I don't hold back and I swear so if you take offense easily, my articles probably aren't for you. I'm a single mom just trying to stay sane.
@loreleismom
Stories (99/0)
The Tear
We grew up by heroin highway, or 290. I saw the stories on the news, but we were in a small suburb. It couldn't happen to anyone I knew. We had good lives, they weren't perfect, but they were good. I stood staring at his gray body, dark circles under his eyes, bluish-purple lips, bruises lined his arms and as they administer the naloxone, I can't help but think that he is dead. Not in the literal sense. His heart is beating again, but this is not the guy I grew up with. The person I knew died with the first injection. The first snort. The first toke.... to be honest, I'm not sure how it started. He wouldn't tell me that. He hid his other life from me, knowing that I wouldn't approve. He knew I had a background of bad experiences with people I've known making a handful of mistakes on harsh, addictive drugs. So he hid it from me, like so many of our other friends. I've watched as many of my best friends have made this transition; from best friend to complete stranger. Even worse, I've stood at funerals for this horrible disease. I stood at funerals before we were even out of high school. And now, here I stood, watching the man I was in love with wither away as the disease and the drugs took over. As I ran a hand over my protruding belly, I wondered how this was going to affect her. I wondered if he would even be around to meet her. I wondered if I should run, get as far away from this state as possible so that there was never even the possibility of me ever seeing my daughter fall to this fate. But that wouldn't help. Moving wouldn't solve anything. It was a nationwide problem at this point. I looked again at the stranger in front of me. This disease was killing him and in that moment I realized there was nothing I could do to stop it.
By Michelle Schultz6 years ago in Psyche
Bad Parenting
I am a single mom. My day begins and ends with picking up toys. Harry the Bunny's theme song is stuck in my head for 90 percent of the morning. My "me time" consists of a bubble bath where I'm turning the water off every five minutes to listen for crying. Why? Why is this my life at 24 years old? Because I was a fucking idiot and had sex with an even bigger idiot. But he was "the one" and we were going to be together forever. Even though we weren't really together and instead of paying me child support this month he decided to take a vacation outside of the country. As soon as that test turned positive he turned into a positive asshole. Not that that stopped me from trying to get him to be a dad or sleep with him when I was drunk... but we all make mistakes, right? Just took me almost four years to learn that he was a mistake. Sorry dad, you were right. He's a loser. I did get one good thing out of those somewhat wasted years though: our daughter is pretty fucking amazing. I have no idea what I would do without her. I also have no fucking idea what I'm doing with her.
By Michelle Schultz6 years ago in Families
Being Thankful for Family
With the holidays coming up, a lot of us are thinking about family. We're either thinking about how much we're dreading spending so much fucking time together, or trying to remember how thankful we are to just have them, or maybe we're thinking about the family we used to have and wishing with everything that even for this one little holiday, we had that back. In whatever form, most of us are thinking about family. With Thanksgiving coming up, we are reminded to be thankful for what we have and who we have.
By Michelle Schultz6 years ago in Families