A pregnant mother of three needs to sell her stroller to feed her three children after she was abandoned by her husband.
\nAnne Sargent sat on her kitchen floor and cried. It was past midnight, and it was the only time she could allow herself to show her pain \u2014 when her three children were asleep upstairs.<\/p>\n
Anne felt the baby move and placed a tender hand on her belly. \u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d she whispered to her unborn child. \u201cI\u2019m doing my best, but it\u2019s just not good enough\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Just two months ago, Anne had been a radially happy wife and mother, confidently expecting the birth of her fourth child, and confident in her place in the world and her husband\u2019s love. That woman was gone.<\/p>\n
Derek had come home one night and told her he was leaving, just like that. \u201cBut why?\u201d asked Anne. \u201cI don\u2019t understand, I thought we were happy!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYOU were happy!\u201d Derek cried. \u201cYOU, not me! All you did was have babies and fuss over them, now there\u2019s one more on the way!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you WANTED children!\u201d Anne protested. \u201cYou were happy every time I was pregnant\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
A family is built on understanding and mutual respect.
\n\u201cHappy?\u201d screamed Derek. \u201cHappy that you gave all your love and attention to the kids? All I was to you was a paycheck! Well, that\u2019s OVER!\u201d<\/p>\n
So three months after Anne announced her fourth pregnancy, Derek was gone. Anne immediately went out and found herself a part-time job at a local grocery store.<\/p>\n
The owner would have been willing to give her a full-time job, but for that, Anne would have needed to pay a sitter for her three boys and that would have consumed most of her salary, so she carefully stretched her salary. But even with the child support check Derek sent, it just wasn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n
Anne started selling some antique china she\u2019d inherited from her grandmother and that paid for the utilities for a few months. Then she sold a silver brush-and-mirror set she\u2019d had since she was a little girl, and that paid for groceries. Little by little, as her belly grew, Anne sold her treasures to keep her family safe and fed.<\/p>\n
Then one day, there was nothing left to sell except bric-a-brac. Anything of greater value was gone. Anne looked at the old stroller she\u2019d brought up from the cellar.<\/p>\n
It had been hers when she was a baby and had been used by each of her children in turn. It was very old, probably from the sixties, but it was in mint condition.<\/p>\n
She ran her hand over the roses painted on the side and bit back her tears. She needed it for the new baby, but she needed the money even more.<\/p>\n
She thought about getting a good price for it down at the flea market. Vintage items were always popular\u2026 And so she took the stroller to the flea market, and one of the dealers gave her $50 for it. Not much at all, but every cent helped.<\/p>\n
Anne walked away, sure she\u2019d never see the stroller again, but she was wrong. Two days later, she opened the front door and saw the stroller on the porch!<\/p>\n
There was an envelope inside and Anne opened it and read: \u201cPlease call me.\u201d The message was followed by a phone number. Anne called the number ad a woman answered her.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello?\u201d Anne said. \u201cAre you the person who left the stroller? How did you know who it belonged to and where I live?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDerek told me,\u201d the woman on the other side said. \u201cI\u2019m Grace Robbs. I think we should meet.\u201d<\/p>\n
An hour later, Grace was sitting on Anne\u2019s sofa sipping tea. She was a pretty woman, six or seven years younger than Anne, and she looked very unhappy. Her pale skin was blotched and her eyes were swollen as if she\u2019d been crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know Derek,\u201d Anne asked, even though in her heart she already knew the answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was his girlfriend,\u201d Grace said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas?\u201d asked Anne. \u201cYou broke up?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, as a matter of fact,\u201d Grace said and started crying. \u201cI didn\u2019t know\u2026I didn\u2019t know about you or the children, or the baby\u2026 I found out I was pregnant, and I didn\u2019t know how to tell him\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I went to the flea market with a friend and saw this darling stroller and I bought it. I put it in the middle of the lounge and tied balloons to it with a message: \u2018Hello Dad!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he wasn\u2019t happy like I thought he\u2019d be. He started screaming and asking where II got the stroller and if his stupid wife had given it to me. He asked if it was a joke.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me to take it right back, that he didn\u2019t want to know about your baby. So I told him: \u2018It\u2019s for OUR baby.\u2019 and that\u2019s when he went crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe accused me of wanting to trap him and said he already had three brats with you and one more on the way, and he didn\u2019t want my baby. He told me to get out and come to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said: \u2018Might as well have all the breeding cows under the same roof.\u2019 I\u2019m so sorry, I didn\u2019t know about you, I guess I didn\u2019t know him at all!\u201d<\/p>\n
Anne got up and put her arm around the crying girl. \u201cIt\u2019s okay. It\u2019s going to be okay, you\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s kicked me out,\u201d Grace said quietly. \u201cI have no family here and nowhere to go. I have a job, but with the rents in this city, I can\u2019t afford to live alone, and who is going to want a pregnant roommate?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will!\u201d Anne said firmly. \u201cI need a tenant because what I earn isn\u2019t enough, and I can\u2019t work full-time because I can\u2019t afford a babysitter for after school.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut\u2026\u201d Grace\u2019s face lit up. \u201cI work online! I can take care of the kids after school. I love kids!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I can take a full-time job?\u201d asked Anne, delighted. \u201cThe owner of the grocery store wants me to manage it for him. With your help, I can! And you don\u2019t have to worry about stuff for the baby. After three kids I have enough for an army.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace smiled through her tears. \u201cAnd we have the stroller too\u2026\u201d she pointed out. \u201cAre you sure? It\u2019s Derek\u2019s baby\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Anne shook her head. \u201cIt\u2019s YOUR baby, and my children\u2019s sibling, that is all that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two women settled into a new life together, and when Anne\u2019s baby was born, Grace was there. When it was Grace\u2019s turn four months later, Anne held her hand. They became a real family and raised their five children together.<\/p>\n
As for Derek, he had several failed relationships and eventually came knocking on Anne\u2019s door. He was shocked when he saw Grace there and asked to speak to Anne. \u201cWhat do you want, Derek?\u201d Anne asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI miss you, babe\u2026\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
Anne stared at him for a long moment then said, \u201cSorry, so not interested!\u201d And she closed the door in his face.<\/p>\n
What can we learn from this story?
\nIf we work together, we can overcome any problem. Anne and Grace couldn\u2019t survive alone, but together they were an unbeatable team.
\nA family is built on understanding and mutual respect. Anne and Grace forged a family out of their friendship and mutual support.
\nShare this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A pregnant mother of three needs to sell her stroller to feed her three children after she was abandoned by her husband. Anne Sargent sat on her kitchen floor and cried. It was past midnight, and it was the only time she could allow herself to show her pain \u2014 when her three children were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1812,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tales"],"yoast_head":"\n