For Want of a Child

By Lily Starbright

This book is about a long, sad, relentless journey to become a parent. The  journey is not something I would wish for anyone; but, unfortunately, lots of people go through  it. However, seeing the rainbow at the end of the journey is what I wish for everyone who

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookTrail Publishing
• Release date: Jan 10, 2024
• ISBN: 9781962256841

Lily Starbright

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Lily Starbright was born in New York in the late forties. Her family moved to Florida when she was eight years old. She grew up and attended school in South Miami and attended Dade Community College majoring in Criminology and minored in English Literature. She also attended Broward Community College, in Broward County, Florida. At the age of ten she began writing poetry. Writing comes naturally to her. She has several poems published in The National Library of Poetry books and is currently divorced, living in Florida and has two children.

Book preview

Copyright © 2023 Lily Starbright

Paperback: 978-1-962256-79-7

eBook: 978-1-962256-84-1

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023921682

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Ordering Information:

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Printed in the United States of America

DEDICATION

To Alexander and Laisea who have made all of my dreams come true, I love you both. You have given me a reason to be on this earth and you are why I wake up each morning and thank the Lord for giving me another day here. I hope I will be around for a long time so I can enjoy as much time as possible with both of you.

Contents

Acknowledgment

For Want of a Child

Introduction

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

To My Unborn Child

The End of Waiting

A Son of Our Own

My Precious Child

We Are Adoptimg a Baby

New Mother

The Wait

The Christmas Present

Turning Forty

So Thankful

The Chosen One

We Have Options

My Wish

The Wait Is Over

Relationships

Decisions

Going for the Gold

Realizing Our Dream

Your Angelic Face

Two Women

Acknowledgment

This book was written for a special group of people. Only someone who has gone through what we all have been through could possibly understand our anxieties, frustrations and anger.

I am so tired of hearing things like Don’t try so hard, Abstain for two weeks, Drink some wine or Relax and enjoy. To add more insult to injury, people would constantly say to me I have a friend or relative who had a miscarriage and now they have a beautiful child or Adopt and you will definitely get pregnant or they tell me to pray. To the people who say I should adopt, you have no idea how long the process can take. I went to an adoption agency and the wait was four years.

I began writing this book in the early 1980s. Fortunately, there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. This is my story, along with poems I wrote during my experience. I hope this lightens your load and gives you hope as you share my journey in accomplishing to become a parent.

For Want of a Child

The light at the end of the tunnel is not necessarily a train.

Because there is a black cloud over you doesn’t really mean that it will rain.

It has been said that nobody dies from infertility;

But, only we infertiles know how wrong that saying can be.

A little bit of us dies each month as our cycle comes to an end.

We hope to achieve a pregnancy but, we have to round another bend.

I can’t comprehend child abuse, what could these people be thinking of?

There are so many of us who want children so much; someone to nurture and to love.

Fertile people can have lots of babies, but there is one thing we know for sure.

Giving birth does not make one a good parent; we know that it takes a lot more.

When we finally become parents and have our child to love;

We feel guilty if we complain or yell; we ask for forgiveness from above.

Being infertile doesn’t make us less human and the truth of the matter is we want control over our destiny because this is a difficult way to live.

Just imagine not having your children; or, if your parents could not conceive you.

The world would be a much sadder place and we all believe that is true.

We’re not asking for the stars or the moon, we just want some guidance from above.

A child, a family, is what we wish for; so that we can share all of our love.

– Written by Lily Starbright on 7/23/1990

Introduction

I was brought up to believe that you graduate