Mom had a number of miscarriages in the early sixties before doctors told her she couldn’t have children.

She made her peace with it, tucked it all away, and adopted my brother and me. 10 years after adopting me, she miraculously had my sister. It wasn’t until the week before she died that she finally talked to me how terrible those miscarriages had been for her. I’ve had a couple, too, as have a number of friends, old and new. Whenever it happens to someone I know, I always want to acknowledge it in some way, but I never know how.

I started writing this piece earlier this year. I’ve picked it up and put it down a hundred times since then, but I was afraid it was insensitive or took the wrong tone. Finally, last night, I ran it past a new friend (Thank you, E!) who is all too familiar with the topic and she gave it the thumbs-up, so here it is. It’s meant as a love letter to all the parents who were cheated of their chance.

Obituary: Summer Winter (2014-2014)

Summer Winter died today at the age of -0. She took with her all the hopes and dreams of her parents and everyone who was ready to love her. Here are just a few of the obituaries Summer should have had.

A Nobel Laureate, Dr. Winter was responsible for the cures for cancer, AIDS, altzheimer’s, ALS, arthritis, the common cold, athlete’s foot, and ill effects of humidity on hair.

Superstar of stage and screen, at the tender age of 6 months, Summer became the darling of the entertainment world with her heartbreaking portrayal of a tiny clown with self esteem issues. She went on to be the toast of Broadway, writing, scoring, directing, producing, and starring in over 100 smash musical hits, which she then turned into blockbuster movies and successful, long-running TV shows. All of the considerable proceeds of these successes went to charity.

A selfless volunteer, Ms. Winter spent much of her life among the tribes of Papa New Guinea teaching the natives to grow vegetables, floss, and use the conference feature on their cell phones.

World-famous biologist Dr. Winter solved the question of how to renew the Earth’s natural resources, single-handedly restored all endangered species to optimal numbers, learned to communicate with all mammals worldwide using a combination of whistles and interpretive dance, and recorded the first Ted Talk for animals.

A computer pioneer, Summer Winter invented many indispensable and world-changing gadgets including a 3-D printer which printed food to feed starving villages, the world’s smallest wearable computer which when installed in a front tooth allowed the wearer to connect to the internet anytime just by blowing a raspberry, and a 100% accurate tornado, blizzard, and storm prediction super-computer which enabled weathermen to predict the exact weather 1 year ahead, reducing the loss of life to 0%, and ensuring brides would never again be rained upon.

World-renowned artist and photographer Summer took the art world by storm by creating the most beautiful images the human race had ever seen. The main themes of her work were cocktail olives and actor Peter Dinklage.

Summer is survived by hundreds of family members, and by friends, colleagues, and admirers in the millions. She will be mourned by all.

Summer Winter died today at the age of -0, but oh, if she’d lived, she could have been anything.