As a Digital Editor of Love What Matters, I'm here to pull on your heartstrings and make you smile. After spending nearly six years as a Digital Reporter for ABC News' "Good Morning America," I'm thrilled to continue sharing touching and inspiring stories that the world is so craving. We can all use more love in our lives -- now you've found the perfect place to get it.
“‘There is nothing more we can do.’ We counted her tiny fingers, toes. She had my nose, and the most stunning blue-green eyes. We held her hand, stroked her hair. It was the first and last time my husband got to hold his daughter. The little girl whose name he chose. The nurse wrapped her in a white blanket and handed her to me. I took in every detail of her beautiful face, holding her tiny hand until all warmth was gone.”
“There are no tryouts. Everyone is accepted. I’ve never been more disgusted by a group of parents in my entire life, the way I was last weekend at my daughter’s soccer game. They made fun of our girls from the get-go. 6-year-old’s. First graders! They don’t keep score! But these parents – they were relentless. Within 2 minutes of this game, I knew this would be a whole different experience.”
“When we started dating, I kept it a secret. I didn’t want to be judged. I was so worried others would say it was ‘too soon.’ I felt like I was cheating on Kyle. One day, it hit me. Kyle wasn’t coming back. It was okay to be happy with someone else. I am due just 4 days after mine and Kyle’s wedding anniversary. A coincidence by no means. I know he’s smiling down – he did that.”
“‘I really think you should go to the ER,’ my best friend said as I winced in pain. For me to even consider the emergency room meant something was seriously wrong. ‘Kidney stones,’ I thought. A quick scan, morphine and some rest and I’d be on my way. I was wrong. I’ll never forget his name, Brian. The main nurse I had. ‘We need to do another scan, this time, one of your chest.’”
“We paraded excitedly into the courtroom. The twins, in all of their manic glory, ran about, spun in the judge’s chair, making tons of noise. A shoe was thrown across the room. The oldest sat back and watched in amusement. When the judge asked each kid if he wanted Tom to be his legal father, all 3 responded ‘YES!’ He then turned to Tom and said with a wink, ‘No backsies.’”
“She cautiously hugged his leg. He wrapped his arms around her. ‘Hi, Daddy.’ He pulled her in tighter. I’m sure he was afraid his voice would break, or the tears would flow. She left, like I asked her to. By the time I made it back to his hospital room, he couldn’t breathe. I was confused. ‘He will not make it through the night.’ I shook my head. ‘Impossible.’ He was fine just 20 minutes before when our daughter was here.”
“My friend asked if I wanted to stay the night. I couldn’t, but asked if she wanted to stay at my house. Before I could even finish, she told me ‘no.’ I shrugged it off, no big deal. A week later, she saw my whole family. That’s when I recognized the fear in her eyes. She had not seen my stepdad since then.”
“I left a passionate comment to a post that read, ‘I work in a hospital. I overheard a coworker in the break room say they hate wasting time on these worthless addicts.’ I cried with the mom who shared a photo of a beautiful young woman, the caption reading, ‘My baby was found dead today.’”
“This is my story, real and raw. I hope it encourages others to share theirs.”
“I’m literally doing the bare minimum by loving my wife for who she is, ‘imperfections’ and all. Sure, things look and feel slightly different — but in the grand scheme of things, nothing changed. The reasons I fell in love with her had nothing to do with her body.”
