‘Dear white moms, what I need you to know…’
“You are my friends. You are my sisters. We are the same in more ways than we are different, but there are a few things I need you to know.”
By LJ Herman -
‘My partner of 4 years left with no explanation. I was blindsided with an earth-shattering, life-changing conversation.’
“He came into the bedroom to wake me up, just as he had done every day of our relationship. Only today was different. My entire life had been flipped upside down in an instant, and no matter how hard I tried to get it back, it was gone.”
By Eliza Murphy -‘Before the doctor came in he started telling us about drinking prune juice. He started laughing as he tells us he drank 3 glasses of it, and it worked. We started laughing – loudly.’
“I realized it was a sound we hadn’t heard for a very long time. For a moment, our world was normal.”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘You are not their only parent. You co-parent with addicts, who have harmed, forgotten and neglected these kiddos. I have had children years before learning their middle names.’
“You have unannounced visits where they look in your cupboards and question your mountain of laundry. They are quick to judge the dishes in your sink and the fact you forgot to lock up the medicine. I’m under scrutiny.”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘Last week, a boy at school punched my daughter in the face. HARD. And yes, I have pictures.’
“She came into the world weighing 4lbs. 5 years later, she is still extremely petite. I need anyone reading this to react with the appropriate amount of horror when absorbing the following sentence…”
By LJ Herman -
An open letter to anyone who has ever said, ‘Stop taking pictures of your kids and enjoy them.’
“I’m pretty sure if I didn’t use up all 47 seconds of my childrens’ attention spans for photos, I would rest my head on whatever pillows they didn’t steal from my bed each night wondering if I’m doing anything right. But instead, I lay down and open up a camera reel that reminds me that today, there were smiles.”
By LJ Herman -
‘I have a confession. I have a crippling fear my child will get taken.’
“The fear of losing one of my children at a park, or the zoo, or even the grocery store, has paralyzed me. The fear of someone taking one of them is so overwhelming, it is often easier and safer to just stay at home.”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘I was afraid to be alone with him. My phone records were being watched meticulously. I wasn’t allowed to work past a certain time. I felt like I brought this on because I couldn’t give him a child.’
“The final straw came on my birthday. My best friend told me my husband had tried to sleep with her while he was drunk. I was in a daze for months.”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘It was the most touching thing I’ve seen. I hope this lady finds peace through this tribute.’ Stranger pays for 1st birthday cake anonymously and the reason why will leave you in tears
“I asked what the customer name was, thinking she was paying for a specific person. She then started to tear up.”
By LJ Herman -