Rebecca Balfe is a former editor for Love What Matters. She resides in NYC, owning and rescuing adorable cats. She is an avid Lupus fighter and advocate.
‘He looked at me and said, ‘When are you going to adopt me?’: Stepmom shares emotional adoption of teen son
“My heart nearly exploded. I started to cry and said, ‘Lets do it!’ I vowed to step up and parent a little boy, but truth is, he taught me more then I could ever teach him.”
‘At least you’ll stay skinny!’ I sat on the toilet and cried. You never think you might be the ONE.’: Woman documents infertility journey, ‘Don’t be ashamed to talk about it’
“Why does every part of this ‘journey’ have to be a struggle? He marched to the front of the line, set his sperm filled cup right on the counter, and told them it was time sensitive and he couldn’t wait.”
‘I hadn’t felt her kick. All my wife could say was, ‘Oh God, I’m coming.’ My fears were becoming reality.’: Gay couple battles infertility, births miracle daughter after traumatic induction
“‘I’m not even sure you will get pregnant.’ It felt like the air had left the room. Why couldn’t my body do what it was made to do? ‘If it doesn’t work this time I can’t do this anymore.’ I hit rock bottom.”
‘My hair fell out. I hadn’t had a period in 9 months. My daughter said with tears in her eyes, ‘I’m scared you’re never going to get better!’: Personal trainer overcomes alcohol addiction with exercise
“‘You have very little time left.’ I was non-responsive, my alcohol level was 0.32. It was not-so-silently killing me. I was fighting to survive.”
‘Would you want to adopt him?’ She was taken from the only woman she knew and placed with a stranger.’: Couple describes adoption, foster journey, ‘Our lives have never been the same’
“We cried and prayed. We said yes right away. Then we got a call to see if we wanted to foster-to-adopt a 1-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl.”
‘She told her daughter, ‘I’m sorry.’ She gave her a kiss and handed her to me. She left without her baby.’: Woman becomes close to birth mom during adoption, ‘There is no love without loss’
“Within a couple of days, she said, ‘If you want to choose me, I want to choose you.’ It became official. I was shaking. I’m not blind to the fact that in order to call her mine, there was a lot of hurt that had to take place.”
‘YOU’RE going to run? Your boobs are going to hit your face.’ I went to see a plastic surgeon at 16.’: Woman overcomes years of negative self image, ‘If you’re not feeling good on the inside, you’ll never feel good on the outside’
“I was told by my boyfriend, ‘You need to stop being mean to everyone just because you’re in a bad mood.’ I moved out with no money, no job, and no dog. Everyone who said, ‘We’re still your friend and we love you no matter what,’ didn’t stick around.”
‘There’s no way to prove he didn’t know you didn’t want it.’ Fighting back tears, I said, ‘I was asleep.’: Sexual assault survivor represses memory for 3 years. ‘If this is what I needed to go through to learn all of this, then I am thankful’
“Every so often, the officer would say, ‘It doesn’t seem like you knew him really well.’ I was getting so frustrated. Does it matter? Would that change things?”
‘I got the call and instantly threw up. ‘Do you know how sick you are?’ We cried together.’: Young woman with Cystic fibrosis gives tribute to donor, ‘I am forever grateful for the second chance at life’
“I steadily declined. The doctor said, ‘Kenzie, there is what we call a ‘transplant window.’ I need to start the process now before it is too late. My family held hands around my bed. Being rolled away was the hardest part.”
‘I’ve had 9 children, by myself. One passed away. I’m expecting, but I have no idea when my ‘due date’ is.’: Single mom fosters multiple children and has open adoption, ‘It’s all on me, baby!’
“I came to foster parenting by accident. Some women dream of having big families and becoming mothers, but not me. In fact, the older I got, the more sure I was that I never wanted children. Then my plot twist arrived. I had never seen a more beautiful baby in my whole life.”