Colin Balfe

Colin Balfe is the Founder and Chief Content Officer of Love What Matters. Colin was inspired to start Love What Matters after his mother passed from Ovarian cancer. Through his grieving process, he saw the need to connect a like minded community around a deeply personal storytelling platform. He's proudest of the communities within LWM, strangers united by powerful and impactful experiences, underserved people connecting around mutual challenges, hopes and dreams. These communities include Adoption, Mental Health, Infertility, Addiction, Grief, Special Needs Parenting, LGBTQ+ and many more.

‘He asked, ‘What do those two lines mean? Is this real life?’ We were wildly unprepared for a baby. I’m only 23!’: Young mom discusses challenging pregnancy and NICU journey

“The stress and worry of the NICU life, the hospital bill and being away from my daughter, trying to ‘lead a normal life’, was debilitating. I was not okay, but I tried to be; I had to be okay for her. She fought harder for her life in 27 days than most people do in 27 years.”

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‘There is no such thing as ‘my body before pregnancy’ and ‘my body after’ it’s simply, ‘my body.’: New mom discovers postpartum body ‘may look different now, but I haven’t changed bodies like an outfit’

“I was ignorant about how my life would be reshaped in the days and weeks to follow. Your emotions soar to new heights and dip to new lows. ‘Have we rushed into being parents? Our lives were so easy before our son – now look!’ You don’t know how it will be until you’re ‘in it.”

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‘You are on the highest dose I can legally prescribe.’ I sat in the doctor’s office, ashamed of who I’d turned into.’: Young woman with OCD/anxiety gets off medication, finally finds she ‘has the tools to power through any obstacles’

“I walked out of the office and something just clicked. I didn’t want to rely on medication anymore to be happy. I didn’t want to live my life this way any longer. I knew in my heart there had to be some other option.”

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‘Why couldn’t I just be the mom I’d pictured and do it right?’ I was going to love motherhood, every single second.: Mom suffers from depression/anxiety, finally realizes ‘I’m the mom I’m meant to be.’

“I cried, ‘Why does this feel so hard?!’ Maybe you’re thinking, ‘Duh, everyone knows motherhood is difficult.’ Still, I continued to be disappointed. No, not every day. But I was so focused on the mom I WASN’T, I didn’t take time to focus on all the things I was doing RIGHT.”

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‘I know it is the best thing I have ever done for my family. Divorce is not a tragedy.’: Mother of two reflects on the positives stemming from her divorce

“I was with my husband for 13 years. I’m 30, which means our relationship began when I was only 17. At the time, we were madly in love. However, there were so many drastic changes from when I was 17. I needed to make changes in my life. One day, though, we just sat down and had a talk about how unhappy we both were.”

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‘We chose RV life, RV life didn’t choose us!’: Family of 4 upgrades to an RV, ‘The only word we could use would be ‘freeing.’ You don’t realize how much things weigh on you.’

“The questions started to roll in and the eyebrows started to raise. ‘You live in what?’ We decided to live full time in our RV, for multiple reasons. We wanted to try it out. Going through our items one by one took a lot of weight off of us. We felt like we could breathe again. We could easily question, ‘What happens after this?’ The beauty is, we don’t have to know all the answers!”

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‘You probably won’t be able to pull off a vaginal delivery due to your size.’ My doctor commented on my weight at my first appointment.’: Woman shares struggles of being plus-size, ‘I was so quick to hate on my body, to grab the rolls and want to rip them off’

“I felt as if every person in the room was judging me for eating. ‘She carries snacks in her bag? No wonder she’s fat.’ Why did I feel like this for simply trying to provide myself with nourishment? I just wanted to be pretty. Skinny. There were horror stories of doctors being prejudiced to mothers for being bigger, calling them fat like it was nothing. I was horrified. The moment I held my son for the first time, I realized how truly amazing my body was, even though I was plus-size. I did that!”

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‘Awww, your poor husband.’ I have 7 daughters and work full time. I’ve heard this comment a thousand times.’: Mom feels ‘blessed’ for all-girl family despite judgement

“I don’t always get enough sleep. I spend my ‘free time’ cleaning up messes. My husband doesn’t get to watch all of the sporting events he wants to watch, and he has learned to get the little ones ready for school by himself. We don’t do it all, we do enough, and sometimes that is everything. I don’t, under any circumstance, feel bad for my husband that we were blessed with 7 girls.”

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‘Can you believe she feeds her kids all-purpose flour?’ The part every mother seems to experience is the guilt that consumes you when you just want to get it ‘right.’: Mom of young twins opens up about coping with ‘mom guilt’

“I still can’t always be and do everything. AND THAT’S OK! IT’S OK to need time for yourself. When a mother takes time for self-care, she’s replenishing her spirit to give more to her children. You cannot pour from an empty cup. The more you give yourself, the more you have to give.”

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‘We have an emergency placement for a 3-week old baby boy.’ I stared at the baby who had been mine and cried in front of the social workers.’: Foster mom recalls pain of giving child back to his mother

“When little Rylan first showed up, I was so nervous. The moment I saw him, I felt attached to him. I was ready to be a mom. My heart grew for our baby too. I would sob every time I had to drop him off for visitation. The day he left was the hardest day of my life.”

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