LJ Herman is a former editor at Love What Matters and lives in Colorado. LJ is a concert, ticket and technology enthusiast. He has seen the Dave Mathews Band over one hundred times and counting.
‘I totally biffed my first kindergarten car line drop off. Everything was going great, initially.’: Dad hilariously recounts running over traffic cone, ‘disaster’ of dad duties
“I was sweet and charming with the designated kid picker-upper teacher. And then… it. hit. the. fan. THUMP. I plowed over the ridiculously large orange traffic cone. The safety patrollers began frantically yelling at me, waving me down. I proceeded to army-crawl the entire length of the car, trying to pry out the stupid cone. I was a disaster.”
‘If you see a child with no socks, for goodness sake Barbs, don’t assume she is neglectful.’: Fed up mom wishes the ‘judgement’ would end
“If she complains she’s exhausted, she doesn’t need a lecture about, ‘How they’re only little once.’ If you see a mother giving her kid some juice, don’t assume she’s beer bonging those kids with red cordial every day. It’s probably a treat. Sit down with your judgement.”
‘At least he didn’t suffer. You’re young, you’ll get married again.’: Widow recalls ‘useless’ things people told her after loss, no one understands ‘how heavy’ grief is for her
“I watched as another widow buried her husband. My heart ached for her. When I looked at her, I could see a reflection of myself. Unsteady and unsure. Overwhelmed. And so very afraid. It took my breath away. I couldn’t wait for it all to be over. They don’t tell you just how heavy it is.”
‘Don’t be anyone’s doormat. Don’t just stand there and be mistreated.’: Woman encourages to ‘keep being a nice person’ while staying ‘true to you’
“Keep being a nice person. But don’t get hurt repeatedly and believe there’s nothing you can do about it. You’ll regret a lot of things in life, but I assure you, responding to someone with kindness, grace and love will never be one of them. Also, you’ll sleep an awful lot better at night.”
‘The night before you send your kid to Kindergarten is a strange place. You’ll feel pain your heart hasn’t felt before.’: Mom reminisces about first days of Kindergarten, claims ‘you’ll survive this, too’
“You’ll study her face and worry. What if she gets lost in the hall? What if she doesn’t make a single friend? What if she doesn’t think about you at all? Does she know every sandwich, every pool day, every morning we snuggled in bed, I didn’t want to be anywhere else? It’ll feel like forever ’til you see her little face on that sidewalk, but I guarantee you, it’ll be smiling. She’s a different kid. She grew up today.”
My Daughter Was Called ‘Fat And Ugly’ At The Pool, And I Have A Lot To Say About It
“They went on about their day with no remorse for how deeply they had hurt my daughter.”
‘To the girl in love with an addict, his failures are not your failures. His demons are not your demons.’: Mom comes to terms with husband’s addiction, advises addict spouses to ‘hang in there’
“To the girl in love with an addict, I saw you sit in your car alone at halftime and breakdown. I see you and your fake smile. Don’t worry, they all still believe you’re fine. You’ve gotten so good at crying hard, getting it all out fast, and getting back to your seat before anyone even realizes you’re gone. Please don’t let him make you think his addiction is your fault. This has nothing to do with you at all. You deserve better than this.”
‘How was it possible my Dad had a son out there for 30 years and nobody knew? We are literally neighbors!’: Woman discovers she lives next door to half-brother she never knew existed thanks to Ancestry DNA kit
“I received a message. ‘Hi! I never met my biological dad. I believe his name is Dennis. Does that sound familiar to you?’ My heart sunk. My dad’s name is Dennis. Growing up, my cousin and I were the only 2 kids in our very small, tight-knit family.”
‘I saw him text a girl, ‘I miss you. I can’t wait for her to move out so we can be together.’ I was livid and shaking.’: Woman leaves ‘narcissist’ husband after years of ‘manipulation and lies’
“Within moments, he mentioned that he would be seeing other people. I said, ‘Pardon me?’ He had everything he could ever want. A housewife making homemade meals every day. A clean house, two beautiful happy boys, a gorgeous house. I took care of myself and couldn’t understand why I was not enough for him.”
‘I walked past my girls playing Barbies. They were pretending a girl on the playground had a wheelchair.’: Mom proud of daughters for advocating for baby sister who was diagnosed with Prader-Willi Syndrome at 2 weeks old
“All around you right now are mamas who are terrified to send their kids to school this year. Their hearts break every time their amazing kid comes home with no stories of lunchtime conversations or playground games. My girls no longer have the luxury of living in a perfect, bubble-wrapped world. I, for one, know they are better for it.”