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.
‘The intensity of our fights made me think he loved me. We’d break up, get back together. I was addicted to chaos. When he returned from Iraq, he said, ‘Bad news. You’re both going to jail.’
“I saw his eyes change and I knew I was in trouble. My jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. We figured once we moved, our problem wouldn’t follow us. Turns out, wherever you go, your problems follow you!”
‘That wasn’t our baby, and he got to stay with his mama.’: Couple’s failed adoption leads to beautiful open relationship with new birth mom, ‘I never felt a love so strong’
“She was only four months along, I felt my nerves spike. She and I held hands and laid eyes on that sweet boy together for the first time. We both cried and cried. ‘This is the moment our lives change forever,’ she said. He loves and adores her, but that doesn’t make us any less of his parents.”
‘There must be a mistake.’ Our fling turned into something more. My parents claimed they did something ‘wrong’ in raising me.’: LGBT couple marry, conceive baby through IVF, ‘Our hearts couldn’t be fuller!’
“While working together, our ‘fling’ turned into something much more serious. We realized we didn’t want to be without each other. We decided it was time to come out to our families. Until that point, they’d presumed we were just good friends. Laura’s parents were accepting, unfortunately mine were not. In fact, it went as badly as it could have. Laura was not allowed in the house. I was asked to keep the relationship a secret.”
‘What are they going to say today?’ I missed 2/3 of school, my teachers never batted an eye. By the end of middle school my life felt surreal, I thought ‘this will never change.’
“Just a simple phrase ‘you know if you ever need to talk, I am here’ became the foundation for one of the strongest relationships in my life.”
‘In the shower, he felt a dime-sized lump behind his nipple. Examination signs boldly exclaimed ‘WOMEN ONLY’. The c-word never crossed our minds. We didn’t even know it was a thing.’
“Every appointment was in a pink-laced room. Coming to terms with it was difficult enough, but the ostracizing sea of pink ribbons and pink hospital gowns only added to the emasculating nature of it. I felt such guilt in allowing the delay in getting the lump checked.”
‘My son’s teacher recently friended me on social media. I came upon a picture of her holding a chalkboard sign that read, ‘I said YES!’ She’s already married, so it struck me as odd.’: Mom thanks ‘hero’ teachers
“Until I read the caption. I couldn’t stop crying.”
‘Get down from there.’ ‘Please stop. That is dangerous.’ Aggressive meltdowns led to restraining him to prevent self-harm or harm to others. Finally, we decided to medicate our son.’
“Barring the dangerous, we would not say a word. Nothing. No emotion. Silence. Instead of avoiding a festival or a park because, what if he has a meltdown in public, we say ‘Yes.'”
‘No, I’m serious. He shot me.’ My husband was lying completely alone on the ground. He dragged himself away from the door. There was nothing I could do. Absolutely nothing.’ Man shot by elderly man, urges people to keep an eye on older family members for signs of dementia
“My husband said, ‘I tried calling Ben, but he’s not answering. That’s not normal. Someone should go check on him.’ Ben has heart problems, he’s elderly. ‘I have a really bad feeling about this.’ They were not going to go inside because they knew he kept a loaded pistol next to the bed.”
‘By chance, I met his school counselor. She was a sweet lady with long dark hair and a petite build. ‘What are you doing currently?,’ she asked. I sheepishly admitted, ‘I dropped out.’
“Right then and there she dragged me back to her office. I was screwed. 8 a.m. was my deadline. I had four days to finish a semester and a half worth of work. I ran there.”
‘When I tell people about my job, they’re not impressed. They ask me what I do all day. I’m always looked at like I don’t do enough.’
“They think I’m not grateful because God forbid, I complain. Every night I’m always the last one. It’s scary being in charge. And it’s hard to admit it. Sometimes I want to give it all up.”