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.
‘Every night before I go to bed, I replay the day and focus on my ‘bad mom’ moments. I tell myself to use that pain as motivation to be a better mom. It’s unhealthy’: Woman chooses to ‘focus on the good’ moments, ‘Let’s stop beating ourselves up’
“Moments where I was short with my kids, moments where I lost my patience, moments where I didn’t play with them when they asked because I was trying to finish the dishes or dinner. I replay them over and over, letting the guilt settle deep. It always leaves me feeling defeated.”
‘Start the business. What’s the worst that could happen?’ He knows the beauty in risk. He makes me want to take 10,000 more risks before I die.’: Woman says partner ‘doesn’t know how unmatched he is to me’
“He knows how to hold his own. He knows how to survive. He knows how to ration a foot-long sub sandwich for days and weather the dark night. He knows how to root for the underdog and take care of people. But within all that beauty he holds, there are a few things he doesn’t quite know.”
‘We rushed to go get our nails done but her reason ‘why’ struck me right in my heart.’: Mental Health counselor says, ‘you never know someone’s ‘why’
“Nail salons are finally open so, of course, I went to go get my little nails painted. As usual, I chatted with the person who was next to me. We laughed about how all of ‘us’ have rushed to go get our nails done but her reason for doing it struck me right in my heart.”
‘I saw this woman in distress. A family had all their groceries rung up but couldn’t find their debit card. I told her not to worry. We would pay for her groceries.’: With small act of kindness, woman teaches others the meaning of paying it forward
“It was about us helping when we can. 15 minutes later, we were outside. She and her husband came up to us. She touched our hearts.”
‘If I was in England, I’d go out with you!’ He messaged me instantly. My heart was beating across an ocean.’: Widow celebrates 8-year anniversary of meeting late husband, ‘He showed me what real happiness was’
“I drove to the airport that day with my hands shaking. He was pushing his luggage cart towards me with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen. You know in the movies where everything goes slow motion and the music starts and the rest of the world falls away and the people seem like the only two on the planet? THAT. EXACTLY.”
‘They asked for pictures ‘to see if my body was suitable to model underwear or just clothing.’ My worth is not for sale.’: Woman says, ‘Demand better from the brands you buy from’
“It all seemed above board. By the third email, they asked for more images of me.”
‘I became a jail wife overnight. I was judged and ridiculed for standing by a man who made a mistake.’: ‘Jail wife’ starts community to write letters to inmates, ‘I believe in second chances’
“Friends and family dropped off like dead flies. That’s when I decided I would become the jail wife who helps these inmates, not the cop-bashers wife who should hide with shame. We all make mistakes, these men or women were just caught.”
‘I was on the phone, ‘Mom, his symptoms really concern me,’ He protested a bit. ‘Let me sleep on it.’ I held my dad’s hand while he died.’: Woman loses father to Covid-19, ‘I’ll never forget the nurses and doctors’
“’Cheryl? Your dad is not going to make it through the night.’ The Nurse Practitioner on the other end was out of breath. ‘How do I get my mom there?’ She didn’t know. I held my dad’s hand while he died.”
‘He said she got in her vehicle and got on her phone and pulled off to an area near the gas station. Within minutes, police cars pulled in and surrounded him.’: Woman recounts husband’s experience with racism
“My husband wanted to do me a favor one night when he got home late from work. While there, an older white woman was at a pump across from him and he noticed she appeared very nervous and stared at him. He was told he fit a description. They asked whose car he was driving. He was told he could not leave. He was told the description was simply a black man. He came home a changed man.”
‘We decided it would be fun to re-introduce Lizzie and Sam. Their enormous smiles are a direct result of Angie’s single act of kindness from 15 years earlier’: Mom of autistic daughter says, ‘we never know when kindness will come back’
“Angie confided, ‘Why don’t you take our appointment? I will call the doctor and set it up.’ The kindness Angie showed me when I was feeling such deep desperation has always stayed with me. They both shared a positive outlook on life which is contagious. Lizzie and Sam hadn’t seen each other in over a decade!”