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 was at a table alone when I heard an old professor call my name. ‘How’s work?’ I could feel the heaviness in her question.’: Mom says when it comes to success ‘you become what you think about’
“It was the 10-year mark of my job and I began to grow restless. I was at the top and there was no position above me to reach. I started thinking of myself as something or someone else. I was tired of holding things up. I wanted what I wanted. I had to be honest.”
‘Your kid wants to sit on your lap while you teach long division? Great. Need to stress eat half a bag of Cheetos in pajamas while trying to explain Experimental Error? Go for it.’: Mom says to teachers ‘we’re on your team’
“In light of this, our family is giving you blanket permission to do this however the hell you want for the next two months. I don’t care if you teach my kids one more thing this semester.”
‘Your grandma has spiked a fever.’ ‘The nursing home was hit with COVID-19. My fierce, stubborn 98-year-old Italian little woman of a Nana fell victim.’: Woman mourns grandma lost to Covid-19, ‘Today Nana left us and my heart is broken’
“Telling my Nana my life wasn’t going to be what she expected, as I’d met the person I intended to marry and it was not a ‘he,’ was the most difficult moment of my life. I watched her heart break in front of me, fully aware I was the cause. Years later, at my wedding, she looked at me and said, ‘The LGBTQ community is the happiest group of people I’ve ever been part of.’ Today, Nana left us. My heart is broken.”
‘It started with what I thought were seasonal allergies. 2 days later, the chest pain began.’: 35-year-old mom positive with COVID-19 after ‘following all the rules’
“I woke up completely drenched in sweat. I called the COVID-19 hotline. 5 minutes later, a very condescending man came on. I was told I sounded ‘fine’ and was likely just ‘exaggerating’ the symptoms due to anxiety. I had a seizure. Blood had started pouring out of my mouth. I wouldn’t realize just how much until later.”
‘I told her I was feeling really low and just didn’t have the energy to even go to the store. The depression of being inside set in.’: Woman says friendships are about people who say ‘I’m here for you’ and prove it
“A short time later, she came to my house with a shopping bag. From 6 feet away, she placed a bag of groceries and masks on the ground. I was an emotional wreck.”
‘The dreaded texts started coming in from my friends and their husbands about that Zoom call. My anxiety was through the roof.’: Woman says ‘don’t allow yourself to sink, rely on the people who love you’
“I cried over chicken today. Then the dreaded texts started coming. We planned on times when we could all talk. I tried really hard to come up with excuses to keep me off the call. I wanted nothing to do with it. The call lasted 4 freaking hours!”
‘Week two of quarantine, I was acting like my 4-year-old to my adult spouse. ‘Please don’t let this be my karma.’: Mom of three ‘wild ones’ reminds others ‘YOU ARE NOT ALONE’
“I worried about his aggressive outbursts. Earlier that day, I was talking with a friend who was working through her anxiety about leaving her family every shift to work in the NICU. Her anxiety was real. Mine was selfish and unplaced. I was disappointed in myself that I wasn’t able to handle things better for Jack that day, or with my spouse.”
‘He’ll yell ‘Buh-bye, see you later!’ He is showing her his love by letting her in his bubble, despite how painful it is for him.’: Mom of autistic son says sibling’s bond ‘is like two pieces to a puzzle’
“Just the other day, I found myself admitting to another mom I’m not sure we would have chosen to have more kids had we known of the diagnosis before getting pregnant. The second the words came out of my mouth, I regretted it. He is showing her his love by letting her in his bubble, despite how painful it is for him.”
‘They all said I would be so happy. I wanted to be happy, but I also wanted a sandwich.’: Mom says post-birth ‘I definitely loved her, I just wasn’t sure I was IN love with her’
“What kind of horrible person am I? I was begging my husband to just get me out of there! ‘It’s going to be a joy like you’ve never felt.’ Instead I was frozen with fear. I was hemorrhaging. I was still searching her face for the joy I was supposed to be feeling. I felt guilty and ashamed.”
‘There’s probably something wrong with the baby. This is nature’s way of taking care of it.’ I bled all weekend.’: Woman loses child to ectopic pregnancy, ‘Hadn’t we been through enough? Where was our rainbow?’
“I waited for seven days. I bled all weekend, thinking for sure I miscarried. ‘But, it’s in your tube.’ she said. No need to sugarcoat that part. I could die if this wasn’t taken care of right away. My doctor is pro-life and if he could save a baby and a mother, he would.”