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.
Remote Learning Doesn’t Work For All Students—Teacher Explains Why
“No business as usual. Because this is NOT usual.”
‘In the middle of a heated conversation, a woman called me ‘cold.’ Her intent was to shame me, make me feel bad for not having an emotional response.’: Woman learns to embrace being ‘emotionally strong’
“I’m not a crier. I didn’t cry at my wedding. Her intent was to shame me. Let’s be honest, my b*tchy resting face doesn’t serve me well in situations like this.”
‘The neurosurgeon apologized profusely, looked me in the eye and said, ‘You were right.’ She was walking all night, screaming bloody murder.’: Mom of chronically ill child urges parents ‘if you feel something is wrong, it probably is’
“During the day, she was completely normal. But at night she would pull out her hair and headbutt her bedroom wall in her sleep, begging me to ‘make it stop.’ She was deteriorating. I had to fight for answers. I had to beg for care for my very complex child. My gut was telling me something was being missed.”
‘Riley is now 6 years old. He still does not speak. I always thought words were what mattered.’: Mom to son with autism says ‘I was lucky to be in his world, I just didn’t know it yet’
“Waiting for Riley to ‘tell’ me he loves me. Waiting for him to say mommy. Waiting for him to speak. How I wished I could get a moment in his head. When in reality what I really needed to do is take a step back and see was he showed me love in ways that don’t need words.”
‘Today I got called a boring mother, a crappy mother, a wonderful mother and that I was so much fun. All in a matter of hours.’: Mom urges ‘the last thing you need right now is guilt’
“If they spend their days on iPads while you gather your thoughts, it’s okay. If you wanna sit in your pajamas, eat brownies, and watch Frozen 2 on repeat all day, that’s OKAY. If the house looks like a bomb site, who gives a crap. Really. No one is going to visit you anyway.”
‘One more week of trying to put a smile on through tears. One more week of hearing you say, ‘Mommy, I can’t wait to kiss you again. How much longer will this be?’: Nurse mom says ‘cherish this time for those of us who can’t right now’
“One week of air hugs through Facetime. One more week ahead of wondering if this will be the week we’ll run out of PPE completely. One more week ahead of uncertainty, of masking up and walking into the unknown. We will come out on the other side.”
‘I have to send my 3-and-a-half-year-old child away. I won’t get to visit her. I won’t get to hug her. I won’t get to tuck her in at night.’: Nurse mom says ‘I feel punished for having to be the ‘good guy‘
“This is the face of someone who feels punished for trying to be the ‘good guy.’ My job as an ER nurse is just that, my job. This is my current situation.”
‘I know you think he’s going to stop. One day, sweet girl, there won’t be a next time. One day, it will be absolutely too late.’: Abuse survivor urges others to get out, ‘You’re a warrior. I know you can save yourself’
“One day he’ll have you pinned on the floor with all of his weight, smashing your face into the carpet. I know you don’t want to believe it happened at all. I know you wish, with all your heart, things were different. I know you feel worthless. But I also know you can do it. Stop trying to figure it out, stop trying to make a plan and just run.”
‘My daughter was separated from her only true friend. Her teacher. A person who said, ‘Come to me as you are.’: Mom of autistic child thanks teachers for act of kindness ‘you are our heroes’
“Yesterday the teachers and administrators from my daughter’s school decided to put on a car parade. As her teacher drove away, she shouted out the window, ‘I love you, Campbell!’ They all knew her. Not just her homeroom or specials teachers, but every single one. As a special needs parent, I can’t explain how much that kind of acceptance means.”
‘When I was 12, something called coronavirus ripped through our country. It was so scary.’ She takes a moment to shake her head at the memory of it all.’: Mom imagines grandchildren’s questions about the quarantine, ‘It was the happiest time of my life’
“‘People were dying. There weren’t enough ventilators, or masks. Big cities were hit very, very hard,’ she says. She hesitates for a second, thinking back to this faraway time. ‘I think it changed us. It changed our country. It made us better.’”