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 cried in my car for an hour today. I think, ‘I have NO idea why I became a nurse.’ I am dispensable…just a number on payroll EASILY replaced.’: Nurse says ‘remember no one’s out here taking care of me’
“I’ve been up since 3 in the morning. I was tired, and then got yelled at first thing. No matter how hard you work…how many hours you put in…it never seems to be enough. And it hurts. Today, I really can’t tell you why I’m a nurse.”
‘People look at our elderly and tell themselves ‘it was their time’ when they leave this earth. I’m shocked and flabbergasted.’: Woman working in nursing home says ‘These are PEOPLE! Please stay home’
“I sit here, in my nursing home in New York on quarantine day whatever, appalled that so many healthy Americans are treating this virus like a joke. You have Facebook memes, play dates. You say media and politics have driven hysteria. It’s my people, my geriatrics, my immunocompromised. A group of people that have made way more sacrifices then I know I have.”
‘I went from trying to plan a visit to our son’s birth mom in prison, to reassuring her, ‘Everything will be okay.’ She is still a mom. And she’s hurting.’: Foster mom reminds us not to forget about those in prison, ‘A hard life just got harder’
“‘Is it really that bad out there?’ t’s not a population we think of to feel ‘sorry’ for. 6 months ago, I wouldn’t have worried about our incarcerated population during this time. In fact, I would’ve assumed it was for the best. Everything changed when I took the time to reach out and get to know someone different than me.”
‘If your friends on social media are spreading negativity, unfollow them. If the news makes you feel bad. STOP watching it.’: Woman says ‘I’m choosing not to marinate in fear during this time’
“Let’s be real, some people live for the drama, gossip, and to whine and complain. Choose to continue living. I may not have control over a lot of what’s going on in the world, but I do have control over what’s going on in MY world.”
‘We’re gonna get you cleaned up.’ It was time to turn off her machine. My husband leaned in to hug them, tears streaming down his face.’: Woman thanks nurses, doctors for their ‘selflessness’ during daughter’s final moments
“There were three nurses for my daughter 24 hours a day. When the time came for us to turn off the machine, the nurses braided her hair and put a blue bow in it. Never once did they act like we were bothering them. They watched us come in, crying over her, knowing these would be the last moments we would have with our baby girl.”
‘We won’t get to take fireball shots together when she turns 21. She’ll never get to drive the red jeep with no doors that she wanted. We were robbed.’: After losing daughter to flu, mom is reminded that ‘love is permanent’
“Disney released Frozen 2 early due to the quarantine. This was the first and last movie we saw in the movie theater with her. I can remember the girls playing that movie on repeat. I always thought she was just like Anna. I will have this pain in my heart for the rest of my life.”
‘This is my ex-husband’s new wife Tiffaney showing up and showing out. This isn’t JUST another picture of a stethoscope and a coffee cup.’: Nurse mom praises co-parent during quarantine
“Today, when she dropped off the boys, she brought coffee. I worked 72 hours last week, and will work 72 the next. Both ICU ‘s where I’m a nurse are busy preparing for unknowns. This is a picture of all of the good things I wanted from my divorce. By choosing their daddy, she also chooses them.”
‘Right now, while my husband, kids, and I are distancing, I picture Granny standing there. I can’t wait to capture another precious moment.’: Woman says ‘we must keep these two generations safe’
“I long to sit down with her at that table again. My heart aches when I think of all the visits, we took for granted. But it almost bursts with joy when I think of all we’ll do together in that kitchen when life looks like it used to.”
‘I hung up my hat as a stay-at-home mom and outsourced my children’s needs to people more capable than myself.’: Mom to children with autism says ‘hope is equally as contagious as a virus’
“Both of my children have autism. Now here we are in self-isolation. I don’t know when our children will return to school. I am, frightened—and if I’m being completely honest—angry. We lost our village.”
‘I was 18 and so woven into the mind games I thought was ‘love.’ I couldn’t let go, no matter what I was put through.’: Woman emphasizes importance of self-love after abuse, ‘Learn to give yourself space to grow’
“I entered into the real world of adulthood without the slightest clue of what a healthy relationship looked or felt like. I was searching for that love I could create a life and family with, to make up for the experience I never had as a child. The first bite, that first taste. I all but derailed my entire life in my naivety.”