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.
‘Due to COVID-19, visitors are no longer permitted.’ She was welcoming my mother’s first grandchild, and she was not there to meet him. It broke her heart.’: Woman assures ‘beautiful things are still happening every day’
“My nephew was born 48 hours ago at 34 weeks. After Liam was born, they were able to hold him briefly, until he had to be taken to the NICU due to difficulty breathing. Today was the first time that she was able to have her baby on her, skin to skin. My sister is far from alone in this.”
‘WE’RE ALL INFECTED. If this or any virus doesn’t kill us, our busy and ingratitude will.’: Woman says the coronavirus has ‘forced us to re-evaluate our lives’
“I have been praying more for others. I have been more understanding of my spouse. It’s not a silver lining because I refuse to call it that. The coronavirus SUCKS.”
‘I breastfeed in front of my teens. May ALL teens see breasts whipped out in public and have the mystery of titties ruined for them.’: Former teacher mom calls for normalizing breastfeeding, ‘They can handle it’
“My teens have seen my breasts in their full, uncovered glory. Just like they see hands wiping noses, lips giving kisses to little injuries, and arms embracing small ones. They get it. They can understand. They can handle it.”
‘They were dropped off sick with pneumonia. The oldest had underwear that had been worn for so long, it had fecal matter stains.’: Stepmom stands her ground against abusive ex-wife, ‘It breaks my heart’
“You want to talk crazy? She requested the judge order him to refer to her as his ‘wife’ and sleep in the same bed as her. It felt like I was in the twilight zone. She even refused to work or support her children financially. She didn’t let him see his children for over a year. It eventually tore my husband and me apart.”
‘Why are you guys smiling? Don’t you take this seriously?’ We have no ‘normal’ at work. Every protocol we know is thrown out the window.’: Nurse urges ‘hug your healthcare providers, when hugging is safe!’
“We look around at our coworkers and wonder, ‘Who will get it?’, ‘How bad will it be?’, ‘How many patients will we lose?’ We don’t know what else to do but smile. We are trying our best to embrace this new reality-to keep our cool. Underneath, we are scared to death. We are scared, of death.”
‘To be fully honest, if I didn’t stay busy, I’d eat all of the quarantine snacks while standing in my kitchen staring at my phone.’: Quarantined mom urges ‘take it all one day at a time’
“Within a quick 24-hours, I became a full-time-working-stay-at-home-full-time-home-schooling-mom. I had no idea how it was all going to happen. Hell, I’d be happy with a general idea or suggestion of how this all will play out! I know we will figure it out, but I have a sneaking suspicion it’s going to be a lot of building the plane while we fly it. And I have to be okay with that.”
‘Last night, I sat on the house steps after the kids were in bed. 10 minutes alone were the most ‘distant’ I actually was from anyone in the last 8 days.’: Mom of 6 credits exhausted parents, ‘We may be isolated, but we’re never alone’
“She would freak out when I left the room to go pee so I would just take her with me. This is why parents are so darn tired. And why it is even harder with social distancing. We may be isolated, but we’re never alone.”
‘Instead of seeing my son and potentially giving it to him, so he can give it to my parents, I just won’t see any of them.’: Single nurse mom says ‘I am doing my part, and I am now asking you do yours’
“I am a nurse at a Portland area Hospital. I rely heavily on my family to watch my son while I work my 12-hour shifts. But I am also so much more. I am a single mother to a 9-year-old boy. I am a daughter to a mother who has had asthma her entire life. No more hugs, no more kisses. I am making a sacrifice.”
‘This was the last photo I took of Finn in a school. It’s all gone. His body language is an obvious expression that he did NOT want to be pulled away.’: Mom of son with heart disease says ‘you can’t have a lifestyle without LIFE’
“His teacher means the WORLD to him, the world. We had big plans for May 28th. Finn’s graduation from preschool and an adorable spring program that was planned. It’s all gone. He will never get to complete preschool. We had our kids at this school for 6 whole years and with one announcement, gone.”
‘I have no desire to be a SAHM, no disrespect. I want to let my children sleep in, relax on the couch. I just wanted a moment to regroup.’: Working mom says ‘my children need me, but I need them more’
“I wanted another maternity leave. One without sore nipples, leaking breasts, crying babies, or daily trips to the NICU. I wanted ‘a pause’ on life. But then something changed. I took a breath and I began to see things through a new lens.”