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.
‘Maybe her shorts are too short, her jeans too tight. Maybe you think her dress is too revealing. What you don’t see is a woman falling apart.’: Woman urges ‘we are all just trying to do our best’
“You deem her unworthy before she even has the chance to speak for herself. She’s not a woman who finally found the courage to be who she is, dress how she wants, stand up for what she believes in. Trying not to let the coldness and cruelty of this world break her. Instead, she gets labeled. Simply because she just exists.”
‘Knee deep in trying to calm my son, a lady placed her hand on me and whispered in my ear. I could feel the tears coming.’: Mom of Autistic child says ‘if you see a child in a meltdown, don’t stare’
“You would do anything in your power to help your child. Even if that means lying on the floor in the middle of a shopping center with him. That can cause some funny looks. Some funny comments. This day was no different. She nodded, she smiled, and she walked off again. In that moment, I could feel the tears coming.”
‘I was pro-life, I was in church, and I hated abortion. Yet here I was, mind racing and silently ‘considering my options.’: Woman urges other pro-lifers ‘don’t demonize women for being scared’
“The moment I was told I was pregnant at 18, the thought of abortion crossed my mind as a solution. ‘Am I a horrible human?’ Things got real REAL quick. Just because I didn’t have one, doesn’t give me a pass to be prideful about it over those who have. I love my sweet son, but he isn’t a trophy.”
‘I could tell by your body language you were embarrassed. Dear mom in the café, I can see myself in you.’: Mom says ‘being a parent is more than just raising your kids in your own home’
“I sat in that lovely little café with a friend. I could see your son out of the corner of my eye. He was climbing on things that weren’t meant for climbing. You came and did your best to try to keep him from breaking something, or worse yet, disturbing us. You apologized more than once.”
‘I didn’t like the green doily curtain she hung up, so I moved out. I’d make my bed 2 minutes before crawling into it. I was always on edge.’: Woman with anxiety advocates for mental health, ‘There IS help’
“If my mother-in-law wanted to load the dishes for me, I didn’t want her to because I like to load mine a certain way. I consumed myself with ensuring trash was thrown away immediately and constantly just cleaning up after people. I was always on edge.”
‘The therapist looks at him. ‘Well?’ she asks, ‘what do you feel when she cries?’ He’s staring at the floor. ‘Not much.’: Woman reminds us ‘lack of empathy kills relationships’
“She cries and tears flood her face. She mumbles through broken sobs, ‘He doesn’t love me anymore. He isn’t the man he used to be.’ The therapist leans in. ‘Look at her face. Tell me what you see, tell me what you feel. Ignore what your mind tells you, and listen to your heart.'”
‘They don’t need us to wipe their butts or make their meals. Hello, new world of awesomeness! And then it happens. They fight for their independence from us.’: Mom says ‘all we can do is love them for who they choose to be’
“Just because they don’t live the life we do or make the same choices we do doesn’t mean they’ve somehow screwed up. It doesn’t mean they are lost. It doesn’t mean they have ruined their lives. All we can do, as parents, is love them for who they choose to be and trust what we have taught them is enough.”
‘I was at the library with my 3-year-old daughter when a woman said, ‘Excuse me.’ She waved me over, and thanked me.’: After adoption woman says ‘we aren’t superheroes or saviors’
“I awoke 2 hours later to my cell phone ringing. I had missed several calls from my husband. I picked up the phone, breathing heavily, and my husband was immediately alarmed. He asked me if he should call an ambulance, and I said no, hung up, and went back to sleep. The next thing I knew, he was home and stuffing me into the car.”
‘Mommy is sad, we are going to go take a break.’ She repeated, ‘Sad?’ Today we slowed life down for a minute.’: Mom urges ‘acknowledge your feelings of not feeling okay’
“My head was feeling all over this morning. I just really wasn’t feeling myself and was being consumed by negativity. ‘Yes, Mommy needs to calm down. Let’s get coffee, baby.’ I made an example out of myself to her.”
‘Say you love them and mean it. Life is so short. Stop hinting around about what you want and just say it. Be happy with your person or don’t get married.’: Woman reminds us ‘love happens not only in the sunshine but also in the shadows’
“‘Girl, run the other way!’ My husband told me a story tonight about a couple who’d been together many years and decided to divorce. ‘They still loved each other, but have become different people.’ They were together for 22 years. This made me so so sad.”