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.
‘Call my mom,’ he’d written on his shirt. He just hung himself off a bridge. I did not believe it.’: Mother urges ‘you are not a burden’ after losing ‘beautiful, smiling-faced’ son to suicide
“We woke up to find him gone. We’d just gotten into an argument because he was caught sneaking out. We couldn’t call him because he had his phone taken away. Panic set in. Was he running away? Or just hiding out for a bit? We turned the corner to police cars, fire trucks, and road closures. ‘Are you Jennifer Chappell?,’ the police officer asked me. ‘Yes.’ I was too late.”
‘I showed him my positive pregnancy test. ‘Here we go!’ He loved being a dad. Days later, he died in a car accident.’: 2 brothers pass away, wives become best friends bonding through ‘love and loss’
“I woke up to a sign on my door that said, ‘Will you be my girlfriend?’ How could I say no?! I’ll never forget watching Jeremy cry as he held our daughters for the very first time. They are the best parts of him. Jeremy loved being a dad. Just shy of 5 months later, Jeremy was called home to be with God. Two incredible men gone way too soon.”
‘Lemme tell you why I will never judge your parenting: I’m too damn busy.’: Mom’s candid reasons why ‘I don’t worry about your kids’
“I’m too busy letting my 6-year-old wear Cinderella underwear as a bathing suit. I’m too busy trying not to fight with my husband. I’m too busy wondering if that wet spot is from water, juice, or urine. I’m too busy apologizing to my kids for throwing away that ginormous popsicle stick art project they brought home from school. I’m too busy apologizing FOR my kids.”
‘How is he? Does he have 10 fingers and toes?’ He replied, ‘Actually, no he doesn’t.’ They looked concerned.’: Mom surprised by son’s cleft hands diagnosis, ‘None of these ‘extra’ ultrasounds noticed my child’s hands’
“I’ve always known the ‘middle finger’ could cause a stir, but I never knew the lack of one could cause a bigger stir. When I got back to my room, they all looked concerned. The nurses ‘had never seen anything like this,’ and thought he’d be a good excuse for show and tell. I saw a beautiful, perfect baby boy, but the nurses and doctors saw something ‘different.’”
‘My husband is a hottie. But his blue eyes and brilliant smile aren’t what make him The Sexiest Man Alive. His fatherhood does.’: Wife swoons over husband’s ‘sexy’ traits taking care of their kids
“While standing in the checkout line at Publix, I was graced by the presence of John Legend’s beautiful face. Phew. John Legend, y’all. He’s the Sexiest Man Alive. But is he really? Can he install a rear-facing car seat? Because THAT is SEXAYYY.”
‘Bets were made whether I’d last in the ‘boys club,’ or how long until I quit. Things got bad really quickly.’: Woman forced to quit her job after horrendous workplace bullying, ‘I finally put myself first. I am only human’
“I aspired to be a ‘businesswoman’ and make my family proud. I had no idea I was about to join a small team of all men who were both equally hated and respected by everyone in the department. People in the company started to wish me ‘good luck’ and apologize for ‘what was to come.’ The third stall in the women’s bathroom became my second home.”
‘I was still in I-might-die-at-any-moment panic mode. Nothing could change that. ‘Do you guys know Jesus loves you?’ Except that.’: Woman pursuing international adoption sits next to very religious man on flight
“‘Do you guys know that Jesus loves you?’ Now normally, the idea of being stuck on a 14+ hour flight with someone who uses that line as an ice breaker would send me reaching for the airsick bag faster than you can say, ‘bad peanuts.’ But on this day, when I’d been praying like a mad woman for some little sliver of comfort – it was exactly what I needed to hear.”
‘He was terrified he’d watch her leap off the bridge. He pushed forward, to ‘catch her feet’ if she went over the rails.’: Son saves stranger from near suicide attempt, ‘if you hear someone calling out for help, you can’t turn away’
“We couldn’t find our son anywhere. We were stunned to hear what happened in the time he’d been ‘missing.’ As he came upon the bridge, he saw an outline of a person perched on the railing with her body leaning over the top, looking down toward the raging river. Eventually, she looked back at him with a terrifying look in her eyes. ‘How can I help?,’ he asked.”
‘Where’s Daddy?,’ he asked. ‘At work,’ I replied glumly. My sweet son literally crumpled to the floor in disappointment. It surprised me.’: Military spouse gets reminder to remember the ‘bigger picture’
“My son woke up Monday morning, came downstairs, and immediately ran over to his father’s office chair. Arms raised in exasperation, he turned toward me and asked, ‘Where’s Daddy?’ We’d just had a wonderful weekend, and I wasn’t ready for it to be over. ‘Daddy’s at work. He has to go to work to make money. He goes to work because he loves us.’”
‘I know you didn’t want this. You didn’t want this for us. The pain. I miss the way you loved me.’: Woman’s painful recollection of losing husband to suicide, fighting for him to stay, ‘I miss you’
“I want to pretend you’re in the other room, so I’ll even call your name. I want to taste it on my lips again. You fought, though. You fought so hard. But then you got so tired of fighting. The scars on my knees are a painful reminder of how I wouldn’t accept defeat with your last breath.”