“I wish there was a simple fix. A magical playlist to erase her anxieties and ease the panic. I can’t take this burden from her, but I can wrap her in my embrace. For as long as she’ll let me, I will be her stand-in lullaby.”
‘My 14-year-old came into the bedroom with distressed eyes. ‘I was panicking last night and couldn’t sleep.’ This is the third time in 3 weeks.’: Mom stands in the gap for daughter battling anxiety
‘Ew, get your cancer away from me.’ I have tumors in every bone. I hated feeling so different.’: Woman with Multiple Hereditary Exostoses advocates for disability rights, ‘I will be the change’
“I actually felt the needle scrape the bone and went straight to work after. When a coworker called me lazy for not offering her help, I was beyond myself. I posted on Facebook, finally exposing my secret to the world. That was the first step.”
‘You go to the ‘r*tard class.’ We got death threats on social media. I wanted to hurt them like they hurt me.’: Bullying survivor details journey, urges ‘TELL SOMEONE’
“Nobody was putting an end to it, not the teachers, principal, not even other kids who witnessed the bullying.”
‘I used to grab him every morning at 5 a.m. when he’d cry out for me. Then, one day, he didn’t need my snuggles anymore. I didn’t know the last time would be the last time.’: Mom reminds us ‘savor the difficult moments, before they slip away’
“I’d spend hours just breathing him in. Watching the rise and fall of his chest. Kissing his forehead and snuggling his sweet little body. Still, I longed for sleep. Then, without warning, it all quickly slipped away. He didn’t need my snuggles anymore.I didn’t know the last time would be the last time.”
‘I’ll see her in one month IF she makes it until then.’ He asked if we were related, multiple times. I was APPALLED.’: Mom births baby with dwarfism, ‘She’s doing AMAZING’
“I looked down at her hands and knew something was off. The mom in me knew. ‘So she’s going to be small? No big deal!’ We could tell there was something else he wasn’t telling us.”
‘My son recently asked, ‘What did you get for Christmas as a kid?’ So I told him. ‘I honestly don’t remember.’: Mom shares sweet Christmas reminder, ‘Only the memories last a lifetime’
“Decorating the tree with my favorite Hallmark ornaments. Christmas music ringing through the house. Sledding down the neighbors’ driveway. Sipping hot cocoa from mugs adorned with snowmen. Driving around town in search of the best lights. Those moments? They last a lifetime.”
‘You knew they weren’t yours forever. Why’d you let yourself get so attached?’ I couldn’t help it. I was made for this.’: Woman details foster care journey, ‘We’re just getting started’
“I was there for her first smile, first bath, first words. Nothing prepared me for giving ‘my’ child away to be adopted by someone else. Rocking her to sleep for the last time was the hardest thing I’d ever do. I was sure I’d shatter completely.”
‘My son NEEDS an evaluation!’ I knew it was coming, but it still hit me like a ton of bricks. I had no idea what to think.’: Mom shares son’s Autism journey, ‘There’s no other life I’d want’
“I began to see differences in him. Ronin was banging his head against the floor and pulling my hair out by the handful during his meltdowns. Doing nothing didn’t seem right.”
‘Somewhere there’s a mom tired of picking up toys. Somewhere else, there’s a mom choosing her child’s first wheelchair.’: Special needs mom says ‘I’ll always be grateful for where we are’
“There’s a different side to this world. A world with joy and gratitude like you’ve never seen. It’s never lost on me we could be somewhere else. It really is the little things that matter.”
‘Why did you quit?’ I didn’t need to hit rock bottom. I was ‘functional’ but I went to the liquor store every night. I KNEW I needed a reset.’: Mom shares sobriety journey, ‘I live with clarity’
“No one ever said a thing about my drinking, even those closest to me. That’s the funny thing about alcohol. You can be silently dying inside but the outside world has no idea.”