“That one shocked me. It snuck in my comments, buried amongst thousands. This person had pity for my son. Pity for our situation. They saw him and saw sadness.”
‘You must be sad you will never have a normal life.’ This person had pity for my son. It felt like a shot fired and received.’: Mom to son with autism urges ‘there is only joy and gratitude’
‘She’s alive. I should be grateful.’ But I wasn’t. I was angry. I did everything in my power to ‘fix’ her.’: Mom to daughter with Cerebral Palsy shares journey, ‘I focus on what she CAN do’
“I was wheeled next to her incubator and remember seeing her full head of hair. But I didn’t feel happy. I felt helpless. I couldn’t hold her, bond with her, or breastfeed her. I remember thinking, ‘What do I do?’ I went to Dr. Google for answers, and that just led me into a downward spiral of despair. How could I raise a child with special needs? I didn’t even know how to raise a typical child.”
‘Walking into the house, I said to the baby, ‘We are home!’ It felt cruel. These words aren’t true. This is her home now, but it’s only temporary.’: Foster mom urges ‘I am not a superhero, they are’
“I see families torn apart, siblings separated. Children abandoned, biological parents unable to conquer addictions. People say, ‘I couldn’t foster. I’d never be able to let them go!’ It will be sad. We will grieve. In the end, I will be okay. But will they?”
‘I yelled across the house, ‘I just found our baby!’ My husband went silent. We both knew we needed to say YES.’: Adoptee turned adoptive mama urges ‘love knows no boundaries’
“‘It typically takes days for an answer, but you don’t need to wait. She chose YOU!’ I broke down in tears. ‘You’re never going to believe it…we’re going to be parents!’ I’m an adoptee with an adopted African American daughter in a racially diverse family, but she is still my daughter. Love knows no boundaries.”
15 Ways To Discipline Your Child Without Shouting
“We want to raise happy and kind kids who feel loved and appreciated in this world. Yelling makes your voice heard, but your message is silenced.”
‘Have fun,’ I whispered as he leaned in to kiss me. ‘I will.’ He quietly slipped out for a hike, and never came home.’: Widow shares words of wisdom after late husband’s hiking accident
“There was an ache in my chest as I waited for his return. My experienced hiker, my beloved husband, wasn’t answering my calls or texts. All of this life we loved together vanished in a moment.”
‘MOM, look!’ Out my window was the N-word. I couldn’t breathe. ‘Mom, why? We love everyone!’: Neighborhood comes together to help family after hate crime
“We taught our kids, ‘Treat EVERYONE with kindness.’ All I wanted to do was hurt the person who hurt my family. But LOVE stepped in. People of all races came to show us love, to cry with us, to give us encouragement.”
‘Can you take in a 9-month-old baby?’ A single twenty-something, I said yes to ‘a few weeks.’ I was prepared for temporary.’: Single woman becomes foster, adoptive mom to siblings
“I was supposed to be the short-term shelter in the storm. I had no intentions of permanency. Dead-set on only taking one kiddo at a time, I got a second call. ‘Can you take in his newborn baby brother? He was born premature.’ Suddenly, all my ‘rules’ went out the window.”
‘You never buy me anything. You’re always like this,’ my daughter said. It was hard to hear, even harder to fight the overwhelming guilt.’: How To Raise Grateful Kids Instead Of Entitled Ones
“My mind raced. ‘Am I not doing enough for her? Am I limiting her desires too much?’ Her words made me realize something: I needed to put more effort into teaching my daughters about gratitude.”
‘I won’t sugar coat it. Having a baby is like having 15 shots of espresso. Parenthood is the wildest ride you could imagine.’: LGBTQ adoptive dad shares parenting advice
“I used to watch ‘The Price is Right’ every morning. It was my jam. Today, I absolutely laugh at the idea. I barely have enough time to drink my espresso, much less sip on a mug of coffee for an hour.”