‘We are having a closed adoption. She will not steal my baby!’ Then, our lives were suddenly intertwined.’: Mom ‘gains a sister’ through open adoption, ‘We get to walk this together’
‘We are having a closed adoption! She will not steal my baby!’ Then our lives were suddenly intertwined.’: Mom ‘gains a sister’ through open adoption, ‘We get to walk this together’
‘They see only your Black friend. They may take matters into their own hands. I’m trusting you.’: Mom to black son pens open letter to white friends
“He is still the kind-hearted boy who ate at their kitchen table, sat next to them at church, and came to your Spiderman birthday party. Don’t ignore it just because you can. In the wrong hands, his consequences could be far worse than yours.”
‘I woke up to missed calls from a strange number. My husband was missing. ‘I don’t know where I am or where I’m going.’: Family reunited after man targeted by ICE, ‘He is home where he belongs’
“His boss explained, ‘Unmarked cars showed up on the job and arrested him.’ I was told by lawyers, ‘There is nothing we can do. He has to be deported.’ ICE offered no explanation. I only knew where has was by the GPS on our phones. He disappeared from our lives for 6 months.”
‘Do I send my child to their brick and mortar campus and worry about their physical health EVERY SINGLE DAY?’: Mom shares frustrations for fall school re-openings
“Most of us are going out of our minds trying to decide what to do in the fall, if we have a choice, which it sounds like we will. Damned if we do, damned if we don’t. That’s how I feel.”
‘I was 18 and woke up nauseous. ‘You need to tell Mark immediately.’ I’d broken off communication with the father 2 weeks before.’: Teen births baby girl, ‘I’d do it a million times over’
“I had one pregnancy test in my drawer and decided to bite the bullet. I watched it load and I could not take my eyes off of it for one second. After 3 minutes, the words appeared… ‘pregnant.’ My heart stopped. I got in my car and made the 10-minute drive to my ex’s house. I just wanted to get to him and hug him. I was carrying his child.”
‘Call your work, Dan’s work, Dan’s best friend, and then give me your phone.’ I felt guilty for falling asleep, for not being strong enough to give him CPR.’: Widow credits ‘tribe’ for healing through grief
“Living in the thick of the fire, my tribe was there to hold my hand as I walked through. I found myself sitting on a doctor’s couch the following Tuesday, sobbing tears of grief and agony. They helped me make sense of the madness and encouraged me to feel again.”
‘There were 10 two-year-olds in my living room, awkwardly avoiding eye contact. ‘Why are you kids acting weird? TELL ME THE TRUTH.’: Mom discovers why ‘kids are strange social beings’
“I was trying to act normal with Amelie’s mom, knowing full well it was her daughter who bit my daughter the week before. One says hello. My kids, their kids, they all act like a bunch of strangers. My son was the first one to fess up.”
‘Within 24 hours of birth the doctor said, ‘He needs immediate surgery.’ Other moms got to have normal kids.’: Mom of son with Lowe Syndrome finds her tribe, ‘They take care of us’
“I knew parenthood would be full of stress, but not like this. Hayden’s conditions were so rare, he didn’t fit into any box we could find. We couldn’t even find the questions to ask. I watched as all the other new moms got to have normal kids without a care in the world.”
‘Your second baby will make you wonder why you ever thought one was hard, but prove that a sibling is the best gift you could ever give your child.’: Mom says ‘your second baby will surprise you’
“Your second baby will make you wish for fewer hours in the day, but make you long for more time to soak them in. Your time and attention and your energy and your patience will be split in two, but your heart will double in size. These babies won’t last forever.”
‘Friends on white sandy beaches, enjoying a vacation you can’t go on for at least 5 years… I find myself thinking, ‘Why did I have kids?’: Mom shares her ‘WHY’ and says ‘it’s usually right in front of you’
“Those same friends are showing off their bikini bodies that haven’t changed since high school, while I chase after kids to separate, divert, and redirect. I grab plates of food from the table so they aren’t thrown next, and throw whatever bits of leftover nuggets or pizza on them into my mouth, as I hear my stomach growl from forgetting to make my own lunch.”