“Someone in our neighborhood was getting rid of one. Nothing felt in my control. At 8:30 a.m. that morning, I announced to Brian that we were adopting a piano. Immediately.”
‘Every time the needle pierced my skin, I stared at the ceiling, trying to stay breathing and conscious. My wait for results was unbearably long. Then, I announced, ‘We’re adopting a piano!’: Cancer patient says, ‘I didn’t have control, but I did have a piano’
‘I could’ve said no. I whispered, ‘I love you,’ as I thought about the significance of this appointment.’: Woman unsure of motherhood becomes special needs mom of 4, ‘Our hearts are full’
“In my ignorance and privilege, I could have opted for a simpler way. I could have said ‘yes’ to the stereotypical American family. But here I am, fully aware of the glorious ways motherhood has wrecked me.”
‘Your handwriting is a complete disgrace.’ I was livid! ‘This should have never happened.’: Mom and daughter with learning disabilities speak out against mistreatment, ‘Respect instead of judging’
“‘It’s all in her head. I can teach her how to write properly; it’s just pure laziness,’ they said. We got home and cried together. Nobody, from what I could tell, caught what he said. I spoke up. I was livid!”
‘You’re having TRIPLETS.’ He recommended a reduction. I would NEVER want to tell anyone.’: Couple goes on grueling fertility journey, has 3 children, ‘I realized how incredibly strong I am’
“I bled a LOT the day before my ultrasound. How on earth could we make this decision? I couldn’t sleep that night.”
‘If you feel like you are failing at life right now, then Friend, you are in good company.’: Woman urges ‘there is no ceiling to this trench, we WILL get out’
“My children are playing way too many video games. My husband and I are constantly butting heads. I miss seeing faces without masks, miss asking my babies how their day was at school. I miss not having to stand in a line. AND WHY DO I HAVE SUCH A HARD TIME FOLLOWING THOSE DANG ARROWS?!”
‘I see people making grand declarations on their Facebook pages: ‘If you voted for So-So, unfriend me now!’: Woman urges ‘acknowledge differences and let love lead the way’
“There’s been a shift in the world, in the way in which we treat one another. No longer do we see the common threads that bind us.”
‘We left home on our bikes and didn’t return until the street lights came on. Growing up as a kid in the 80s totally prepared me for this.’: Mom encourages kids to have 80s-style independence
“When I was a kid in the 80s, we lived a very different life. We had lives our parents never really knew about. I didn’t grow up with someone micro-managing my childhood.”
‘Pregnant at 18, I heard, ‘You’re young, you’ll bounce back!’ It became etched in my mind. Stretch marks and loose skin? BAD.’: Mom learns to cherish postpartum body, ‘This body is my home’
“I tried all of the creams. For years, I wore only high-rise pants and would turn away from friends when we were getting dressed. I hated what I saw in the mirror. But one day, I looked down at my tummy and saw the ripples, the marks, the stretched belly button. And I smiled. This body is my home.”
‘How could someone do that?’ I was forced to become a single mom after a friend saw my husband with a married woman I knew.’: Woman marries dream man after divorce, ‘He is proof everything happens for a reason!’
“I wrote a list of things down I wanted in a man and circled the list in prayer. Two months after I finally stopped fighting for my old life, I met Ryan. ‘If you want to date me, you have to date my daughter.’ I was tough. I pushed back. I shared the good, the bad, the ugly. Without question, without a pause, without a doubt, he chose me. And he chose my daughter, too.”
‘Your girl looks sleepy,’ I knew something was wrong when a doctor, not my normal midwife, came in.’: Scary birth of miracle baby born during Covid-19 leaves mom ‘overwhelmed with gratitude’
“When she was born, everyone in the room gasped. Our rainbow baby became our miracle baby.”