“Five minutes before our flight was to board, we all piled into the tiny family restroom and I sit down on the toilet. The firefighter asked me ‘Heather, how far along are you?’”
‘5 minutes before our flight, I yelled, ‘Oh my god, he’s coming!’ I felt his head pop out. He slid and landed right in the toilet.’: Woman shares unique birth experience
‘I went from being the poster child college student to alone, depressed, barely able to get out of bed.’: Woman claims ‘post-college depression is a real thing,’ promises ‘it gets better’
“Freshman year: joins 6 clubs, a sports team, lives on a floor with 60 people, never alone. Senior year: BOOM. I spent 4 years building the life I wanted, and it all got pulled from under me. This is post graduate depression. It’s a real thing. I never knew, because no one talks about it. People closest to me had a hard time understanding how the bubbliest person they knew was now gone.”
‘Dear neighbor, It’s me. The girl on the other side of your walls. The one who dialed 911 at 2:30 a.m. last night.’: Woman recounts domestic violence encounter
“The one who heard you screeching as your alcoholic husband was screaming in a drunken fury. I’m the one who told the police that you have 5 children. As a survivor of domestic abuse, it pulls at my heart every time I hear yelling next door.”
‘Home was a safe place for Brian in 2008. Whatever happened in school, stayed in school. Not now.’
“Brian walks across the cafeteria, minding his own business. Suddenly, his feet slide out from under him. The tomato soup goes up in the air and comes down on his lap. He’s so embarrassed, that when he stands up, he doesn’t notice Mark filming.”
‘The ache in my heart starts around the holidays. I know I am being ‘watched.’ I’m actually afraid everyone will think I have moved on and forgotten my son.’
“Everyone asked if we were doing anything special in honor of Alex on the first anniversary of his death. I refuse, to this day, to call it an anniversary. It is the day our lives changed forever. Anniversaries are for celebrating. So I just call it the day Alex died.”
‘I worry your big heart will lead you down a path of bullying. Being the sensitive kid is not the ‘cool’ thing when you’re growing up.’
“Most of your friends will be much more tough and rugged than you. Childhood may be rocky. As an adult, being the man with a big heart is more revered than the little boy who would rather give hugs than play contact sports.”
‘I never thought I would have to say, ‘Now, kids, don’t go jumping in the attic because, well you know, you might fall through the ceiling one day.’: Mom hilariously recalls the joys of parenting teenagers
“The minute my phone dinged and I saw it – I knew. I just knew. I shook my head and bit my lip to keep the tears of fury from coming, but I instinctively knew what happened – teenagers. That’s what.”
‘Don’t let him move back in, he’s going to kill you.’ I’d been living through hell in a horrible marriage. Most said, ‘Wow we thought you were so happy.’ I didn’t want anyone to know.’
“This little girl is excited and doesn’t understand why so many people have stopped by. Why are people bringing us food? Not realizing that her world is about to change. Her mom had been holding a secret.”
‘Santa walks over to a veteran sitting on the wall. As Santa approaches, the veteran stands, and Santa takes a knee.’
“I hear Santa telling the gentleman, in a soft voice, of others he knew who served. He shakes his hand with genuine gratefulness, thanking him for his service, then returns to the children.”
‘Does it look too big?’ Our perfect, happy, healthy baby boy had a belly full of tumors. Cancerous tumors.’: Mom’s newborn diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, says ‘every little moment’ with loved ones is a ‘reason to celebrate’
“When our pediatrician comes back in, I see fear on her face. I feel the air leaving my lungs, my chest feels so heavy. She tells me his liver and spleen are enlarged, so enlarged the radiologist who read his X-ray asked, ‘How sick is this baby?!’ He’s not sick at all! He’s smiling and laughing, he’s perfect. I rush toward the elevator, a literal sobbing mess. How did I not know this? I thought I knew shock and devastation. I had no idea.”
