“I ordered a mini fridge and had forgotten about it. So, when I got a delivery notification I was like, ‘Oh, okay.’ I walked out to my rug being three feet of the ground and was like, ‘What is happening!?’ I couldn’t stop laughing.”
‘My husband started making jokes about my online shopping. I jokingly tried to hide my packages. UPS, this is not what I meant!’: Woman gets hilarious UPS delivery
‘Candice, you’re an orphan now.’ I was pulled out of class at 8 years old to be told my dad had killed my mom, then himself.’: Woman loses parents to domestic violence, finds ‘peace, healing’ 21 years later
“Earlier that day, my mom had stolen my father’s gun and packed our bags. She knew she had to get us out before he killed us all. Soon, the police called. ‘Return the gun.’ She begged the police not to return it to him after he threatened her life, but they did it anyway. I was dropped off at my friend’s house. She was supposed to pick me up at 5 p.m. Never would I have imagined that I’d never see my mom or dad ever again.”
‘I adopted a deployed soldier, the one that I would later fall madly in love with. People thought we were nuts.’: Couple say ‘I do’ 10 months after ‘random selection’ pairing online
“I signed up for a support system overseas. You send care packages and exchange emails. I happened to get my now husband. The first thing he said was ‘Hey, baby,’ and it melted my heart. Just four months after we first embraced, we decided to get married.”
‘There’s no way it’s contractions. I’m only 20 weeks!’ Tears rolled down.’: Woman says goodbye to twin son after ‘devastating’ stillborn delivery
“I remember feeling pain, but I was pregnant with twins so I didn’t think too much about it. I could hear nurses laughing in the next room at the sound of another baby’s heartbeat. I sat there, waiting. Then, the nurse came. ‘Your son’s heart stopped.’ I sat in silence. I just wanted to go to sleep, wake up in the morning, and have everything be okay.”
‘None of this would be happening if my dad didn’t die.’: Widow feels guilt that teenage daughter is ‘absolutely right,’ learns to ‘forgive herself’ for not ‘saving’ husband from terminal cancer
“I had an argument with my teenage daughter. Through her tears, she said the one thing I have been dreading. I knew it was coming, but when she said it, it still took me to my knees. I was speechless. But you know what? She’s right. She is absolutely right. It’s not the same after her father’s death.”
‘He wasn’t walking or talking. I chalked it up to an overactive sister who adored getting everything for him. The pediatrician agreed, so I left.’: After autism diagnosis, Mom ‘mourns the loss of a son I never had, but will never stop fighting’
“I left the office with a smile on my face. I brought my son back to the car and teared up as I put him in. I refused to cry in front of him. I couldn’t show him I was scared. ‘Autism.’ As soon as they said it, my breath caught. I acted cool and collected. I acted like it was all to be expected. I acted. For everyone else’s benefit.”
‘Help!’ I banged on the wall. My parents were downstairs. I reached for my nebulizer, but quickly realized something was wrong. This is when I remember feeling very calm and a sense of peace.’: Young woman learns ‘lesson’ after near-death experience from whooping cough
“Before bed, my dad asked if I needed to go the the hospital. As a stubborn 19 year old, I somehow talked my way out of it. I told him I was ‘fine’. The next thing I remember, my parents were rushing downstairs. They immediately tried to put my nebulizer mask on, but for some reason I was pushing it away. I woke up in an ambulance. I still feel guilty about that night.”
‘The subject line read, ‘Down Syndrome Baby.’ My heart skipped a beat. That very morning a precious baby boy was born.’: Cancer survivor adopts ‘special gift’ son with Down syndrome after infertility from endometriosis
“When they had learned he was diagnosed with Down syndrome, they did not feel comfortable. I responded with, ‘Yes, yes, and yes!’ My lunch sat uneaten on the counter. I told my son, ‘You are going to be a big brother!’ With the biggest smile on his face, he shouted, ‘Yahoo this is the best day EVER!’”
‘I’m that bad mom at the playground looking at her phone. You assume I’m on social media. Nope, I’m working!’: Mom’s immense guilt over being a ‘stay-at-home-working-mom’ despite others thinking it’s a ‘perfect situation’
“The best time of day is coming. Nap time! Except this doesn’t mean relax, shower, or nap. It means a precious 2-3 hours of work! This is when my time clock actually starts. I race to my computer to pick up where I left off, hoping the toddler won’t take a short nap and completely ruin the day.”
‘I didn’t remember I had my shirt off. ‘Mama, can I take a picture of Bowie?’ I vaguely remember shifting him on my hip so she’d see him better.’: Mom felt ‘disgusted’ after postpartum photos, says it’s ‘normal to mourn your body’
“Alas, a picture was taken. I scrolled through the 50 she took of us and I was not thrilled with what I was looking at. Why? Because of my stomach. The little house this baby grew in was the reason for my disgust. It took me 3 days to even look at those pictures again.”