“I dreamed of him becoming part of our family. For her and her bio brother to be reunited someday.”
‘Whenever I blow on dandelions, I always wish for a brother.’ Deep down, I knew I had to ask my sister if she’d be open to it.’: Sisters reunite separated siblings in double adoption
Dear Firstborn, You Will Always Be My Baby
“You aren’t my only anymore, but you were my first. You taught me what being a mama meant.”
‘There’s nothing like getting ready in the morning, wondering if your tumor is cancerous or giving you permanent nerve damage.’: Woman shares her struggles with nerve sheath tumor
“‘You may not be able to lift your right arm above your shoulder again. It could cause damage to your vocal cords. And you may experience numbness on the right side of your face.’ The tears I had been holding back came pouring down my face.”
‘Today an older kid called my child ‘so annoying.’ TO HER FACE.’: Mom stresses importance of early self-worth conversations
“My kid ran up to me, wholly and heartbreakingly distraught. But I’m not mad at this other kid. Nor do I blame the child’s parents for their kid’s less than kind interaction with mine. I blame myself.”
‘If you want to be with me forever, why not now?’ There were TWO little beans. Suddenly, he seemed so distant.’: Mom shares difficult decision giving up twins after husband’s affair
“My daughter slipped one day. She told me this woman was in our apartment and slept in the bed with daddy. I knew this is what needed to happen. I had a broken home and they deserved a better life.”
‘After 6 years of battling infertility and finally getting my miracle baby, COVID-19 almost killed me.’: New mom recounts postpartum COVID, ‘She was the one who kept me going’
“I was saved by a nurse who must have been a mom. I begged her to help me, and told her I have a three-day-old baby at home. She assured me she would get me to my baby.”
‘Mom, Jeremy is doing some really bad drugs.’ Time stopped. I was dumbfounded.’: After son’s fatal heroin overdose, family start non-profit to help others battling addiction
“I started the guessing game: Benzos? No. Acid? No. Mushrooms? No. Bath salts? No. I remember pausing and feeling a chill go through me. Heroin? Yes. ‘Daniel, are you telling me that Jeremy is using heroin?’ Yes.”
‘When the social worker left, he didn’t even know my name. Today, he shares mine.’: Single dad shares emotional adoption journey
“I could not be more proud to hear him call me dad.”
‘I remember coming home from school, seeing you on the couch. You didn’t ask me how my day was. I get it now, mom.’: Mom battling depression, suicidal ideations says ‘your illness doesn’t make you a bad mom’
“It’s not that you didn’t want to get off the couch, it’s that you couldn’t. Your mind was so sick it made you physically unable to function. It made you so tired the most simple tasks felt like climbing Mt. Everest.”
‘The statistics were extremely stacked against me. Then, I was adopted.’: Former foster youth shares healing journey, ‘You are not responsible for what happened to you as a child’
“I experienced the stability and safe love I’d longed for years. And even though I tried to push it away, they never left me. My family was relentless in their commitment to loving me and helping me heal. No matter what I did – and I did a lot of things – they loved me.”