“I didn’t really think about the impact us being a foster family would have on our extended family and our friends. They stepped in and helped us in so many ways, I can’t even count them.”
‘We received a little boy almost 3 years old. We didn’t have enough clothes or toys, but the joy on his face was the biggest blessing in the world.’: Mom shares important lesson about foster care, ‘When people say it takes a village, it does’
‘Wait for the heartbeat. Don’t fall in love too quickly.’ But sweet baby, I just can’t help it.’: Mom says ‘no matter what happens, I’ll always be your mama’
“You’re as real to me if you make it to 4 weeks than if you make it 40 weeks and in my arms. My love for cannot be quantified by the number of days you’re alive. Because my little secret about you is, I’ve always loved you.”
‘Can I use your phone? I need to call the police.’ This woman found it ‘funny’ to scare little black boys, and I am heartbroken.’: Mom of black son says ‘images of 1950’s racism are on my 2020 TV’
“The people listening to her story worked in education, and most of them found this story funny. So, instead of cutting the story off, they laughed. I am heartbroken. This is my response.”
‘I am the woman who is constantly OK, even when I’m not OK. Yesterday, I stopped pretending.’: Woman struggling with mental health during pandemic says ‘I pretend because I feel guilty’
“The morning toast burned a little too dark, and there was a small child melting down because of it. The computer timed out and the school work had to be started all over. I am the woman who has it all together. I was done pretending.”
‘My kids missed two consecutive Zoom meetings. My daughter started getting snarky, and my son who is not a crier was crying.’: Mom says ‘we will not just survive this, we will endure with grace’
“My middle child began to isolate. School assignments I would classify as easy we’d been blowing through for weeks were suddenly overwhelming each day, and I couldn’t even articulate why. Their mental health was declining.”
‘I don’t want to hurt you. I just feel so much pain all the time.’ I had to pick up his gun.’: Woman mourns little brother to suicide, ‘We will always grieve the loss of the man who kept us laughing’
“I sat alone in my car and screamed. ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t save you, buddy.’ That was my job throughout his entire life. I WAS SUPPOSED TO SAVE HIM. When I came back to myself, I was a different person.”
‘I took out the trash to ‘investigate’ our new neighbors. We watched the dreaded moving truck from the second-story window.’: Two moms find new friendship during quarantine
“While I was loading my kids into our car, the other kids made eye contact. They stood there, silently staring like it was some sort of old western stare-off. The dreaded moving truck was parked outside. In a matter of a month, our children’s childhood changed for the better.”
‘When I feel frustrated with my children and need to reset, I fill my sink and wash their hands and feet.’: Mom urges ‘they just need a steady, loving hand’
“He often comes inside with scrapes and muddy feet. Even if I’m feeling irritated and ready to wrap up the day, this small act humbles me.”
‘I took him to the ER. His circumcision didn’t look to be healing right. We had a gut feeling something was wrong.’: Parents perplexed after newborn’s near-death scare, ‘He’s a fighter’
“His temperature wouldn’t come above 95 degrees. The doctor said it was ‘fine’ and set to discharge us with a prescription for antibiotic cream. We had a gut feeling something was wrong. The doctor was white as a sheet. ‘This test can’t be right.’ Life stopped when he was 5 days old.”
‘This isn’t the introduction to motherhood you expected. Even though I have not been able to see you, I see you.’: Woman urges ‘you are loved, you are enough’ to new moms during pandemic
“It wasn’t meant to be this way. But Mama, please remember…although this world is upside down, you are the world to them. What I would give to sit in solace with you.”