“‘I like you just the way you are.’ Fred Rogers’ words strike such a chord with me because my son has a disability: autism. Fifty years ago, Mr. Rogers’ message was to ‘love thy neighbor,’ and five decades later we need to hear that more than ever.”
‘My son’s school had a ‘Heroes Parade.’ My son went as Mr. Rogers.’: Mom praises Fred Rogers for being a ‘truth teller’ and ‘trailblazer,’ leading the way children like her autistic son
‘No big deal, what’s a poopy diaper? I start to change her, and realize it’s a poop-trophe. I’m not panicked, grab the wipes.’: Mom’s hilarious play-by-play of cleaning up daughter’s disastrous diaper blowout on playground slide
“She’s going down the slide, butt naked, COVERED in poop, leaving a long skid mark of poop allllllll the way down on her way.”
‘Are you willing to foster a teen?’ I was 19, male. I didn’t think I’d be taken seriously.’: Man who grew up in foster care adopts 3 children, ‘I want them to grow up loved’
“At 19, I moved into my own place and worked like a dog. I felt unfulfilled, but wasn’t sure what I was missing. One day, I picked up an employment newsletter. There it was. ‘Become a Foster Parent Today. Must be 18.’ A month later, I got a call asking to take in a 7-year-old boy. Imagine my surprise to see a white child waiting for me at the supermarket! I was internally panicking. I’d never interacted with a white child before and had no clue how to care for one!”
‘When so many of our friends are choosing divorce, we’ve held strong.’: Wife says she promises to love husband forever, ‘as long as he makes a few promises’
“I know it can seem like we’re miles apart, even though we are under the same roof. There isn’t much time left for just us. But I want you to know, I promise to always choose you. It’s always been you. So, what do you say… can we make some promises?”
‘Is your husband deaf, too?’ No, but he’s the most patient man I’ve ever met.’: Cancer survivor marries ‘hearing husband,’ claims ‘hardships’ make her ‘glad to be born deaf’
“Yes, I’m deaf and my husband can hear. He reminds me when I leave the water running because I can’t hear it, or when my car is making a funny noise. He makes all my appointments over the phone. The amount of times I’ve said, ‘Huh? I have no idea what you’re saying,’ are endless. But I seriously couldn’t do life without him by my side acting as my ears and being my person. He makes me glad to be born deaf.”
‘A complete stranger came up to us. ‘Yo, what are you doing?’ He was a man, of course.’: Woman worried stranger ‘might have a gun,’ is ‘sick of being scared of men’
“We didn’t want to talk to him, and we said so. He responded aggressively. ‘Chill, I just wanted to see where you were going.’ Sara responded, ‘No. We are busy and don’t want to talk to you.’ He persisted. ‘You don’t look effing busy.’ In the middle of an upscale neighborhood, on a busy sidewalk, I was scared.”
‘How can I smile when Justin is dead? How can I ever smile again?’: Mom feels immense ‘guilt’ for enjoying newborn son after husband’s sudden death by ‘stray bullet’
“I remember the exact moment I first smiled again after Justin died. I’d cried so much, I was caught off guard when it happened. I was a new mom. Instead of celebrating a life, I was mourning one. Days after our son was born, he was killed by a stray bullet. My friend was next to me, ‘Honey, it’s okay to smile at your baby.’ I protested. But then I realized, ‘OH MY GOD, I’M MISSING OUT ON MY BABY!’”
‘Overnight, everything changes. I’ve lost my ability to work, exercise, heck, even drink coffee.’: Mom says motherhood is ‘hard,’ but hard is not ‘bad, wrong or forever’
“I don’t think wanting a shower without a baby crying or a meal with two arms is a horrible thing, and it certainly doesn’t make you (or me) a bad mom, or a selfish person, or even an unfaithful woman.”
‘To my ex-husband’s family: You didn’t have to continue loving me, but you do.’: Woman pens emotional letter to in-laws, ‘You’ve turned unfortunate circumstance into something beautiful’
“I was married before, to a man that needed to be rescued and saved. I realized in marriage that I’m no lifeguard. I could only rescue myself and my beautiful kids, and I did just that. I divorced. My in-laws, the first time you welcomed all of us into your homes I watched, mesmerized, as my new husband stood next to your family, enjoying each other’s company. It was a simple moment, but it took my breath away.”
‘We get a hotel, and we lay down a lot. After putting on comfy clothes and taking bras off of course.’: Mom urges other women to ‘take the girls’ trip to enjoy the ‘simple things’ like ‘naps in the middle of the day
“Take the girls trip. Vacationing with other moms is the best. We fall asleep at 8:30 p.m. and wake up at 7 a.m. because our kids messed us up that way. We don’t judge if someone had to FaceTime their kids loudly and we laugh hilariously when those kids get in a fight we get to hang. Up. The. Phone. And let our husbands deal with it.”