“We hadn’t prepared for this scenario. ‘NO!’ I cried. ‘I don’t want a c-section! Please! I don’t want a c-section!’ Crazy-eyed, I waddled as gushes of warm liquid ran down my legs. I completely lost it!”
‘I felt a POP down you know where. ‘No! This can’t be!’ Tears streaming, I peeked between my legs. ‘What do we do now?’ I wanted a ‘perfect’ pregnancy. I now know I was totally oblivious.’
‘My mother-in-law wore a wedding dress to MY wedding. I didn’t even think to ask what she planned to wear.’: Woman shares touching backstory behind mother’s ‘frugal’ wedding attire
“There are a million and one things that can go wrong on your wedding day. Then, she walked in. I see it. My sister kept looking at me, then my mother-in-law, then the cop the venue made us hire. She pulled me aside, hoping I didn’t go for his taser.”
‘After my daughter’s birthday, I realized he’d been lying to me our entire relationship. I watched as the life I expected crumbled away. We longer felt like lovers. We felt like roommates.’
“Shortly after, we found out we were expecting. I was a wreck. I knew no part of me wanted that. I was a child myself, terrified of changing my life. I hadn’t realized he’d been seeking satisfaction from other women. I became uncomfortable breathing the same air as him.”
‘This is my baby now. ‘Mountain View Crematory 31934,’ it reads. It’s been 15 months since I held him as a body, and not as ashes in a bag.’: Mom emotionally explains life after losing baby son suddenly
“‘I had a brother,’ they’ll say. Perhaps he’ll tell people about that morning, watching us screaming over his brother’s body. Or maybe he’ll hold that in his memories quietly, to spare others that sadness.”
‘I choked out, ‘So, their dad and I are no longer living together.’ 8 months into fostering two of the girls, and 2 months after saying ‘yes!’ to adopting, my children’s father and I separated.’
“We had 5 kids and had just celebrated 6 years of marriage. Our entire life crashed, the walls built with facades and fantasies. I was secretly dying inside. It was silent, painful. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be taking family photos without a husband, my children’s father.”
‘Something had changed. He’d never be the same again. I came undone. I was losing my husband.’: Mom loses husband to cancer shortly after giving birth
“‘Why? Why now?’ Alex had just become a dad. I couldn’t imagine my life without Alex. I didn’t know how I would raise our son alone and it killed me to think Ezra would never fully know his dad. I was watching my husband slowly die of cancer.”
‘I didn’t tell her. I never told her. What if she didn’t know how much I loved her?’: Woman loses best friend in tragic car accident
“I was 12 when I met the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. I noticed a tall, skinny, blue eyed girl with curly blonde hair and a smile that could light up the world. It was 10:45 p.m. when I heard the words ‘Ashley’s gone. She’s dead.’ Ashley was so skinny, she flew out of her seatbelt and was thrown into the back seat of her car.”
‘Her pupils became dilated and dark. She started wetting the bed, baby talking. My once happy daughter became angry and rude.’: Girl diagnosed with PANDAS after months of turmoil, ‘No one knows your child better than you do’
“Her eyes turned dead and hateful, and she began laughing at things that weren’t funny. If she was forced to make a decision as simple as what shirt to wear, she would rage and scream, ‘I DON’T KNOW!!!’ I had to explain to her 5-year-old sister why her sibling didn’t want to play with her anymore. ‘She’s very sick right now.’ It started as the flu, but my instincts knew better.”
‘No eyebrows and eyelashes,’ she said. I hadn’t noticed his lack of hair. She ran her hand across his sweet face. There was a concern.’: Mom learns of son’s rare CFC syndrome disorder, but keeps ‘pushing forward’
“Our midwife came in and hugged me. ‘How are y’all doing?,’ she asked. It was all too much. What did she mean by ‘abnormalities?’ I stopped her and asked. That’s when the rest of the conversation disappeared from my memory. I would NEVER let this define Nolan.”
‘But she is here Mommy,’ my 4-year-old replied. Puzzled and speechless, I just looked at her little face. ‘Meema is here,’ she stated. My daughter taught me a valuable lesson.’
“Out of the blue, one early morning, my daughter asked me, ‘Do you miss Meema?’ Just hearing her name is enough to stop me in my tracks. ‘Of course, I miss her,’ I replied. ‘What do you miss?’ She asked. ‘I miss her here.’ I said. My heart felt heavy.”