“Nervous about them crying to needing changed? Don’t be! That’s what kids do, girl. I am not bothered by you raising your child!”
‘If you’re a momma and I invite you to hang out, please know I am inviting you AND YOUR KID!’
If Today Was Your Last Day On Earth
“Would you keep hiding from everyone you knew, ducking behind grocery store displays in an attempt to hide your less than perfect hair day, or avoid awkward small talk?”
‘She didn’t pick up. I left a message telling her I needed to talk to her. The cops yelled we couldn’t be there.’: Mom loses battle with depression, dies by suicide
“One day she stopped talking. My friend had just been murdered so I was crying hysterically in my house. She couldn’t even comfort me. She didn’t have it in her. She had no energy to feel, to move or to talk. I kissed her goodbye and told her I loved her. That night, I started shaking uncontrollably and a horrible feeling overcame me all at once.”
‘He introduced himself and offered to clean a room in our house for free. I listened because he said ‘free’ and also because our entryway needed to be burned or bleached or both.’: Woman recounts meeting the love of her life
“Against my better judgment and while also trying to drown out the ‘stranger danger’ chant in my head I allowed him in. Then there was the knock that changed everything.”
‘It’s Dad, Mom fell getting out of the shower.’ We get her in her recliner next to Dad and she immediately reaches for his hand, and closes her eyes.’
“It’s kind of weird, but when I was young I used to love watching the ‘Twilight Zone.’ Now there are days when I think I have entered it when I open their door.”
‘I was clutching at my children, afraid to lose them. I was desperate and it showed.’
“I did not get into this journey to build a family, but to provide a home. Some of my kids have found their forever homes here, and some just needed us for awhile.”
On Being The Dreaded Military Wife
“How the heck would I have known what kind of wife I was ready to be? Seriously. Did other brides-to-be get asked similar questions?”
‘We pulled into the cemetery. As she opened the door, there it was. Two vials of glitter.’: Widow finds humor in special way as she and daughter honor beloved late police officer
“’Do you want to go see your dad?’ With her eyes swollen and her cheeks puffy from crying, she nodded. Once again, we didn’t have anything to leave behind. Then, there it was. I don’t doubt for one second he put it there to make sure we knew he was sending her a hug.”
‘We’re having a baby!’ My daughter ran the positive pregnancy test to her dad with the biggest smile.’: Mom adopts child from foster care in wake of infertility, gets pregnancy with her little brother
“‘Um, wait. What?’ We learned we’d been wildly misinformed about where Taylor was. She never went back to her mom like we were told. Instead, she went to 3 MORE foster homes, including one that lost their license for abusing children. Our frustration and anger with the system ran deep. We were here, ready, available and waiting for her. We didn’t understand how this could possibly happen.”
‘The results would reveal something was abnormal. Elevated white cell count with no fever. 10% scoliosis was the tip of this iceberg.’
“It had been months since Abigail and I had danced. She’s been in pain and tired so long and as time passes she is seemingly frailer.”