“She had been looking forward to this Jell-O. She had really, really wanted it. In a split second, everything changed. My 3-year-old was all of us today.”
‘She melted into me and really let it all out. ‘IT’S NOT FAIRRR,’ she cried hard. At that moment, she was all of us.’: Mom comforts daughter through big feelings, ‘Life as she knew it was taken away’
‘Food was for ‘growing boys.’ I would take an empty lunch box to school so I looked like I fit in.’: Woman overcomes lifetime of eating disorders, ‘I love me for me’
“I was a talented singer, but because of my looks, I was never picked for the lead. I wasn’t the pretty leading lady in Mary Poppins – I was a chimney sweep. One year, I was asked to sing for the lead role but stand in the wings out of sight, while another person acted.”
‘My card declined at the grocery store. I stood outside my car door, ready to jump in, when a car pulled up next to me.’: Mom drawn to faith by random acts of kindness, ‘I’ve been getting signs for a long time’
“As he walked by he said, ‘Hey, I’ve been told to tell you to listen to 89.9 FM.’ I cried. Well as best as I could.”
‘I was ‘too flirty’ when I wanted to be with friends, ‘too uncool’ when I wanted my family. All I had left was him.’: Woman escapes abusive relationship, ‘Now, I know the importance of loving yourself first’
“I was told time and time again, ‘Nobody will love you as much as I do and you’ll never find someone else who loves you as much as I do.’ And I believed him.”
‘He was hunched over in our guest bathroom, holding a gun. My birth control failed. I found out I was pregnant days before.’: Woman survives traumatic divorce, ‘You always have a voice, use it’
“I panicked, my body uncontrollably shaking. Standing in our apartment hallway, soaked in sweat, I tried to stay calm and rationalize with him. The moment I had always dreamed of in my nightmares was finally here. He was going to kill me and our unborn baby.”
‘I was a having a really crappy day.’ We finished our transaction. ‘I want you to know your awesome attitude really cheered me up.’: Mom surprised by act of kindness by local restaurant, ‘The world needs more people like her’
“A dude greeted me at the door. There’s some writing on my to go bag, but I don’t pay much attention to it. I thank her again, grab my food, and head out the door. When I get home, I realize it. I cried. It was enough to turn my whole day around.”
‘I let him know his lack of faith was a dealbreaker. ‘You will never find a man who will wait until marriage to have sex.’: Woman urges to singles ‘no amount of loneliness makes compromise worth it’
“Last night I FaceTimed with a guy I met on a dating app. I made it very clear on my profile I was looking for someone religious. ‘You’re looking for a needle in the haystack. You will never find a man to wait until marriage for sex. You’ll be single for years.’ My first reaction was heartbreak.”
‘The Great Pause,’ I’ve heard it called. I’d been making emotional progress. Then Covid happened.’: Mom says ‘forget your 5-year plan’ after losing daughter to epilepsy
“It’s been six months since my daughter died.”
‘I hear, ‘Your virginity is a gift to your future spouse.’ Once you cross ‘the’ line, you can never have your purity back.’: Woman advocates for others to be ‘true to ourselves’
“Your lack of sexual experience and ignorance about what you like and want in the bedroom–Oooo, fun! ‘Because once you cross ‘the’ line, you can never have your purity back.'”
‘One minute I’m happy, savoring these little moments together. The next, I’m waiting for it all to end.’: Woman says ‘you don’t have to savor every moment, it’s OK to be hanging on by a thread’
“Three months ago, I had it all mapped out. Now, I cry over toilet paper. I’ve cried for my 3-year-old who misses his Mamo and Papa, or as my toddler begs me not to have another meeting. I feel like I’m on a roller coaster. And not a fun one either, more like the kind that makes you want to throw up.”