‘The officer asked, ‘If you’re a nurse, why are you with a junkie?’ They searched for ‘evidence.’ My person was gone.’: Woman says love of her life died of addiction because of ‘shame, stigma’ surrounding the disease

“I baked cheddar scones — they were Jared’s favorite. I took a nap. When I awoke, it was dark outside, and he wasn’t in the house. He said he’d gone out for air. When he came back, he went straight to the bathroom, yelling at me to ‘mind my own business.’ He never talked to me like this. His voice dripped with anger. I don’t know why, but I listened. I got in my car. When I came back, the washing machine was running. He’d started my laundry. I walked through the kitchen and that’s when I saw him face down in our living room.”

Eliza Murphy -

‘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!”

Sophia San Filippo -

‘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.”

Sophia San Filippo -

‘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.”

LJ Herman -

‘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!’”

Eliza Murphy -

‘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.”

LJ Herman -

‘I used to bring my daughter to the office before we had childcare. She was only 8 WEEKS OLD!’: Mom ‘privileged’ to have employer who ‘allowed, encouraged’ her to bring newborn into work after maternity leave

“I second guessed returning to work after my maternity leave ended. Would it be worth it? But I had to go back. I finally expressed my anxiety to my manager. Her first response? ‘Just bring her with you when you come back! We can have an office baby!’ It was unbelievable. She can’t be serious! But she and everyone else in the office were so excited and supportive and ready for Baby P to join the team!”

Eliza Murphy -

‘My teenage boys carry a tampon and pad in their backpacks because gender taboo!’: Boy mom raising teen sons to ‘see past’ menstruation taboo, respond with ‘kindness, understanding’

“As I was driving one day, I looked at my boys in the rearview mirror and nonchalantly told them they should carry a tampon in case one of their friends had an emergency. ‘Bleed-throughs happen,’ I explained. ‘Kindness and understanding from ANY friend goes a long way. Be that person.'”

Sophia San Filippo -
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