“Today, my mother-in-law delivered this pan to our doorstep with a hot meal tucked inside, before getting back into her car to drive home and finally eat her own dinner. If only Hollywood knew.”
‘She bends over backwards. She texts, just to check on me. She determines to make my life easier, even if it makes her life a little harder.’: Woman pens appreciation letter to mother-in-law
‘We waited up for Daddy to come home. I called him and it went to voicemail. At 4 a.m. I got a life-changing call. ‘Oh, no honey, he didn’t survive.’: Woman loses boyfriend in car accident, ‘Hug your loved ones tight’
“I had just woken up. ‘Hello, are you the owner of a 2019 Mazda CX-5? Your vehicle was involved in an accident.’ He veered off the road and hit a concrete block that held up an interstate sign. They didn’t know who he was. Those words didn’t feel real.”
‘The server dropped off the check, and that’s when I realized. WHERE IS MY DEBIT CARD?’: Mom hilariously recounts ‘missing’ debit card, ‘I am NOT made for adulting’
“It’s not in my pockets. Not in my car. Not on the kitchen counter. So, I skivvy down for my sadness shower and… wait. Stuck to my boob. Because OBVIOUSLY.”
‘Look, it’s your mom and dad!’ Our hearts exploded. A wild and grand new adventure began.’: Mom shares the ‘unknowns’ of adoption, ‘I’d choose it all again’
“She came with in utero exposure. I didn’t expect 3-hour tantrums in the middle of the mall. The shenanigans, the messes, the crying… there was never a dull moment.”
‘Your parents don’t love you.’ I was told my father was a one-night stand no one knew. I lived my life believing I’d never find him.’: Young woman in foster care reunites with long-lost biological dad
“I found a mysterious name on my birth certificate. ‘Is this REAL? Like, am I actually doing this?’ I nervously sent him a message. My whole life was a lie.”
‘How will you manage a career with kids?’ I felt broken. Who was I if I never became a mom?’: Woman balances career with motherhood, ‘You have the power to CHOOSE’
“Every month was a roller coaster. ‘I recommend cutting back on work.’ My jaw dropped. Any possibility of becoming a mother left the building.”
‘I threw my hands up. ‘God, if you make me do foster care, I’ll scream!’ We haven’t stopped changing diapers since.’: Woman becomes foster parent, ‘It’s about giving’
“I wrote our honest list: ‘We are NOT baby people. I am so over that phase.’ One stormy night, a baby was dropped off. I’m 1000 percent sure God was laughing.”
‘I KNOW timeouts don’t work. But my four-year-old has been chanting, for all the neighbors to hear, ‘Meany-head mommy.’: Mom urges ‘grace, even when we least deserve it’
“I know what you’re thinking. She’s four. You’re thirty-four. Why would you even have to control yourself. I put my four-year-old in timeout on the patio, and she’s been chanting for over five minutes.”
‘Nothing terrifies me more than returning to the workplace. A workplace full of judgement and critique, stress and guilt. I am a MOTHER first, and an EMPLOYEE second.’: Mom shares fear of going back to work
“A workplace where, likely, but hopefully not, work and clients will have to come first, and family, well, if you have and are ‘into’ those, must come second.”
‘There are no shortcuts, no finish line. I root for the boy who never spoke, for exactly who you are, and the person you may become.’: Special needs mom shares journey with autism
“But I do know that in your way, and your own time, you will do great things. I’ll stand on the ground while you soar above me. I’ll look to the sky and wave, even if you don’t look down long enough to notice.”