“’I don’t know what to do!’ I was woken up throughout the night by a little girl screaming for her papa. Waking up crying for my Ben. The reality was unbearable. I was staring at a life I didn’t want.”
‘How am I was supposed to break the news to my children?’ They didn’t have an answer. It was an accident.’: Widow describes ‘surreal, intense’ pain after husband dies from sudden accident
‘I am so sick and tired, dying would be a blessing.’ This text from my son arrived at 1:39 a.m.’: Mother of addict connects with moms facing same struggle, ‘we make no apologies for navigating the underbelly of hell’
“I left a passionate comment to a post that read, ‘I work in a hospital. I overheard a coworker in the break room say they hate wasting time on these worthless addicts.’ I cried with the mom who shared a photo of a beautiful young woman, the caption reading, ‘My baby was found dead today.’”
‘Are you having twins? You’re HUGE!’ The comments hurt. It blew me away.’: Pregnant mom shocked by rude strangers’ comments, ‘I was no longer a person with feelings’
“Waking up to a surgeon showing me pictures of my ovaries was shocking. I remember the tears falling down my face, feeling sick at the sight of them. My husband slept in a chair by my bed until the nurses finally sent him home. ‘It’s time to push!’ they said. I felt nothing from my waist down. This is not how I wanted it to happen.”
‘He broke down. ‘I’m shooting heroin again.’ AGAIN? I never caught on.’: Mom had no idea her baby’s father was hiding heroin addiction from her, ‘We miss you, we’ll never give up on you’
“This blew my whole mind. I’ve dated this man, lived with him, even had a child with him and NEVER knew. I never caught on. I haven’t been able to get ahold of him, I’ve been worried sick. He is currently using and living in his truck. My son runs around screaming, crying for his daddy. If you ever read this A.J. we miss you, we love you, and we will never give up on you.”
‘The OB dropped my newborn. ‘It’s OK, you’re young. You’ll have more.’: Mom appalled by preemie’s treatment in child birth, hopes other child loss parents ‘never feel alone’
“Before I left, I turned back. I could see the heartbreak on my dad’s face. I was yelling bloody murder through the halls. They put my legs up. All I remember were bright lights and hearing, ‘Push! Keep pushing! He’s almost out!’ They failed to catch him. I finally got a call from my OB. She said her condolences. ‘I’m so sorry, I never predicted this.’”
‘We nearly lost him today. I pulled off wrappers, started dishing them out. I gave it to him.’: Mom feels guilt for giving son Popsicle that ignited peanut allergy, ‘We’re just trying to keep our kid alive’
“I stuck them in the freezer for one of those relentless southern days. ‘They’re all the same size, don’t argue,’ I told them. I had just kicked off my boots and laid back when I heard a tiny, faint cough. Just one. I was instantly on my feet assessing him. There it was. The tiniest hive. Right in the corner of his precious cheek.”
‘You can help someone with depression. How? Pretend they have the flu.’: Woman urges to let those battling mental illness to ‘rest and ride it out’
“The bonus is, it’s not contagious. You wouldn’t expect the person with a really bad flu to get up and do stuff, no way! So, tell them to rest up. Lay out in their pajamas. Surround them with pillows and things that make them happy. You would never tell them to snap out of the flu!”
‘My daughter Penny is not a ‘mistake.’ She is perfection.’: Down syndrome mom explains the difference between ‘inclusion’ and helping special needs individuals ‘belong’
“People often feel awkward asking questions about my daughter. Penny gets sidelined from activities and events because they don’t know how to welcome her. The message of inclusion is, ‘We want you here with us.’ But belonging emerges from a deep desire to not just include the ‘other,’ but to love and be loved.”
‘It’s not hard. Just stop being a jerk. I get praised for being a ‘great husband,’ but that’s nonsense.’: Husband gets super candid about wife’s postpartum body, ‘The soft, pillowy skin around her belly button held my 3 best friends for 18 months’
“I’m literally doing the bare minimum by loving my wife for who she is, ‘imperfections’ and all. Sure, things look and feel slightly different — but in the grand scheme of things, nothing changed. The reasons I fell in love with her had nothing to do with her body.”
‘Pull over.’ My husband was next to us at the light. I made eye contact with him. He followed us.’: Wife ‘relieved’ to come clean about ‘living a lie,’ realizes she’s the one who needed to change in marriage
“I got a message on social media from the guy I had dated and lost my virginity to as a teenager. I hadn’t talked to him in a decade. At first, it started out with us just catching up. I enjoyed the friendship and connection. In the beginning, that’s all it was. It breaks my heart to write these words. Something had to give. Something had to change.”
