“Am I ready for the possibility of my son being swept out of my arms and placed on a ventilator? I was afraid of the arrival of our sweet innocent boy. I broke down on the bathroom floor.”
‘With every contraction I felt a pit in my stomach. I didn’t want to have him, I wanted the nightmare to end.’: Expecting mom struggles with anxiety during COVID-19, ‘I had to learn to let go’
‘You’re still pregnant, aren’t you? Is there another one in there?’ I’d given birth 4 days prior and was expected to ‘snap back.’: Mom embraces postpartum body, ‘You’ve earned your stripes’
“I hid behind my clothes, wondering if I’d ever get my body back. Wondering if my partner looked at me the same way he did 10 months ago when we created this tiny human. Wondering if this was the same way mothers all around the world were feeling moments after their life’s greatest accomplishment: small.”
‘I burst into tears and couldn’t stop. I don’t want to have 3 a.m. conversations about dinosaurs and unicorns.’: Mom shares how mental load of parenting has taken its toll
“I spent an exhausting day trying to be a fun mom, only to be rejected by my 5 year-old who told me he hated me and wanted to live somewhere else. It shouldn’t offend me, because he’s 5, but it did.”
‘SURGERY? I’m not letting anyone cut me open.’ The doctor pointed out things protruding from my back.’: Woman endures 7-hour scoliosis surgery, ‘I’m happy to say I came out on top’
“I immediately started crying. Why would God decide to make my spine curvy and my back ugly and cause me to have to go through this? This could be my last backflip into the pool. This could be my last time flipping around at the trampoline park.”
‘Mom, your hair smells good.’ I wondered what in the world changed. In fact, I’m showering less than before COVID hit.’: Mom realizes this ‘time of stillness’ will remain in kids’ memories
“Had I changed dry shampoo? I didn’t think so. My face lotion was the same Mary Kay I had been using for months. Why were they suddenly enamored with my smell? Then, it hit me. We’ve never had this much time together before.”
‘I’m a white man with a white kid. Never once have I had to fear jogging, walking in the park, or shopping at a convenience store.’: Man urges ‘stand up for our black brothers and sisters’
“I am at a loss. I hurt. I’m sick. But I’m not scared. Not for me. Not for my kids. I was born white and don’t have to be.”
‘Today a friend shared on social media that her medically complex son isn’t sleeping and she’s tired. ‘You should be grateful your son is alive.’: Special needs mom calls for end to ‘Gratefulness Shame Game’
“She was told, ‘You should be grateful your son is alive.’ As someone who sits through my own season of suffering, I’ll tell you: most of us know the Good. But it does not negate the suffering. They just co-exist.”
‘The priest said, ‘He can’t be buried. He wasn’t married here.’ That just about killed Grandpa Donovan.’: Man details memories of late grandparents thanks to StoryWorth
“I had a catering appointment one night in the area, so I stopped by to see him. His wife Paria answered the door. ‘Is Uncle Joe here?’ She responded, ‘Well, he is and he isn’t. He might have gone to the store.’ She had packed him into the bedroom because he was drunk, but I didn’t realize that until much later.”
‘I used to avoid social gatherings because I was so scared to be seen in a swimsuit. I would sit outside the pool, fully clothed, as my kids begged me to have fun with them.’: Woman urges ‘you are more than what you look like in a swimsuit’
“I missed out on so much. I missed out on moments I can never get back. Finally, I realized enough is enough. My kids, my family, my (true) friends absolutely DO NOT care how I look in a swimsuit, and I will bet you my next paycheck yours don’t either.”
‘My doctor called pregnancies at my age ‘geriatric.’ When the f*ck did 38 become geriatric? For the first time in my life, I felt older than I was.’: Woman recounts IVF struggle, ‘Turns out with age comes resilience’
“The only reason we sought IVF after all was due to my husband having a vasectomy. Our doctor sat us down and informed us moving forward at this point would be futile. Women my age seemed to be doing just fine, thank you. I was the problem. Me. I was only 38!”