“‘You need to stop what you’re doing or you’ll end up dead.’ I’d see him drive by with another woman. When my mom decided to divorce him, he didn’t show up. We stood at the court house and looked out the window from the top floor. The doctor approached my brother and I. ‘You have to make a decision to let him off the machines.’ We still had so many questions.”
‘She said, ‘It’s your dad. There’s something wrong. The cops said they found him on the ground.’ We still had so many questions.’: Woman details life with drug-addicted father, ‘I’m not mad at you’
‘I started seeing burnt foil and spoons around the house. Money and valuable things went missing.’: Woman married to meth addict for 6 years shares powerful plea for sobriety
“It’s looking for him in the early hours of the morning while the kids sleep in the car, praying I don’t find him dead on the road. It’s being quiet in the house because he claims there are cameras everywhere and people standing outside the window watching our every move. It’s tucking my kids into my arms and saying sorry over and over again. ‘Maybe this is his last one, just maybe.’”
‘The lawyer called, she wanted him back and the papers were already signed. I knew we’d be saying goodbye.’: Couple credits birth mom for saving almost failed adoption, ‘The bond between us made this happen’
“Were we selfish for not wanting him to be taken from us? We couldn’t blame her. She didn’t REALLY know us. She said to us: ‘You asked me to trust you, now I’m asking you to trust me.’ You could hear a pin drop in that room.”
‘When you cry in the night, I head upstairs. I hold you longer than I need to. The last time is coming.’: Mom cherishes the ‘lasts’ as her youngest baby grows up
“I’ve rocked in this rocking chair at least a million times. It is the perfect size for a mama and one little baby. I smile at you a little wider than my worn out face should be able to. I know these days will end.”
‘I am not sure how you do it.’ More than one child is rushed to the emergency room at once. If I’m being honest, I’m not sure either.’: Special needs mom births 3 children, fosters and adopts 8 more
“After having my own accident that caused a permanent disability, I had to advocate for myself and my kids. 8 of 11 of them are special needs. There are many days I want to pull my hair out, but I never look back and think, ‘Why me?’ I am forever grateful to be their mama.”
‘My husband said, ‘Emmy go put on your Elsa dress, I feel like dancing.’ Minutes later, he came down the stairs dressed as Anna!’: Dad surprises family with Frozen dance during quarantine, ‘Even through a pandemic, he keeps us grounded’
“I’ve been sick for over 3 weeks with what we suspect is COVID-19, so my husband has had to stay home to watch our kids. Today, I have fallen in love with him all over again. He truly will do anything in his power to make us all smile.”
‘I see you spend day after day raising your sweet babies, aching to get her reassurance you are doing it all right.’: Woman pens touching letter to ‘the mother without a mother’
“I see you aching for those phone calls, those visits, those reassurances, those moments. I see you thinking time and time again, ‘If only I could call mom right now to ask her.'”
‘My innocent son was already born a stereotype. He has to fight to prove his worth, because of his skin.’: Mom and son run in honor of Ahmaud Arbery, ‘Don’t turn a blind eye’
“Today I cried heavy tears. Today I ran with my 9-year-old who has no clue how cruel this world can be. One day, I will have to explain all this to my compassionate and loving son.”
‘Mother’s Day didn’t mean as much to me when my mom was still alive as it does now that she’s dead.’: Woman feels ‘lucky’ for time with mother before passing
“My mother passed away just before Mother’s Day, and just before what would have been her birthday. Now, Mother’s Day without a mother weighs down on me each year, a heaviness on my chest. It’s not a sharp pain. It’s an empty feeling that’s hard to shake.”
‘The birth-mom changed her mind, AGAIN.’ My eyes filled with tears of joy. She chose to give him the best life she could.’: After miracle preemie, woman becomes adoptive mom
“We had already arrived at the hospital to let her know we forgave her. The nerves were high. ‘Who are you?’ the nurse asked. They were surprised to see us. We contemplated leaving, but received a text: ‘Come back and meet your son.’ We were in complete shock.”