“‘I need you to go take this test to make sure. If you are pregnant, we can’t do the x-rays.’ I thought this was crazy, went into the bathroom, and pee’d on the stick. She grabbed it, looked at me, and called for another lady to come look. The other lady looked at me. ‘Yeah, we aren’t doing the appointment.’ I walked out, called my boyfriend and told him they wouldn’t finish my appointment. He was confused.”
‘Could you be pregnant?’ I mean yeah, I guess I could be, but I’m pretty sure I’m not. I decided to put ‘Yes’ for the answer.’: Woman gets surprise pregnancy news at dentist
‘I read the books, watched the shows and talked to the seasoned moms. I realized a common thread. Kids are who they are, they all respond and act differently.’: Mom of 7 discusses ever-changing role of motherhood, what she’s learned over the years
“I want to raise good people, not perfect ones. I’m certainly not perfect so why should I expect my children to be? I use my own mistakes as an example for them. I apologize when I speak harshly and tell them even moms mess up. I want them to know if you are working on yourself and always trying to learn from the mistakes you make, that’s all that truly matters.”
‘You deserve to be with someone who wants to make you a dad.’ My husband wanted children more than any man I’d ever known. I had to decide.’: Woman’s struggle through marriage and motherhood
“What if I don’t want to be a mom? What happens next? Is it time to let my husband go? My entire adult life I’ve gone back and forth about whether I want children.”
‘The surgeon ran a plumbing snake through my insides. We were left haggard, anxious. It was our first wedding anniversary.’: Woman learns of infertility after infection, chooses adoption instead of IVF, ‘Like magic, it all became clear’
“At 24, I’d been married to Peter less than a year. ‘Are you alright?’ I must’ve looked flush. My knees gave out. As I stepped toward the waiting room, time slowed to a crawl. Heaving sobs came next. ‘Oh honey,’ she whispered. ‘I am so sorry.’”
‘I see you trying to hold me together. I see you sitting there at appointments looking at your feet. I see your fear. I see you. I see you blaming yourself for my pain. I see your pain.’: Wife documents IVF journey alongside husband
“I see you making sacrifices for me and for our future family. I see you being so open to ‘alternative methods’ so we can get our happily ever after. I see you being open to anything and letting me decide what we should do with my body. I see you willing to make changes to our path in life. I see you.”
‘If you’d asked me back then if I was a bully, I would’ve given you an emphatic, ‘No Way! As if?’: Woman realizes she was a ‘background bully’ who ‘stirred the pot’
“I never, ever said explicitly mean things to anyone’s face. I only said it because I felt sorry for you! You know the kind – those Gretchen Weiner-type girls who feigned shock when one of their friends said something hurtful, but then giggled about it anyway.”
‘I knew when it was time you would rise to the occasion and take care of her and of us. And you did.’ Hearing that made it all worth it.’: Nurse reflects on how she has to be a nurse, even when it’s for family
“The night my mother-in-law passed away, everyone was a mess. Emotional, tired and grieving that she had been suffering so long. Even after being a nurse for 15 years, I wasn’t prepared for how it would feel to be the family member in the nursing role. On the way home, I wasn’t ok.”
‘I was embarrassed and ashamed. I spent 15 years pretending I was a happy, carefree extrovert without a problem in the world.’: Woman faces her trauma, finds strength empowering others
“This is when I discovered my calling was to be a coach for women who have experienced trauma. Women who don’t believe in themselves and don’t think they are deserving of the happiness they desperately desire. I want people to know they aren’t alone, they can put themselves back together after being broken, and their biggest pain can actually be their biggest strength. Everyone is deserving of the life they dream for themselves.”
‘I’ve really dropped the ball this holiday season. No family photos. No holiday cards. I haven’t even wrapped presents.’: Mom realizes what’s most important for her family this holiday season
“I never mailed the kids’ lists to Santa. We have yet to make a gingerbread house or watch ‘It’s A Wonderful Life.’ It feels like I’ve dropped the ball, it has broken and shattered, and like I don’t even have the energy or desire to clean up the mess.”
‘I cried in his arms. Maybe my mom had reason to think we were gay together. My Wife is NOT My Best Friend.’: Husband chronicles relationship with wife, best friend since sixth grade
“Taylor still had a part of my heart, but my life was never going to be the same. My best friend lives 1,000 miles away.”