“She said, ‘Get a nurse in the room!’ I found the call button. We had waited so long to have Kane and to hold him and watch him grow. But all of it was gone, just gone!”
‘Are you serious? I’m going to be a dad!’ Then all of it was gone, just gone! I tried to stay strong, but all I could do was cry.’: Dad emotionally recalls pain of stillborn son, ‘My heart was full knowing I got to hold my little boy’
‘I see you peeking!’ He slowly opened his eyes, blinking up at us. His tiny hand closed around my husband’s finger. Our hearts were forever changed.’: Couple adopts after surprise pregnancy, ‘I welcome every ounce of chaos and noise’
“‘Let’s not get our hopes up,’ I told my husband after the shock of the positive pregnancy settled in. He nodded in agreement. But then I received a very unexpected phone call. ‘Jeanette, do you want to be a mother?’ I realized what was about to happen and halted the conversation. ‘Wait!’ I shouted. ‘Can I three-way Zach onto this call?’ I quickly dialed him. Zach was in shock. I had not prepped him. The same week we miscarried our first child, our future son was conceived.”
‘You made the nice list!’ The words that made everything OK again. He gave him a certificate with his name on it.’: Non-verbal boy with Autism surprised by sensory friendly Santa at home
“Riley was diagnosed with Autism when he was 2-years-old. He is non-verbal and has a lot of sensory issues. He doesn’t like loud noises, or bright lights, but what he does love is Christmas. Since he cannot speak, Riley has learned to sign ‘Riley is good’ and for the last few weeks has been telling everyone he meets he is a good boy. Santa showed up at his house to tell Riley he would go through the naughty and nice list with him.”
‘Maybe it’s not about empty soda cans, who forgot to pay the light bill, or dishes in the sink. None of it matters in the end.’: Woman learns to stop ‘fussing about the little things’ after encountering old couple with Parkinson’s Disease
“I stood in the doorway of a restaurant as an old lady shuffled toward me. Her husband patiently held her as she repeatedly attempted to step. ‘She does great until she gets to a door. It’s Parkinson’s and it’s hard,’ her husband sweetly said.”
‘How the hell did I end up here?’ It took me months to say, ‘My child died.’ We hung her stocking. I’m finally ready.’: Mom celebrates stillborn during holidays for surviving twin to know ‘her sister’s spirit is with her for her lifetime’
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve answered, ‘How are you?,’ with a forced, fake, ‘Hanging in there!’ just to make the conversation easier. We hung her Christmas stocking on the mantle this year. I am painfully aware that on Christmas morning, that stocking will hang empty as the others burst with gifts. ‘Why me? Why our family?’ But for now, we honor her absence. I am finally ready.”
‘At 15, I caught the attention of an older man. ‘You’re jailbait. You could ruin my life.’ He blamed me for the entire affair.’: Autistic woman escapes domestic abuse, ‘It is not my job to carry his pain’
“I didn’t understand at the time, but he was triggering autistic meltdowns. He objectified me constantly and often talked publicly about my genitalia, how no man had ‘had me before.’ Months before my 20th birthday, I proudly displayed a photo of my brother in uniform on the TV, which was ‘too imposing.’ I immediately threw my belongings into a trash bag. It was like a light bulb went off in my head.”
‘6 weeks pregnant with our surprise third baby, my husband of 7 years packed his bags and left me.’: Woman empowered to embrace single parenting after husband leaves her during pregnancy
“My face was red and my eyes were swollen from sobbing. When we were good, we were great. When we were bad, we were absolutely volatile. She dropped the inevitable bombshell. ‘Where do you think this is coming from?’ ‘What he put me through,’ I replied. ‘Deeper, Amber.’ It hit me. There was no miracle. Our marriage was over.”
‘I messed up my eyebrows so bad I drew them on for years. I shave my face and toes.’: Woman shares candid truths about her insecurities to encourage others to live authentically
“I feel like I don’t financially contribute enough to my family. I yell. A lot. I talk to God every week, but I haven’t been to church in years. I dye my hair when I’m feeling stressed.”
‘I cooked, I cleaned. I was a nurturing, good woman. Yet still, I was not enough for the wrong man.’: Woman urges ‘never settle for anything less than you deserve’
“I cooked when I was asked. I cleaned dirty breeches, dirty dishes, and everything in between. I was loving. I was patient. I tried to look as pretty as I possibly could. I was forgiving. I was ENOUGH. I was more than enough. But for the wrong man, it did not matter. You may be the rib, but a rib cannot fit comfortably in a body it was not designed for.”
‘Help me!’ The color drained from my face. I awoke to cramping and blood dripping on the bathroom floor.’: LGBT couple navigate homophobia, reciprocal IVF journey, ‘our girls will be filled with lots of love’
“Our babies! Were they gone? We drove the 3 hours to the IVF clinic. The doctor informed us, ‘One baby is still there, and next to the baby is a blood clot 4 times its size.’ I remember my eyes filling with tears. I began crying on my wife’s shoulder. ‘What you two are doing isn’t right.’ No one ever tells you how hard it will be to have kids when you’re gay.”