“Christmas, when I was 5-years-old. I remember in the back stood a box approximately 3-foot-tall with MY name on it. Of course, my brother couldn’t help but tease me there is only a small gift inside, and the big box was just a trick. But I knew.”
‘Christmas Eve finally came. I had to open that big box first. I tore into the paper and there she was – a My Size Barbie.’: Woman remembers what matters most this holiday season, ‘The pricelessness of being together’
‘With perfect clarity, our 20-month-old looked up at us. ‘I love you.’ It was a miracle days before he passed.’: Father recalls tender moment son diagnosed with childhood cancer shocked parents, ‘Those words are forever etched in my memory’
“A miracle came just days before he passed away. At just 20 months old, our son had only verbalized one word. Dog. Yet, he responded to my wife and I as we laid over his crib, tears falling from our cheeks, expressing our love for him. With absolute perfect clarity, our little boy looked up at us. I held him for the last time. I crave his smile. I miss seeing his eyes light up.”
‘Are you bleeding?!’ I felt my husband’s chest rise. KNOCK, KNOCK. With each blow, I wanted to cry out.’: Family ‘in awe’ after railway staff’s acts of kindness for son with autism
“Ty threw his hands over his ears and started to rock back and forth, moaning. I shot up quickly. This was the start of a meltdown. I tried to get my son to his feet, but it was too late. Ty slid off the bench and onto the ground. I fell beside him, my heart aching. My son never cries, yet here he was, sobbing in front of his dream: the train.”
‘I received the two-minute call that ended our marriage, I collapsed. I felt the pain of absolute bewilderment.’: Single father of three recounts divorce, overcoming pain
“I collapsed. I wept before our 3 children. Rebuilding myself like a child, I called my mother in the evening. I told her I was confused and utterly broken. Aged 24, I needed her comfort again. ‘Your father and I love you no matter what happens,’ she said, and my fitful breath slowed. Being a human male, I’m very good at pretending I have things under control. It took a desperate sense of weakness, therefore, to call her.”
‘She is healthy and finally in my arms, thank God.’ I’d be lying if I said I was ‘okay’ at that moment. I wasn’t.’: Mom of rainbow baby kept pregnancy a secret as long as she could, feared losing pregnancy after miscarriage, ‘I doubted everything’
“I needed to go in for surgery. This terrified me. I thought I could handle the pain – I was wrong. I was in the bathtub. Tears flood my eyes. My daughter sat next to the tub, sharing blue raspberry Jell-O. ‘Do you need to take a bath? I can eat Jell-O with you.’ She is the most caring, sweet, and loving 3-year-old. Finally, it was announced we had a girl, her cord was cut, and she was laid on my chest. I was still sure something bad was going to happen.”
‘Will he text me back?!’ I found myself jealous of my single friend. The butterflies, first-date jitters? I miss that.’: Woman claims marital ‘intimacy’ takes on new meaning over time, ‘I feel a type of love I’ve never known’
“She was all nervous and excited, waiting for him to text her. I found myself feeling jealous. I came home to my kids not listening, my kitchen a mess, and my husband complaining, ‘I thought you’d be back 20 minutes ago?’ I rolled my eyes at him and sat on the bed with laundry piles all around me. I sat there thinking, ‘I miss those first dates.'”
‘I no want it.’ I was getting her ready for Grandparent’s Day and pulled out a precious dress to wear.’: Mom comes to terms with daughter’s preferences, ‘Who am I to say what’s right?’
“Audrey grabbed the hem of the dress and was shaking her head, ‘I no want it.’ Shocked, I questioned, ‘What do you mean you don’t want it? Of course you want this! It’s adorable!’ It was a corduroy dress with a collar and hot pink trim, what’s not to love? I am Southern, after all. ‘I no want it.’ I took a deep breath, and a step back.”
‘Mommy, I want to get a picture with my brother and sister.’ My 6-year-old stopped me in my tracks.’: Mom who lost triplets caught off guard by daughter’s moving gesture for late siblings
“Those two names caught me off guard. Her brother and sister passed away within 2 months of birth. Tears instantly formed in my eyes. There is no handbook for how to survive the death of a child.”
‘I fell pregnant. I was livid I wasn’t able to drink those 9 months. ‘I can’t wait to get drunk again.’: Young mom credits newborn son for sobriety despite drinking on maternity leave, ‘He’s the greatest thing that ever happened to me’
“‘You’re boring. Stop trying to change me.’ I broke up with him. Then I found out I was pregnant. Baby was born by emergency c-section. I thought I was going to die. As soon as I got home, I couldn’t wait to get drunk again. My son was 10 weeks old, it was my birthday, I celebrated HARD. I couldn’t move the next day, couldn’t even change his diaper, so sick. Maternity leave became wine o’clock. I’d count down the hours to 5 p.m. I was now a grown-up drinker, a mom. Wine to relax with my baby, that’s normal, right?”
‘A silly mistake. I should have brushed it off, laughed. But I didn’t. I almost let it ruin the night.’: Woman claims ‘grace’ is the key to marriage, ‘bring it every day, even when you don’t want to’
“I wanted to be mad at my husband and stay mad. I made sure he knew it. I ignored apologies, rolled my eyes as dramatic as possible, and threw some of my best hateful looks. When he outstretched his open hand on the table, our eyes met. We instantly turned into middle school girls who couldn’t contain our giggles. I tried to hold my poker face, but it was no match for the man across from me. He knows me all too well.”