“‘Why is this brush on the counter? Who spilled something wet here?’ I found myself picking up my husband’s work boots and thought, ‘Man, he works so hard and has loved me through so much nitpicking, he didn’t deserve. The least I can do is this.”
‘I was furious about a dirty dish in the sink, because of the rages my mother used to go into. Rages that lasted hours, and resulted in things said she could never take back in a million years.’
‘Call me ASAP. It’s important.’ I had this overwhelming sensation to turn my phone over. That’s when I saw it. 37 missed calls.’: Woman loses father to suicide, pledges to ‘live life to the fullest’ for his ‘moments lost’
“You called me to ask about a project, and prior to the call, you texted as well. You promised to come to see me Monday and help me move out of the dorm. We were going to have a ‘daddy-daughter date,’ but 40 minutes later, I got the call I never expected. I had 37 missed calls. Daddy, you never even crossed my mind.”
‘She’s not pregnant. I’m sorry to be the one to tell you.’ She’d been scamming us.’: Lesbian couple catfished during fake adoption, ‘thankful for difficult journey that led us to our son’
“I had an odd feeling. ‘Hmm, maybe I should do a little detective work of my own.’ I entered the ‘birthmother’s’ phone number and was confused when it came back. I searched this name and found a profile for a girl who looked nothing like the photos we’d been sent. I dialed the phone. He fell silent.”
‘His sign caught my attention. ‘I don’t care who you are, I love you…’ I stood there reading it, until he finally said, ‘Hi.’ I cocked my head to the side.’
“I sat there and watched as he gripped his pen and began to write. He wrote down one word.”
‘My bully wasn’t a kid on the playground.’: Child abuse survivor shares journey to ‘re-claiming’ her power
“While other girls my age chased butterflies and dreams, I hid in closets from my living nightmares.”
‘At first all I saw was the mess. Their cleaning after dinner was sub-par. There’s still crap everywhere. And for the LOVE, why do the shoes NEVER get put in the bin?!’
Mother of five children shares the importance of taking a break, even when the kitchen looks messy in a hectic household. Read more here.
‘I started using wrinkle cream. I turned up Barbara Streisand and sang along. I asked the pedicure lady to scrub a little harder on the heel. Then it hit me. I have become my MOTHER.’
“As a teenager, I didn’t want to be like my mom. I wanted to be rebellious and wild. I wanted to be a free 80’s kid and wear a skirt shorter than 3 inches above the knee. I wanted to watch MTV all day. And then, on a random Friday night, everything changed.”
‘Me: ‘My brother has Down syndrome.’ Almost everyone: ‘Oh no, I’m so sorry! How long does he have to live?’ EXCUSE YOU?!?!’
“I remember the first time I heard someone ask me how long he has to live, and I played it off. I was like, ‘No, he’s fine!’ But then I quickly googled it as my heart raced, thinking he would die soon. My mother is a quiet one. I’d only get one-worded responses.”
‘I caught myself telling my 2-year-old son today, ‘You’re just like your daddy.’ I wanted him to act and look like me. I hoped he’d possess some of my qualities.’
“It stopped me in my tracks after it rolled off my tongue. All of us want to see a little bit of ourselves in our children. But the older I get, the more I see his daddy in him. I’m raising a daddy’s boy.”
‘You need your husband’s permission.’ I begged. I didn’t feel maternal. I was told I’d ‘change my mind.’: Woman speaks up after refused sterilization procedure multiple times
“Every year during my annual exam, I asked to have my ‘tubes tied.’ My doctor always quickly refused. As I aged, I still didn’t want kids and neither did my partner. This time around, I was about to lose my health insurance. I was told the procedure was ‘reserved for women in their 30s or 40s who had at least 2 children.’ As an adult woman, I needed my husband’s blessing to make decisions about MY body. I was stunned.”