“I got a phone call. The woman was getting divorced and needed my help. My boyfriend stomps towards me, handing me my wallet and keys. ‘Your priorities are all out of whack,’ he said as he nearly runs me over while heading towards his car.”
‘Where are you going?’ I asked. ‘I’m leaving. Obviously, I am not a priority in your life!’ He peeled out of the parking lot, leaving me standing there wondering what the hell just happened.’
‘My friends and I used to get all dressed up and go out. I miss it.’ She looked sad. ‘Why miss it? Come out with us!’: Young woman’s act of compassion reminds us ‘it costs nothing to be kind’
“Just before leaving the casino bathroom and finishing applying our last coats of lip gloss, an older lady walked in. ‘It’s so nice to see girls out having fun and looking so beautiful. I remember those times.’ I told her. ‘Why miss it? We’re all friends here! Why don’t you come out with us?’ I’ll never forget how her face lit up. She smiled this unforgettable smile.”
‘Why did he choose ME?’ I lay in a hospital bed, the nurse conducting a rape kit after I’d slept in my cousin’s bed.’: Woman overcomes sexual trauma with help from son, ‘there is finally joy in our life’
“I told my cousin I needed to lie down. He offered his bedroom to me. I didn’t think twice about it. I was safe. I was with family. I went to sleep. The next thing I know, my body was rocking. There was pressure. Unrecognizable pressure. Someone was behind me.”
‘The security guard says, ‘Nope, you can’t come in with breast pump.’ It was not allowed unless I had my baby with me. Are you kidding me?’: Mom advocates for other breastfeeding parents
“‘The whole reason I have my pump is because I don’t have my baby.’ The Wednesday before the concert I called Guest Services and they verified it was a medical device and I would be allowed to bring it in, but it would be searched. I was absolutely okay with this and so I planned to bring my pump. I was livid.”
‘I was okay with him having a daughter. NOT an ex. When I met her, she said ‘hi’ and walked away. Hi? That’s it? She hates me!’: Stepmom recalls jealousy, insecurity over husband’s ex-wife
“I was so nervous thinking, ‘I wonder where she’s sitting? Are they sitting on the same couch? Surely Sam would be in the chair across the room. Would they start talking and realize they wanted to be together? It’s been an hour, why hasn’t he texted me and told me every single thing they talked about? They’re definitely back together, in Vegas getting married.’ I was a total crazy person.”
‘One of the moms told me, ‘She’s not athletic; she’s a girly girl.’ I couldn’t sleep that night. All I could think was, ‘Why does she have to choose?’: Girl mom urges ‘our daughters can do it all’
“My youngest daughter is trying softball for the first time. We were at practice, and I was talking with other moms. I said I hoped she learned to love the game because she was athletic. Her comment stopped me in my tracks.”
‘We were both speechless. ‘We’re almost 40 and we’ll be changing diapers again!,’ my husband finally muttered. I didn’t say a word. I was so shocked, my jaw on the ground with tears in my eyes.’
“Two children in Heaven, one here on earth; we were at peace. We signed the paperwork with the fertility clinic to finally close that chapter in our lives. Six months later, we were relaxing with a bottle of wine. Before I poured a glass, I ran upstairs. I was ‘late.’ I barely glanced at it, assuming it would be negative.”
‘I vividly remember. My right arm held the new baby I birthed less than 24-hours ago. My left held my foster son, patting his new sister on the foot. I felt so much joy and so much pain.’
“We sat in the courtroom and listened to the story of lives that had been destroyed. We watched as the judge decided our son could no longer live with his biological parents. I’d be lying if I said a part of me wasn’t relieved. I struggled with feeling I wasn’t enough for these two babies 15 months apart. I believed the lie.”
‘Take a pregnancy test, crazy!,’ my sister said. My husband was out of town. He thought I was pulling a prank. We were SHOCKED. I was mind blown to see that positive! I WAS PREGNANT!’
“Jared and I met in the Army. For me, it was love at first sight. We started trying to have children right after we got married. At first, it was just fun. Then I started to get sick.”
‘She is literally an angel from heaven. But We. Were. Terrified. Instead of leaving the doctor smiling, we were scared. ‘There’s something wrong with the baby!,’ we sobbed.
“I was a first-grade teacher. My students didn’t know anything was wrong with the baby. It was difficult. They didn’t understand why I was out so often, why I wasn’t myself. I felt isolated. Alone. Misunderstood.”