“Someone who is obsessed with getting to know you. Not just how you like your steak, but the deep down nitty gritty. What makes you tick, how you think and see the world, and how to love you better. Don’t settle until you find them.”
‘You deserve someone obsessed with your messy hair and that t-shirt you’re still in from yesterday. Someone who will work through your ugly, not run away from it.’: Woman urges ‘don’t settle until you find them’
‘The clerk answered the phone in a shaky voice. ‘Oh my god, sir. Is your son tall and strong with black hair?’: 16-year-old ‘hero’ rescues 3 children from sex trafficking, ‘Love conquers all’
“With no regard for his own safety, he approached the blood-soaked scene to a man attempting to kidnap 3 children. Not knowing if he had a knife, a gun, or what level of danger he was facing, my son sprang into action.”
‘My daughter was born different, but her. life. is. not. sad.’: Special needs mom urges ‘normalize disabilities’
“Don’t just be kind, be inclusive. Be friends.”
‘If we don’t get approved, it’s my fault.’ He had to discuss his ‘colorful’ past. We worried being gay would make it harder.’: Dads foster to adopt, ‘We can’t wait to show him to the world’
“We were a mess and tissues were passed around by the bucket load. We knew he HAD to become our son.”
‘My daughter called me from a party. ‘Mom, I’m violently throwing up. I swear I’m not drinking.’ She went from asymptomatic to waking up at 3:00 p.m. every day.’: Mom details daughter’s journey with COVID-19
“Days later, she called me hysterical because her throat hurt so bad. The doctor said, ’24 hours without medicine and this could have been tragic.’ We are in a new normal that is not so normal. Parenting is not for the faint of heart.”
‘If you don’t leave him, I’ll end up burying you.’ I was like an addict. Then I saw a red positive sign on the doctor’s sheet.’: HIV+ woman escapes abuse, ‘Live out loud and free’
“’Where do you think you’re going looking like THAT?’ I didn’t listen to my instincts. He made me think no one loved me. I had to set myself free.”
‘I was scared. ‘What would mom do?’ She has 3 jobs and STILL makes sure he gets to class.’: Daughter writes touching story about ‘superhuman’ autism mom
“Today, my mom had to leave to work her third job. Then, out of nowhere, my son got really overwhelmed and started flapping and humming… but not in a good way. She sat by his side, no matter how tired she was.”
‘BAM!’ There it was, not a soft let down, but a sucker punch. ‘That’s it, I’m taking you to the hospital.’: Woman beats Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, ‘I learned what was really important in life’
“I was the youngest at the doctor’s by 30 years. My pain got worse. I heard my husband cry for me in the hallway.”
‘Your child is not their test score DURING A PANDEMIC. It’s NOT an indication of how much you love them.’: Mom writes encouraging note to parents, ‘Love leads, learning follows’
“Have them do 2.5 months of spontaneous online instruction via platforms they’ve never used. Now, give them a test. Your child is not a test score.”
‘How are you supposed to bring this baby into the world without his dad? We’ve never experienced something like this before.’: Pandemic mom shares plea for patience
“Please do not complain about having to wear a mask around my baby. YOU DO NOT KNOW unless you’ve had a pandemic baby.”
‘Today, I should be holding my newborn. Instead, I’m scattering his ashes.’: Grieving mom pens PSA on late-term abortion
“Rather than bring an innocent child into this world only to suffer and die, we made the heart-wrenching decision no parent should ever have to make. I am not an irresponsible monster. I am a grieving mother who spared her baby unspeakable suffering.”
‘Will you take in 3 sisters?’ We had NO experience. They came in like a whirlwind. I panicked.’: Foster mom describes ups and downs, ‘I’d make the same choice over and over’
“He turned around, holding a very sleepy toddler. ‘Is that him?’ I choked back tears, trying not to run toward the child that would make us moms.”
‘Some of us thrive under pressure, but some of us collapse. Everyone has their reasons. They aren’t in your life to be like you.’: Woman discusses the importance of diverse friendships, ‘Don’t let yourself be the reason one fails’
“They aren’t in your life to be more like you. They are in your life to be them and to serve the purpose on your path they are intended to. Not a single part of friendship is about control.”
‘My little boy can’t say ‘I love you.’ I get hurt a lot. My friends live unrelatable lives.’: Mom of son with autism says ‘thank you for helping me recognize your beauty’
“Many humans sleepwalk through their lives. I feel the wild euphoria of my child putting on a sock.”
‘Are you giving up?’ He replied, ‘You aren’t getting pregnant!’ I surrendered my idea of family.’: Couple pursues adoption after infertility battle, ‘Our hearts completely changed’
“My heart sunk. ‘Wait, but what about me?’ I was ecstatic to help this little one go home, but my life had shifted and I wasn’t ready to go back.”
‘I was POSITIVE their parental rights should be taken away. Then I saw the toughest exterior break. I wept for her.’: Foster mom advocates for bio moms, ‘They’re often dealt bad cards’
“We had a sweet little boy enter our family. As I listened to his parents’ stories, my heart softened. Instead of seeing them as monsters, I saw them as people.”
‘I could never give them back! It would be too hard.’ It’s not about the ending, it’s about the middle.’: Mom who lost infant daughter shares thoughts on foster care, ‘Loss is part of life’
“Honestly, I’ve asked myself the very same thing. Now I understand. As a family, we have to have boundaries. We had to make the difficult decision to have him moved.”
‘Our foster son had been left all alone, hungry and parentless, to fend for himself. I don’t know what it’s like to go hungry, but I can give him a seat at our table.’: Foster mom talks food insecurity
“With GeQwan’s love for cooking, we’ve spent numerous hours in the kitchen trying to connect. Sometimes, in between chopping and sautéing, he would let a little scrap of his life fall on the counter between us. I don’t know what it’s like to go hungry, but I can give him a seat at our table, and let him know he is enough.”
‘After watching the Disney movie, our 8-year-old daughter couldn’t sleep. My heart ached for her.’: Parents encourage daughter’s empathy, ‘We will not toughen her up’
“At 2 a.m. this morning, as my daughter snuggled into me, I told her stories about bunnies, fields of flowers… Nothing worked. We are protective about what our tender-hearted children see. We are cautious. When I was 9, I watched a movie that traumatized me around the same age. We will not toughen her up.”
Your Worth Is Not Determined By Your Appearance: A Guide To Self-Love During The Pandemic
“I’ve gained 30 pounds during quarantine. I can’t button my pants anymore. It’s hard to look in the mirror. And I’ve been stuck at my home with nothing but my thoughts and my new adult body.”
‘I have a loving husband. My life is a fairytale. I should be smiling. I have no sob story to garner support.’: Mom suffering from depression gets real about mental health stigmas
“At 36 years old, my life is on the upswing. Who would have thought? I have no reason to cry.”
I Don’t Go To Church, But I Live A Life Of Love
“Growing up, I didn’t get much from Church and Sunday school, other than boredom. After 40 years, something dormant inside me woke up.”
‘The pregnancy test read, ‘Yaaaaaaas!’ before I had time to pull up my pants. There I was, knocked up with my post-vasectomy baby.’: Mom hilariously recounts vasectomy fail
“At 40 years old, post-vasectomy, we thought my husband was shootin’ blanks. All I could do was laugh out of shock. Very quickly followed by a much larger part of me saying, ‘Oh…sh*t…’ As I stood up and washed my hands, I was overcome with a feeling of dread.”
‘We’ve been escorted out of court for our safety from gangs. My heart’s broken, but it’s not about me.’: Foster mom gives candid account of system, ‘It’s not about getting a baby’
“I’ve stood with a mother before a judge so she had someone to support her. I’ve rocked a child far too big for hours until they collapsed from exhaustion. NOTHING can prepare you for the heaviness. This can’t be about you.”
‘No human needs to walk around trying their absolute best all the time. Sometimes trying your best is just too tall of an order.’: Mom urges compassion for everyone
“We take in a million messages putting us into good old-fashioned fight or flight. It’s legitimately exhausting. I do not have a drop of ‘trying my best’ left in me.”