Love What Matters

22 Years Ago, On 9/11, A Mama Kissed Her Babies Goodnight For The Last Time

“I know you’re tired. I know you’re at your wit’s end. But mama, tonight, take a moment to look down at those babies you made. How beautiful and perfect they are. And tell them that you love them with your whole heart, and you’ll never stop. Not for an instant. No matter what.”

‘Thank you for your service.’ At that moment, they weren’t a black man and a white kid.’: Mom shares son’s act of kindness, ‘Take two and a half minutes to show somebody respect’

“They were two men made of the same cloth.”

‘We love you just as you are. There’s nothing you need to fix.’ Looking at them, I knew I was different. They loved me before they even met me.’: Adoptee living in Korea shares ‘multi-dimensional’ journey

“Two people of a different race than mine decided to willingly and openly accept me as their own. I let go, and never looked back.”

‘I left my husband. This wasn’t the man I married at 24. In the emotional turmoil, we got pregnant again.’: Divorcee urges ‘your future is so much bigger than current circumstance’

“I accidentally found out about his secret relationship when inquiring about our wills. Dating someone behind my back is singlehandedly the best gift he’s ever given me. I’m not the person I was 6 months ago.”

‘You asked me this morning, on your birthday, ‘Why did those people blow up New York?’ I was unprepared for this moment.’: Mom shares open letter to 9/11 baby

“On the morning of September 11th, I went into labor. You were born just before midnight, 12 years after that ominous day changed our worlds forever. How do you explain hate to a beautiful, loving, kind, newly-minted 6-year-old?”

‘Your baby doesn’t go home with a quick fix prescription. You know every inch of the hospital. Life can’t resume as normal.’: Mom pens appreciation letter for ‘mamas of very sick kids’

“I took my otherwise healthy daughter to the ER for lethargy and a high fever. As I watched her rest, I heard beeping and babies crying for hours straight. I saw mamas pacing every open space. Thing is, we don’t always acknowledge the mamas who do this every day.”

‘You have taken on more than any child should. Deep down, the whole word thanks you for your resilience.’: Teacher mom pens appreciation letter to all teacher’s kids

“Thank you for taking a break during our nighttime story because mommy is answering urgent emails from parents. For accepting the art project mommy just bought isn’t for you. For understanding every child who walks into your mommy’s zoom call is now also one of ‘her kids.’ You love them like your own.”

‘It’s going to be rough, PLEASE don’t let him remember.’ My bike flew into the air. Part of my skull was gone.’: Man recovers from horrible accident, ‘The love of strangers overwhelmed me’

“There was a speeding car behind me. I don’t have any memory of it. People from around the world started messaging my parents, letting them know they were praying for me. Tears streamed from my eyes.”

‘The room was awfully quiet. ‘Are you SURE about the dates?’ They abruptly sent me away. I couldn’t function.’: Woman celebrates double rainbow baby, ‘If it didn’t happen, we wouldn’t have him’

“At 6 weeks along, I started to bleed. I was convinced it was happening a third time. She gasped, ‘Oh wow, a heartbeat!’ Words I’d never heard before. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

‘I can’t believe we’re actually doing this!’ We were two unmarried twenty-somethings. We chose foster care, TOGETHER.’: BFFs become foster parents, ‘We were called to love them completely’

“One of us dared say it out loud: ‘I want to pursue foster care.’ ‘What?!? Me too.’ Not someday, then. Together. I saw it from our agency’s placement desk and stepped into the kitchen. ‘Two-day-old baby girl ready to be discharged tomorrow, yes or no?’ Yes. Yes. Yes! We never looked back.”

‘The school district took the very blunt stance, ‘It’s my way or the highway.’ Special education is under attack with little pushback.’: Special needs mom urges ‘we must draw a line in the sand’

“I remember thinking how strange it was that parents who lived in rich, powerful neighborhoods with top-rated schools felt the need to pull their special needs child out and home school. It made no sense. Until it happened to me.”

‘I married a man who knows how to love a mother. He prayed over me and our babes even before we knew our first child’s name.’: Woman tells husband ‘thank you for loving us so well’

“He’s coached me through my hardest days. He’s cheered me on through labor pains. For all the shared chores, for all the date nights we keep. For all the kids’ giggles, being my best friend, and supporting me every day. My life is so much better.”

‘I remember crying, ‘I feel like I’m the only person in the world without friends.’ There I was, 24 years old without my tribe. Life hit a total reset.’: Woman urges ‘you will find your people’

“There is nothing wrong with you, my love. But there is everything you have yet to still give to the world. I promise, one day, you will find your people.”

‘I rolled my eyes. ‘You’re the sickest patient on the whole Labor & Delivery floor.’ I was dying right before their eyes.’: Woman births miracle baby with limb difference after near-death molar pregnancy

“15 weeks pregnant, my OB left a voicemail. Something was different in her voice. ‘It’s questionable you’ll make it through surgery alive.’ I was carrying an undetected twin. I had two options: die or let one of my twins die.”

‘Something’s wrong.’ She’d stop breathing. We’d have a blue baby in our arms. The whirlwind had just begun.’: Baby diagnosed with ‘ultra rare’ Gould Syndrome, ‘She lives a joy-filled life’

“It’s probably not a big deal.’ The team was stumped. They decided to do an ultrasound just for good measure. Our world was shattered in that moment.”

‘My name is Jeff. Tell me exactly what happened.’ His voice changed, his tone dripping in comfort. He guided me through the biggest crisis I’ve ever experienced.’: Widow thanks ‘hero’ dispatcher, ‘Kindness is free’

“I told my husband, ‘I can’t do it anymore. I have to call.’ The tumors were everywhere. He looked me straight in the face and said, ‘I will never forgive you.’ I was on the verge of a breakdown. We do not think of dispatchers as heroes, but that night, Jeff was mine.”

‘’Will you ask her to marry you?’ My dress was overnighted. Mom helped dad into his suit. I choked on tears.’: Woman creates father-daughter dance before dad’s passing, ‘He always chose joy’

“My nails weren’t painted and I curled my hair myself in between wiping away the endless stream of tears. It wasn’t staged or super fancy. It was a dad doing what he always did best: sweeping his girl off her feet one last time.”

‘Your baby is gone.’ She placed her hand on my leg with a soft touch. The lump in my throat turned into a loud moan.’: Mom says ‘9 weeks is all I had with her, but she will be forever in our lives’

“She asked me to lay back. ‘Hold on,’ I said, ‘Let me grab my phone so I can record this for my husband.’ I settled in, hit the record button. I knew pretty quickly that something was off. I could feel the tennis ball size lump rising in my throat.”

‘I caught sight of her coat hanging off the banister, waiting to be picked up and worn again. I couldn’t hold it together. She didn’t know it was the last time.’: Woman urges ‘hold on to each moment before it’s a memory’

“I was composed when I received the message she had passed, and when the doctor came to verify her death. I was composed when I kissed her forehead for the last time. It was only as we were getting ready to leave her house, that the silliest thing got to me.”

‘My student from 10 years ago messaged me. ‘Miss Silva, I’m applying for my Doctorate and Master’s Degree.’⁣ I cried.⁣’: Teacher urges ‘he is much more than the color many cannot see past’

“In a world that told him he would not amount to much because he was a black boy, he kept going.⁣ In a society that told him he was not worth much because he had dreadlocks and wore his pants a bit low, he kept going.⁣ He defied the odds, and then he crushed them.⁣”

‘I hugged him tight. ‘What?’ he said, very confused. ‘I know it’s just a freaking pan, but that made me feel so heard.’: Woman reminds us ‘it’s the littlest things that can bring the most joy’

“We have kids. Our lives get messy and busy. Somedays, when we talk to each other, we get distracted mid-conversation by our kids, our phones, and just life. Sometimes I don’t feel heard. But yesterday, he came home with a pan.”

‘At age 6, she’s already been called ‘too talkative,’ while male counterparts are labeled class clowns or just ‘boys being boys.’: Woman shares touching reminder to be our authentic selves

“Many kids and adults will try to hush her as she grows up. But as long as she has a few teachers who believe in her for the girl she is, with those leadership skills, she just might change the world.”