Love What Matters

‘I couldn’t walk away once, but twice, and not see them again.’: Woman loses 2 babies to congenital muscle disease

“I didn’t want anyone to die, especially not my child. Especially not two of my children. But that’s what happened.”

‘He held up his sign: ‘Cancer is hard. Being black is hard… I want to survive both.’ Just then, a police officer turned back around.’: Police officers touched by childhood cancer fighter

“Just then, a police officer blew his horn and turned back around to introduce himself. He wanted to know everything AJ has been through. He vowed, ‘I will teach my kids to love everyone.’ I want my son to know you don’t need a big crowd to voice your opinion.”

‘My husband called me at work. I went completely numb. I remember saying, ‘I love you, brother.’: Woman loses brother to suicide, ‘He had such a pure heart’

“The hospital gave us a Build-A-Bear which plays your recorded heartbeat when you squeeze it – Alivia loves to squeeze it and tell us she is hugging Uncle Corey.”

‘I love you, mom. I’m not ready.’ I kissed her forehead and said goodbye, knowing we’d never speak again. ‘It’s your turn to be strong now.’: Daughter exchanges vows in front of terminally ill mother

“She complained of back pain. The next day, I found out she was dying. She asked the Doc, ‘So when will I get better?’ with painful optimism. ‘Michele, this isn’t going away. Our goal is to get you to live as long as possible.’ I kissed her forehead as she drifted off into pallative sleep. I determined in some way, shape, or form, I wanted her to be part of my wedding.”

‘Somewhere inside of you is a little girl who wonders at the grown-up you’ve become, someone who is fierce and ready to take on the world.’: Woman thankful for her daughter, ‘she is teaching me in the midst of raising her’

“There have been times you have said ‘no’ when you wanted to say ‘yes.’ I have seen this photo before and it always takes me back and makes me think.”

‘I received a missed call from daycare. ‘Declan was taking a nap and never woke up.’ I remember thinking it was a silly bump or runny nose.’: Woman says ‘I will always be Declan’s momma’ after SIDS loss

“I found my husband, dirty from work and his face buried in his hands. Several police officers stared at me as he paced and yelled, ‘Come on buddy, come on.’ I went behind the curtain and saw my son looking so tiny on the hospital bed in just his diaper, and a dozen doctors and nurses around him trying to start his heart.”

‘We noticed a man mowing the lawn outside an empty house. ‘Who lives there?’ In minutes, my husband was sharing his number in case they needed help.’: Woman praises husband for acts of kindness, ‘Find a man who loves people’

“This weekend, our elderly neighbor lost his wife. Less than an hour later, my husband was organizing what food we could buy and drop off there so he had something to eat before his kids showed up on Monday.. One of the main reasons I love him is not how he treats me. It’s how he treats others.”

‘A middle-aged woman stopped me at the gym. ‘You are so pretty. You could be a model if only you lost weight!’ I’d just lost 140 pounds.’: Woman urges ‘being fat will never take away my self-worth’

“She stopped me as I was leaving the gym. The rage I felt in my teen years surged back right under the surface, and for the rest of the week, I stewed on this backhanded compliment. ‘If I lost weight…’ I had just lost 140 pounds and never felt better.”

‘Minutes after the pregnancy photos were taken, I found blood in the bathroom and felt a gush of water. In an instant, I knew I needed to get to the hospital.’: Couple diagnosed with rare blood clot disorder, ‘Jack is not only our guardian angel, but my hero’

“His name was Jack. I replay it in my head every day. He is so loved and so so wanted.”

‘My child may have died, but my love – and my motherhood – never will. Not a second passes when I am not aware of my child’s absence.’: Woman pens letter for bereaved mothers

“Please, just sit beside me. Say nothing. Do not offer a cure. Or a pill, or a word, or a potion. Witness my suffering and don’t turn away from me. Please be gentle with me. And I will try to be gentle with me too.”

‘He’s old enough to be alone. Why do you always have to babysit your brother?’ No one understood. I promised to protect him.’: Older sister becomes advocate to brother with autism, ‘He is my biggest teacher’

“I felt this huge need to protect him. Children would laugh at him and call him stupid. I screamed at them and stood up for him. The older I got, the angrier I was and the more pain I felt. I didn’t know what to do.”

‘He asked me to go under the building and pick up a cigarette butt. ‘No way!’ When I refused he ordered me to, ‘Go see the old man.’: Veteran details army life thanks to StoryWorth

“So, we went to the captain, who asked us what had happened. ‘So, what’s the story?’ I told him, ‘I had 16 weeks of basic training, and I thought the harassment was over. I would have broken my back trying to crawl under that building to get a cigarette butt!'”

‘She tapped a stranger’s shoulder, ‘Um, excuse me, sir.’ Without any pauses she said, ‘We need to make a game plan for you guys.’: Woman experiences unexpected kindness on flight, ‘We can do these things for other people’

“I see a flight attendant lock eyes and head our way, I freeze a bit. Since it feels like exactly zero people are ready to fly, I feel like this is a safe space to finally unpack this. It was the last flight of a very long travel day.”

‘My brother and boyfriend bought a car together for $35! Now it takes more than that just to fill the gas tank!’: Woman reflects on changes during her lifetime thanks to StoryWorth

“Usually life changes slowly in real-time and so quickly when one looks back. Lately, though, things are changing so quickly it’s hard to keep up!”

‘It’ll happen when it’s supposed to.’ I was told I should have been pregnant by now. Don’t get me wrong, A LOT has happened this last year.’: Woman struggling with infertility says ‘we would love prayers’

“Infertility has been my battle for 500 and some-odd days. Test after test, to the point where I want to quit taking them. Ovulation sticks that seem to just be a waste of money. Do not get me started on the scheduled sex, that is always a blast.”

‘You’re not welcome.’ On the ride home, my friends apologized with tears in their eyes.’: Former police officer raises awareness about discrimination

“I’ve been ignored, called names, and spit on. Not only as a black man, but also as a black police officer. I want something different for my daughter.”

‘Well, mommy, I’m not just black. I’m white too!’ I had to explain, ‘I know baby, but people may just see your hair and tan skin.’: Mom to multiracial family urges ‘race talk’

“With everything currently happening in the news, I began to realize I needed to have ‘the talk’ with my children very soon. To see the confusion on their faces hurt.”

‘Their 10-year-old son went out for a bike ride. Suddenly, police were knocking on their door after reports a black man was trying to break into a house.’: Woman asks others to ‘use your privilege for good’

“The test results said, ‘You are 98% privileged.’ They stared back at me like a red blinking light. The results shouldn’t have been a surprise. I’m white, heterosexual, and was raised by two white, heterosexual parents.”

‘Are you going to buy that book?’ An employee walked over to me. ‘You can’t stand here and read it, you have to put it down.’: Woman details personal experiences with racism, ways to help

“‘Are you kidding me?’ I looked around at the others doing the same exact thing. ‘So, it’s OK for them to stand and read, but I can’t?’ She smugly said, ‘YEP.’ I started shaking.”

‘You get smaller, but so does your will to live. Your parents are watching this disorder tear you apart, layer by layer.’: 16-year-old with autism diagnosed with eating disorder, ‘It’s been so beautiful to watch myself come back’

“My younger self was so happy and full of life. Her smile was genuine and her eyes glistened with hope. Her little laugh radiated so much joy. She was beautiful and unafraid. No meal was too big and no mountain was too high to overcome. She deserved so much more than who I became.”

‘I broke up with my boyfriend only to find out I was 9 weeks pregnant. I had to break the news.’: Teen mom, abuse survivor says ‘my story made me the badass I am today’

“I found him talking in the laundry room at our apartment complex with a woman from his job. She was there letting him know she was also pregnant. I felt like vomiting. There I was, a young, scared, single mom homeless and couch surfing, starting her life ‘alone.’ I knew I had to get out.”

‘I’m doomed,’ he says. ‘I can’t do this anymore. I don’t know how I’m going to live like this. He’s hurting me.’: Woman sheds light on boyfriend’s struggles with OCD, mental illness

“I say, ‘You’re not a bad person.’ I hold my boyfriend in my arms, feeling his normally strong chest shake uncontrollably with giant, heart wrenching sobs. There’s nothing I can do, except hold him tighter.”

‘Right—THERE! MOMMY! NO! A CAR JUST SQUASHED IT!’ I pumped the brakes, started directing traffic. I was hyperventilating.’: Hero mom saves lizard

“‘Sir, can you take it to a hospital?’ He pulled his truck past me and tipped his hat. ‘Hail nawl, little lady. That thang is all on you.’ Pretty soon I was standing alone, next to my car, with a half-dead thing in a shoe box that was IN MY HANDS. I was hyperventilating. This was not okay.”

‘Mary Ann was the lunch lady in the elementary cafeteria for over 40 years. I thought I was treated special. Turns out, I wasn’t special at all.’: Man pays tribute to school lunch lady, ‘She was rare in this world’

“Every single day, she would give me a hug, tell me how special I was, and tell me to have a great day. I thought I was treated special. I was wrong. There were hundreds of comments that told the same story.”