“This was not an easy task. We know they have more energy than we have after drinking three cups of coffee. This was going to be a challenge. We wanted to find something they would all be interested in and would last for years.”
‘My husband and I wanted to try something different. The best part? We did it as a family.’: Parents bond with sons by building rock wall
My Bi-Racial Family Has To Fight Against Racism Every Day
“Racism is built on little assumptions and small biases that make people of color out to be ‘aggressive’ or ‘suspicious.’”
‘America, your children are crying. But this is no temper tantrum.’: Man photographs peaceful protests after George Floyd death
“This is action.”
‘I had custody of her son.’ I was the bad guy who worked with DHS to keep Henry. After all, I had the advantages. ‘Would you like me to visit?’: Woman visits son’s biological mother in jail, ‘I left LOVING this woman’
“There was this overwhelming sense I was the bad guy. She’s incarcerated and I’m not. I asked if she would like me to visit. I’m not going to lie, I did not expect to leave the way I did. I was sitting across from someone whose life choices, while pregnant, are the reason Henry will have a lot of challenges.”
‘Reach out to a black friend and make sure they are doing okay.’: Woman urges ‘love hard and listen’ amid global protests
“My heart has been so heavy the past few days. I have legitimately had a tight feeling in my chest and a pit in my stomach.”
‘The labor staff kept asking, ‘Is Daddy on the way?’ I was carrying a dead man’s baby. It hit me like a ton of bricks.’: Woman gives birth after husband’s passing, ‘Tomorrow isn’t promised’
“We found out we were expecting. Kyle was over the moon! ‘We got this,’ he reassured me. We were 6 weeks along. A few days later, I received one of the worst texts of my life: ‘Kyle is gone.’ I didn’t believe it. I was in major DENIAL. I pretended like nothing happened for a few hours until I decided to call the hospital for confirmation. I was carrying a dead man’s baby.”
‘Every night before I go to bed, I replay the day and focus on my ‘bad mom’ moments. I tell myself to use that pain as motivation to be a better mom. It’s unhealthy’: Woman chooses to ‘focus on the good’ moments, ‘Let’s stop beating ourselves up’
“Moments where I was short with my kids, moments where I lost my patience, moments where I didn’t play with them when they asked because I was trying to finish the dishes or dinner. I replay them over and over, letting the guilt settle deep. It always leaves me feeling defeated.”
‘I’m going to be a daddy!’ That was the last time I saw him in person. I felt so alone. How on earth could I give my child to someone else?’: After partner’s death, woman pursues open adoption for son, ‘There is more love than I ever imagined’
“I heard the words, ‘Kaden passed away this morning.’ The horror of realizing your child will no longer have a father is one I would not wish upon anyone. I did not get out of bed for the next two months. ‘If this child needs to be with another family, you need to get me on board.’ The moment I saw them, I knew they were the family.”
‘Start the business. What’s the worst that could happen?’ He knows the beauty in risk. He makes me want to take 10,000 more risks before I die.’: Woman says partner ‘doesn’t know how unmatched he is to me’
“He knows how to hold his own. He knows how to survive. He knows how to ration a foot-long sub sandwich for days and weather the dark night. He knows how to root for the underdog and take care of people. But within all that beauty he holds, there are a few things he doesn’t quite know.”
‘We rushed to go get our nails done but her reason ‘why’ struck me right in my heart.’: Mental Health counselor says, ‘you never know someone’s ‘why’
“Nail salons are finally open so, of course, I went to go get my little nails painted. As usual, I chatted with the person who was next to me. We laughed about how all of ‘us’ have rushed to go get our nails done but her reason for doing it struck me right in my heart.”
‘I saw this woman in distress. A family had all their groceries rung up but couldn’t find their debit card. I told her not to worry. We would pay for her groceries.’: With small act of kindness, woman teaches others the meaning of paying it forward
“It was about us helping when we can. 15 minutes later, we were outside. She and her husband came up to us. She touched our hearts.”
‘If I was in England, I’d go out with you!’ He messaged me instantly. My heart was beating across an ocean.’: Widow celebrates 8-year anniversary of meeting late husband, ‘He showed me what real happiness was’
“I drove to the airport that day with my hands shaking. He was pushing his luggage cart towards me with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen. You know in the movies where everything goes slow motion and the music starts and the rest of the world falls away and the people seem like the only two on the planet? THAT. EXACTLY.”
‘They asked for pictures ‘to see if my body was suitable to model underwear or just clothing.’ My worth is not for sale.’: Woman says, ‘Demand better from the brands you buy from’
“It all seemed above board. By the third email, they asked for more images of me.”
‘Galen, babe. We probably need to get moving.’ He didn’t respond. I thought he was just in a deep sleep.’: Woman loses husband to heart attack after 6-year battle with cancer
“He had a rough night with heartburn. ‘Galen, Galen.’ I set my hand upon his arm. He was COLD. The love of my life, the man I’d been married to for 13 years, was not breathing. The police officer hugged me from behind, tears streaming down my face as I choked on snot. I watched them put the love of my life in a black body bag. I would find out later that week, the EMTs had originally gone to the wrong location.”
‘I screamed to the paramdeics, ‘You aren’t moving fast enough. HELP HIM PLEASE.’ I sat in a ball on the Airbnb floor, cradling his face in my hands.’: Woman loses husband to ‘unexplained’ cause, ‘His love carries me through’
“I was startled from my sleep at 10 p.m. from what I thought was Kyle snoring loudly. I quickly realized he was struggling to breathe. I screamed for help. My sisters called 911 as I cradled his face in my hands, begging. Pleading. He quickly turned blue. As I lay on the floor waiting and praying for a miracle, I felt a giant hug from behind.”
‘I became a jail wife overnight. I was judged and ridiculed for standing by a man who made a mistake.’: ‘Jail wife’ starts community to write letters to inmates, ‘I believe in second chances’
“Friends and family dropped off like dead flies. That’s when I decided I would become the jail wife who helps these inmates, not the cop-bashers wife who should hide with shame. We all make mistakes, these men or women were just caught.”
‘We smiled and said, ‘I needed this today.’ White cop and black man, we were both hurting. We walked around for an hour, just listening to each other.’: Police officer urges ‘we must build change together’
“I told him I wished I was the cop who encountered Floyd, because he’d still be alive today. I told him there are good police officers out there. But most of all, I told him none of that matters, because I was there to listen. Calvin texted me a few hours later: ‘I believe things happen for a reason. We should see each other again.’ I believe him. Today, I listened. And today, I gained an ally and a friend.”
‘I was on the phone, ‘Mom, his symptoms really concern me,’ He protested a bit. ‘Let me sleep on it.’ I held my dad’s hand while he died.’: Woman loses father to Covid-19, ‘I’ll never forget the nurses and doctors’
“’Cheryl? Your dad is not going to make it through the night.’ The Nurse Practitioner on the other end was out of breath. ‘How do I get my mom there?’ She didn’t know. I held my dad’s hand while he died.”
‘He said she got in her vehicle and got on her phone and pulled off to an area near the gas station. Within minutes, police cars pulled in and surrounded him.’: Woman recounts husband’s experience with racism
“My husband wanted to do me a favor one night when he got home late from work. While there, an older white woman was at a pump across from him and he noticed she appeared very nervous and stared at him. He was told he fit a description. They asked whose car he was driving. He was told he could not leave. He was told the description was simply a black man. He came home a changed man.”
‘We decided it would be fun to re-introduce Lizzie and Sam. Their enormous smiles are a direct result of Angie’s single act of kindness from 15 years earlier’: Mom of autistic daughter says, ‘we never know when kindness will come back’
“Angie confided, ‘Why don’t you take our appointment? I will call the doctor and set it up.’ The kindness Angie showed me when I was feeling such deep desperation has always stayed with me. They both shared a positive outlook on life which is contagious. Lizzie and Sam hadn’t seen each other in over a decade!”
‘My husband must jog in front of me, so people don’t think he’s chasing me. If we call the police, I must be the one to answer the door.’: Woman urges ‘we must amplify black voices’
“My husband is funny, thoughtful, nerdy, outgoing, caring, and sweet. Everyone who knows him knows this. But still, it could have been him.”
‘It’s safe to say I lived. But I never lived the way he did. How could I hate him for flying without me?’: Woman says lost love ‘made me stronger despite the hurt’
“The moment I met him, I felt like I was living my life too. Truly living. Maybe he did what he had to do. I had no control. I had no hand to play. Sometimes you lose, like I did when he ended the game.”
‘I was starting to struggle. I was afraid to drive, fighting to stay awake at the wheel. Something had to give.’: Sleep-deprived mom switches to night weans, ‘I was happy to breastfeed again’
“My whole family was paying the price. I began to struggle more with anger, anxiety, and depression. I had to get more sleep. I was happy to breastfeed again.”
My Husband Got Pulled Over For Being Black
“No ticket, no explanation. They just assumed because I had a big black guy in my passenger seat, I was in danger.”
‘Our new normal needs adjusting. Extend your arm; we cannot continue to settle for convenience.’: Woman urges ‘be the change you wish to see in the world’
“Every day feels more like 1955. But now, instead of writing about it in history books, we pick up our phones and tape it. We drop a heart reaction and get on with it. Another hashtag nobody prepared us for.”