Love What Matters

‘He is dead.’ There was blood on the rug and table. This was the place he died, where he took his last breath. It was unreal.’: Woman mourns death of brother, ‘My life will never be the same’

“‘I sat in my room, talking to him and waiting for my husband, a start of what was sure to be another boring day of quarantine thanks to COVID-19. ‘I saw something on the news about a shooting.’ He was certain it was my brother. I picked up my phone to discover a 3-minute voicemail from my dad of nothing but screaming and chaos.”

‘On the days the world feels a little too scary and a little less safe, I will always be there to wipe away the tears.’: Mom comforts daughter though ‘scary times’

“As your mom, I wanted to tell you that everything would be okay. That the world as you knew it would return to normal soon. But the truth is, it probably won’t. I held you as the first teardrop formed in the corner of your eyes. And, in a blink, the flood gates were unleashed.”

‘She didn’t sign any papers. Maybe I wasn’t given up. Perhaps, I was taken, or she was told I died.’: Adoptee searches for biological mother, answers to her past

“We were nationally unwanted children. It is not always the romantic picture of children being ‘saved.’ My only connection to my past is my genes.”

‘The ultrasound tech got quiet. He dug into my stomach. ‘We can’t find her limb. Termination is always an option.’: Special needs mom says daughter has ‘changed my life for the better’

“We were newlyweds. I took a pregnancy test, honestly not expecting it to say PREGNANT. I felt a rush of emotions. ‘What are people going to think?’ The morning after the ultrasound, the nurse said, ‘Her esophagus isn’t connected to her stomach.’ She went in for surgery at 4 days old. ‘We found something else.’ How could the doctors have missed this? ‘We need to cut both sides of her chest.'”

‘He told me, ‘It’s all in your head.’ I hoped something bad would happen to me so I’d be taken seriously.’: High schooler diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension undergoes open heart surgery, ‘I’m grateful for this second chance at life’

“Band camp started. I was having trouble breathing and couldn’t walk to class. I was given an inhaler to use, but it didn’t help. One specialist said I would never get better.”

‘I decided not to push reading with our second daughter. I don’t believe college is the main goal. I don’t think college is for everyone.’: Mom advocates for homeschooling, ‘It prepares our children for the real world’

“It’s my belief ‘unschooling’ prepares our children for the real world more than any classroom ever could. My biggest fear of walking into homeschooling was teaching our daughters how to read. It seemed so overwhelming. Our daughter wasn’t happy either.”

‘How much longer before my 8-year-old son grows from cute to a threat?’: Mom urges ‘please raise your children not to fear mine’

“I want to cherish these sweet moments of his childhood. Soon, I can no longer protect this beautiful black boy from being seen as weapon. Soon, those ‘cute’ and ‘sweet’ compliments will fade, and none of it will matter because he is BLACK.”

‘She told her daughter, ‘I’m sorry.’ She gave her a kiss and handed her to me. She left without her baby.’: Woman becomes close to birth mom during adoption, ‘There is no love without loss’

“Within a couple of days, she said, ‘If you want to choose me, I want to choose you.’ It became official. I was shaking. I’m not blind to the fact that in order to call her mine, there was a lot of hurt that had to take place.”

‘Today I sobbed in my car. He wanted to take her to a concert with matching shirts. Her daddy was the biggest undercover Swifty.’: Widow writes gratitude lists during grief journey, ‘I have to remind myself this is only temporary’

“My daughter has been playing Taylor Swift on repeat. Songs trigger things. Even angsty teenagey songs. While the rain poured down on my drive home alone, I sobbed. I would give anything to hear him say ‘Hey, Mama!’ to my mom again.”

‘I remember one Christmas telling Daddy I was probably too old for dolls and he said, ‘You wouldn’t want just one more?’: Bonny shares childhood memories thanks to StoryWorth

“I went over to the bushes by the road, got down on my knees, and asked God to help me win. We then began our race. I knew the odds were stacked against me. A child’s imagination is a special gift.”

‘You came into our lives when they were scared to trust. You showed them it was okay to let their guard down.’: Mom writes appreciation post for step-dad with Father’s Day approaching

“It’s because you teach them they don’t need anything but their imagination to have fun. It’s because every single night you lay with them snuggled up close until they fall asleep, no matter how long it takes. It’s because you loved them right from the start and you’ve never been ashamed to show it.”

‘With every contraction I felt a pit in my stomach. I didn’t want to have him, I wanted the nightmare to end.’: Expecting mom struggles with anxiety during COVID-19, ‘I had to learn to let go’

“Am I ready for the possibility of my son being swept out of my arms and placed on a ventilator? I was afraid of the arrival of our sweet innocent boy. I broke down on the bathroom floor.”

‘You’re still pregnant, aren’t you? Is there another one in there?’ I’d given birth 4 days prior and was expected to ‘snap back.’: Mom embraces postpartum body, ‘You’ve earned your stripes’

“I hid behind my clothes, wondering if I’d ever get my body back. Wondering if my partner looked at me the same way he did 10 months ago when we created this tiny human. Wondering if this was the same way mothers all around the world were feeling moments after their life’s greatest accomplishment: small.”

‘I burst into tears and couldn’t stop. I don’t want to have 3 a.m. conversations about dinosaurs and unicorns.’: Mom shares how mental load of parenting has taken its toll

“I spent an exhausting day trying to be a fun mom, only to be rejected by my 5 year-old who told me he hated me and wanted to live somewhere else. It shouldn’t offend me, because he’s 5, but it did.”

‘SURGERY? I’m not letting anyone cut me open.’ The doctor pointed out things protruding from my back.’: Woman endures 7-hour scoliosis surgery, ‘I’m happy to say I came out on top’

“I immediately started crying. Why would God decide to make my spine curvy and my back ugly and cause me to have to go through this? This could be my last backflip into the pool. This could be my last time flipping around at the trampoline park.”

‘Mom, your hair smells good.’ I wondered what in the world changed. In fact, I’m showering less than before COVID hit.’: Mom realizes this ‘time of stillness’ will remain in kids’ memories

“Had I changed dry shampoo? I didn’t think so. My face lotion was the same Mary Kay I had been using for months. Why were they suddenly enamored with my smell? Then, it hit me. We’ve never had this much time together before.”

‘I’m a white man with a white kid. Never once have I had to fear jogging, walking in the park, or shopping at a convenience store.’: Man urges ‘stand up for our black brothers and sisters’

“I am at a loss. I hurt. I’m sick. But I’m not scared. Not for me. Not for my kids. I was born white and don’t have to be.”

‘Today a friend shared on social media that her medically complex son isn’t sleeping and she’s tired. ‘You should be grateful your son is alive.’: Special needs mom calls for end to ‘Gratefulness Shame Game’

“She was told, ‘You should be grateful your son is alive.’ As someone who sits through my own season of suffering, I’ll tell you: most of us know the Good. But it does not negate the suffering. They just co-exist.”

‘We usually tell women at this stage to complete their families.’ I was only 17. That wasn’t an option. I had no idea how unlucky I’d be.’: Woman battles stage 4 endometriosis, 2 miscarriages, and hysterectomy

“I was about to turn 25, recently separated. I had only been dating this guy for a month, and had told him I couldn’t get pregnant. Now, here I was, in my aunt’s bathroom, staring at this stick like it had just back-handed my momma. I scheduled my first OB appointment since my regular gynecologist/surgeon is not an OB. ‘I don’t see a baby,’ she said as nonchalantly as humanly possible.”

‘He was dying before my eyes. Doctors said, ‘He must be teething.’ He cried for 18 hours a day.’: Mom births baby with rare neurodegenerative disease, ‘Listen to your gut’

“The doctor glanced at my son’s chart, looked up at me, and said, ‘I’m going to go get you in to see the best pediatrician we have.’ I remember running into her arms saying, ‘Thank you. Thank you for finding something.’”

‘The priest said, ‘He can’t be buried. He wasn’t married here.’ That just about killed Grandpa Donovan.’: Man details memories of late grandparents thanks to StoryWorth

“I had a catering appointment one night in the area, so I stopped by to see him. His wife Paria answered the door. ‘Is Uncle Joe here?’ She responded, ‘Well, he is and he isn’t. He might have gone to the store.’ She had packed him into the bedroom because he was drunk, but I didn’t realize that until much later.”

‘I used to avoid social gatherings because I was so scared to be seen in a swimsuit. I would sit outside the pool, fully clothed, as my kids begged me to have fun with them.’: Woman urges ‘you are more than what you look like in a swimsuit’

“I missed out on so much. I missed out on moments I can never get back. Finally, I realized enough is enough. My kids, my family, my (true) friends absolutely DO NOT care how I look in a swimsuit, and I will bet you my next paycheck yours don’t either.”

‘My doctor called pregnancies at my age ‘geriatric.’ When the f*ck did 38 become geriatric? For the first time in my life, I felt older than I was.’: Woman recounts IVF struggle, ‘Turns out with age comes resilience’

“The only reason we sought IVF after all was due to my husband having a vasectomy. Our doctor sat us down and informed us moving forward at this point would be futile. Women my age seemed to be doing just fine, thank you. I was the problem. Me. I was only 38!”

I Woke Up To My Husband’s Dirty Dishes In The Sink, And I Felt A Rush Of Happiness

“Years ago, I would have looked at these dishes and got annoyed. I probably would have sent a text saying, ‘Really? You left these here?’ My mindset has changed, and it’s something I wish I had learned a long time ago.”