“I saw this phrase posted on my local yoga studio. What we need right now is more self-compassion. Not a whipping by some random sign that makes us feel worse about ourselves in the name of ‘motivation.'”
‘If you don’t come out of this with a new skill, you never lacked time, you lacked discipline.’ I am utterly horrified.’: Trauma psychologist says ‘what we need right now is self-compassion’
‘He said, ‘Mattie, where I send Hannah, she won’t know the language. Teach her MY language.’: Mother of special needs child finds comfort in faith, ‘Their purpose is greater than their diagnosis’
“She only knew 12 letters, struggled to write her name, and was fighting against a speech and learning delay. I was so afraid of what the next year would bring.”
‘You’re not essential, you just work with animals. That could never amount to helping humans.’: Vet technician says ‘they may not be humans, but we are just as important’
“I work 10-12 hours each shift, spending more time with your pets than with my own child. Remember this next time your pet is sick or breaks a bone and a human doctor can’t help. ‘Aw, I bet you get to cuddle all kinds of puppies!’ My job is not rainbows and fairy tales.”
‘He doesn’t have much time.’ Dylan was as fit as a fiddle. ‘What if I never get to see my brother again?’: Woman becomes perfect match for brother’s bone marrow transplant, ‘It was my turn to repay him’
“He had been rushed to the ER. I was confused. Dylan was as fit as a fiddle. Something about seeing Dylan morph into a completely different character sent fear and doubt through my body. The agony of waiting was almost unbearable. What if the transplant doesn’t work?”
‘You pray for the weekend to go by quickly, just so you can check in with them again. You dream of the day you can embrace them.’: Teacher says ‘my students became like my very own children’
“It was March. I started to feel the school year winding down and the lump in my throat growing. I put an app on my phone, counting down the days. Not because I was looking forward to summer, but because I wanted to make each day I had left count. We were together one day, and without warning, they were gone.”
‘She held my hand and asked, ‘Mama, can you please tell me what’s going on at the hospital? I’m scared.’ She’s 7 years old.’: Nurse mom asks others to realize ‘this isn’t some joke, this is real’
“There are people out there who are claiming this is a hoax, that it’s some made up BS. She’s had a mama who has worked in the ER her whole life, but she knows something is wrong. She’s pulled me aside twice now, asking me to stay home. ‘Mama, you have asthma and have a higher risk.’ She’s 7 years old. Let that sink in.”
‘When I walk into a room, I feel like people were talking about me. I’m constantly wondering if so-and-so likes me, or if I’m annoying them.’: Woman urges ‘anxiety doesn’t make you broken’
“You wake up with your own issues, and still get sh*t done. Anxiety doesn’t make you broken. If anything, it makes you resilient.”
‘I was told, ‘Crab meat will ‘cure’ it.’ They suggested I stop taking insulin. My parents worried if anyone would ever marry me.’: Young woman describes hardships of being Type 1 Diabetic in India
“I wanted to be ‘normal’ like my friends. I started neglecting my health. As you can imagine, it doesn’t take too long to forget about the nasty finger pricks and injections. I had to skip some because of ‘what people would think.’”
‘I drank my coffee and cried, like every day since February 14th. I wonder what her outfit would have looked like.’: On first holiday without daughter, mom says ‘our picture-perfect family isn’t picture-perfect anymore’
“Everyone kept texting and telling us they love us, they are thinking of us, and they know how hard Easter is going to be. If it were up to me, I would have just skipped Easter entirely. Our picture-perfect family really isn’t picture-perfect anymore.”
‘When the toddler had a pee accident during bedtime rush, you didn’t get frustrated. Instead you turned on weird music, and danced to make me laugh.’: Woman pens love letter to husband, ‘You are the light of our lives’
“You danced your way off to get some cleaner and a towel, and danced back in, and danced while you cleaned it up. Not all husbands and fathers bring joy home like that, like you do for us.”
‘I hear it all the time: ‘With technology today, we don’t need the post office. Why are you guys still around?’: Postman says ‘I’m proud of my uniform,’ explains why they’re ‘essential workers’
“Maybe you can do without the U.S Postal Service in your own little world. However, the country as a whole could not. When I put my uniform on each morning, I’m proud to wear it, and I’m proud of my job. You see, your mail carrier…they’re the front-line.”
‘It’s just you and me now, kid.’ I lost both my brother and my mom. My dad was the only one left.’ Woman confronts depression after family loss, ‘I feel lighter and freer now’
“My boyfriend always said things like, ‘You just lack willpower,’ in a playful, mocking tone; as if what I dealt with wasn’t all that serious. He didn’t believe my inability to overcome my depression. He tore me down to the point where I felt my existence was something I wanted to end.”
‘If I’m so smart, why aren’t I a success yet?’ I was so hung up on this idea of what success was, I didn’t care if I was happy.’: Woman urges ‘you are a success in your own right’
“If your childhood was anything like mine, you grew up with your parents saying you were going to ‘be something’ one day. I was so hung up on this idea of what ‘success’ was. A 9-5 Monday through Friday gig, making more than $70,000 a year. I didn’t care if I was happy, as long as the job matched those criteria.”
‘Dad said WHAT?!’ Casey dropped the ball. In less than 24 hours, both kids have been pooped on, bit, scratched.’: Mom says ‘kids are not only smart, they’re calculated’ after family gets guinea pig
“‘Mom, I’ve been thinking about something but please don’t say ‘no’ until I’ve said everything I have to say.’ I ended the conversation with, ‘I need to talk to dad about it.’ ‘But Daddy said yes!’ Apparently, guinea pigs are exempt from this unwritten rule.”
‘My mother texted me, ‘You’re a disgusting human being for not visiting me.’ We are in the middle of a strict quarantine.’: Daughter to narcissistic mom urges ‘don’t let them get you down’
“The last text she sent me was, ‘I’m happy your husband died. You deserve it.’ At 3 a.m. in the morning, out of nowhere. Somehow, it hasn’t registered in her head that we are not ‘friends.’ She has been taking advantage of the pandemic to make me feel especially guilty.”
‘I haven’t been able to call you up or vent. I haven’t been able to text you just to say, ‘Hi.’ We haven’t ‘talked’ in what seems years.’: Woman pens emotional letter, ‘I will forever be grateful for everything you’ve taught me’
“I still care you’re hurt from a previous relationship. I probably pushed you into feeling the way you feel about me. We haven’t ‘talked’ in what seems years. This letter isn’t to make you feel bad. I truly apologize if it does. It is definitely not my intention. I still deserve you.”
‘What will my child become?’ My differences were thought of as less ‘cool.’ I was the target of bullying, both verbal and physical.’: Man with cerebral palsy says ‘you are more than the struggles you face’
“Once I made my way to middle and high school, things became a struggle. A disability is a difficult diagnosis, yes, but it isn’t the be-all, end-all of your story.”
‘My son’s kindergarten teacher sent out an email: ‘Schoolwork is not manageable for some right now – and that is okay.’: Mom urges ‘you can’t do it all right now, just let the rest go’
“I’m currently on a 5-day quarantine while I wait to get my test results back. I’m locked away from the kids while my husband manages all 3 of them AND works full-time. I felt an enormous weight lift off.”
‘Really? Another mom in the picture? More kids?’ I realized I’d robbed them of some of their favorite things.’: Stepmom realizes ‘every member of a blended family has to be flexible from time to time’
“I would make an effort to hide my bump if we were at school or sports functions. The quips came out of the woodwork. ’They’re crazy! This will be the end of them…’ I tried to involve the girls as much as possible. I wanted them to feel the joy I was feeling.”
‘Many won’t get a last phone call to hear, ‘I love you.’ My dreams of him are REAL.’: Dad has baby boy on brother’s due date
“We welcomed our baby into this world. It just so happened to be my brother’s due date. It’s a moment which sends CHILLS down my spine.”
‘Tonight, I was so tired I didn’t want to even carry my own purse. So, he did. He carried it, just like he carries so many burdens.’: 911 dispatcher says ‘sometimes, all you need is someone who will carry your purse’
“I am an ‘essential worker.’ A 9-1-1 emergency dispatcher to be exact. We’re feeling the change at work, just like all the other front-line people. I wish for you somebody who will carry your purse. Because sometimes, that’s all you really need.”
‘I’m not a good quarantine mom. There are no school charts, no stickers for rewards. No fancy math sheets printed off Pinterest.’: Mom says ‘give yourself grace, you are doing enough’
“There’s been tears, both from the littles and from the adults. There’s been the locking of bathroom doors just to catch a breath, and hiding away in the laundry room for even just twenty seconds feels like a day at the spa.”
‘The military has extended the travel ban.’ I won’t apologize for hating every minute of him not being able to come home.’: Military spouse says ‘today I just want to be sad and that is okay’ after husband’s extended tour
“I am not sure I have ever felt this amount of anger and sadness at the same time. It was the one thing our daughter looked forward to after having prom and graduation ripped away from her. We secretly cry, vent, and scream on the private Facebook pages because they feel like people don’t understand.”
‘As I sat on the toilet in tears, I heard a voice call to me. ‘Look out your window!’: Mom touched by sick neighbor’s act of kindness, ‘You’re not alone, even if you think you are’
“What you don’t know is that my neighbor has been battling COVID-19 for two weeks now. We knew this was potentially coming, but I didn’t expect it to hit so hard.”
‘You can’t sexually assault your wife.’ It finally hit me. I had to get my son out before there was no turning back.’: Woman finds happy ending with ‘man of her dreams’ after escaping domestic abuse
“After several months of a long, stressful divorce, I did what any single woman in her 20’s would do: I tried out a dating app. I remember going home to my mom that night and telling her how much fun I had. ‘This is it, he’s the one.’ She’d heard that before and told me to take things slow. But I think she knew too. This one was different.”