Love What Matters

‘Mexicans and blacks have children just to get a check.’ Imagine how this makes my kids feel.’: Mom of mixed-race foster kids describes racism, ‘If you look for love, you will find it’

“I came back from lunch to find a small, heart-shaped box of chocolates from my mom’s boyfriend. I felt so special! Teachers replied with disgust, ‘We don’t want OUR children exposed to that.’ It wasn’t long before it was all over town that a black man had the audacity to give a little white girl candy.”

‘OMG, I can’t believe someone thought your baby had Down Syndrome! He’s perfect and gorgeous looking. How terrible.’: Mom to son with Down Syndrome urges ‘all babies are beautiful’

“Imagine at your most vulnerable time as a parent, looking at your child’s hospital notes and seeing the words ‘facial features: abnormal.’ Perfection is not dependent on how many chromosomes you have.”

‘I am not thinking the worst in every moment, but I am absolutely trying to be prepared for it.’: Mom in immunocompromised household gives tips for COVID-19 preparation

“With more than half of my household members falling into one of the higher-risk categories, it would feel irresponsible of me to not take it seriously.”

‘Mama, you’re home to me. Will you hold me just a little longer? There’s nowhere I sleep better than in your arms.’: Mom pens touching letter from perspective of newborn

“Mama, I can see you’re tired. Sometimes I feel a tear fall on my head while you gently rock me. I can hear your heartbeat again and I move along with your breathing. You feel so soft, so familiar. I will learn soon, mama. You’re the best place to be.”

Coronavirus: Why You Must Act Now

Politicians, Community Leaders and Business Leaders: What Should You Do and When?

‘Dear Little Sister, you may have been the ‘lucky one’ back then, but I’m the lucky one now.’: Woman shares appreciation letter for little sister, ‘You taught me to live and love’

“When you were born, they told me, ‘Keep an eye out to your little sister.’ You know, the regular big sister stuff any parent says to calm the storm. But through all the stolen stuffed animals and favorite t-shirts, what I never, ever saw coming was the way the tables would turn.”

‘Why are you flying with such a young infant?’ He grinned, then walked away. My wife and I exchanged curious looks.’: Flight attendants pay it forward for adoptive couple after 9-year battle with infertility

“About mid-flight, our daughter awoke and politely informed us she wanted a new diaper. 10 minutes later, another attendant, Bobby, greeted us and inquired about our daughter. We thought nothing of it. Then, we heard the intercom announce a special guest on the flight. The entire cabin erupted in cheers and applause.”

‘I could tell by your body language you were embarrassed. Dear mom in the café, I can see myself in you.’: Mom says ‘being a parent is more than just raising your kids in your own home’

“I sat in that lovely little café with a friend. I could see your son out of the corner of my eye. He was climbing on things that weren’t meant for climbing. You came and did your best to try to keep him from breaking something, or worse yet, disturbing us. You apologized more than once.”

‘You cannot push a jogging stroller to the gate.’ I immediately laughed. ‘Excuse me, what? This holds the car seat my baby sits in.’: Mom shares plea for infant-friendly airline policies

“I honestly thought she was joking. I’d flown 50 times and had zero issues. She got snippy from the get-go. ‘No strollers over 20 pounds allowed at the gate.’ I replied, ‘Weigh it then.’ I was ready to make her look like a fool. There’s no way it was that heavy. I loaded that thing up onto the scale. I stood there, dumbfounded.”

‘I didn’t like the green doily curtain she hung up, so I moved out. I’d make my bed 2 minutes before crawling into it. I was always on edge.’: Woman with anxiety advocates for mental health, ‘There IS help’

“If my mother-in-law wanted to load the dishes for me, I didn’t want her to because I like to load mine a certain way. I consumed myself with ensuring trash was thrown away immediately and constantly just cleaning up after people. I was always on edge.”

‘You’re running out of time.’ I was 16, infertile and robbed of my childhood.’: After 17 years of endometriosis, infertility, couple adopts two children from China, ‘at that moment, I became a mom’

“‘She called, ‘He’s here!’ I hung up the phone and went to the bathroom. I looked down to see nothing but blood. My nephew entered the world as our IVF failed. I’d never carry a child. I’d never experience pregnancy or give birth. How could this happen at this moment? The pain was immeasurable.”

‘What could your excuse possibly be, Dad? You’ve known about the dance for weeks!’: Single father says dads aren’t ‘showing up’ enough, ‘I am doing all I can to cherish her’

“Saying ‘I love you’ when they are going to bed is not nearly enough. You can’t be over-present. They want our time. Our warmth. Our interest in their lives. There are many fathers who aren’t engaged enough (or at all) with their daughters. That crushes me. This is one of life’s most honorable privileges.”

‘I’ve ghosted men, cancelled dates, and backed out of becoming official because it didn’t feel right. I’m done apologizing.’: Single mom says ‘settling is something I’ll never do again’

“A relationship might look more stable, but I don’t need to be in one to be happier or feel more loved. My heart is full enough with what I have.”

‘The therapist looks at him. ‘Well?’ she asks, ‘what do you feel when she cries?’ He’s staring at the floor. ‘Not much.’: Woman reminds us ‘lack of empathy kills relationships’

“She cries and tears flood her face. She mumbles through broken sobs, ‘He doesn’t love me anymore. He isn’t the man he used to be.’ The therapist leans in. ‘Look at her face. Tell me what you see, tell me what you feel. Ignore what your mind tells you, and listen to your heart.'”

‘My dad called me into the room with a customer. ‘Son, did you kill their rooster?’ I didn’t say a word. I just lifted my pant legs.’: Man shares childhood memories thanks to StoryWorth

“One of my customers had a really bad-tempered Rhode Island Red rooster. He’d attack me every day and claw at my legs. I’d fight him off, but after a few months of delivering papers, the rooster was decidedly ahead and I was starting to get angry. One day he came charging at me. I decided I’d had enough.”

‘They don’t need us to wipe their butts or make their meals. Hello, new world of awesomeness! And then it happens. They fight for their independence from us.’: Mom says ‘all we can do is love them for who they choose to be’

“Just because they don’t live the life we do or make the same choices we do doesn’t mean they’ve somehow screwed up. It doesn’t mean they are lost. It doesn’t mean they have ruined their lives. All we can do, as parents, is love them for who they choose to be and trust what we have taught them is enough.”

‘You tried to distract your boy from ‘bugging’ me on the flight, but then you turned around. Your face lit up!’: Mom to sons with down syndrome shares touching moment with stranger on flight

“I would never hand one of my kids off to a complete stranger. But you weren’t a stranger. Despite never knowing you. Despite your broken English and my zero ability to speak Spanish. For over half an hour, I watched as you sang to him, snuggled him, and loved on him. As I watched your son, my heart soared as I saw my future. And I know as you looked into the almond eyes of my boys, you saw your past.”

‘I don’t know why I feel this way, but maybe I am your birth mom.’ Could I handle another heartache?’: Adoptive mom says ‘watching another woman birth your child is a one in a million miracle’

“I said, ‘This isn’t happening. This is a false alarm.’ I had a tough decision to make. Do I go with our soon-to-be daughter, or do I stay with our expectant mom? She reassured me, ‘You are supposed to be with your baby.’ These types of mothers are part of the miracle.”

‘I was at the library with my 3-year-old daughter when a woman said, ‘Excuse me.’ She waved me over, and thanked me.’: After adoption woman says ‘we aren’t superheroes or saviors’

“I awoke 2 hours later to my cell phone ringing. I had missed several calls from my husband. I picked up the phone, breathing heavily, and my husband was immediately alarmed. He asked me if he should call an ambulance, and I said no, hung up, and went back to sleep. The next thing I knew, he was home and stuffing me into the car.”

‘I am the Too Much woman. The one who takes up too much space. I’m too loud, too vibrant, too sensitive, too honest. And still, I rise.’: Woman urges ‘your too much-ness is a gift’

“There she is, taking up too much space with her laughter, her curves, her honesty, her sexuality. Oh, that too much woman, with her belly laughs and fiery passion. The one who loves too hard, feels too deeply, asks too often, desires too much. Her presence is as tall as a tree, as wide as a mountain. Her energy occupies every crevice of the room.”

‘Mommy is sad, we are going to go take a break.’ She repeated, ‘Sad?’ Today we slowed life down for a minute.’: Mom urges ‘acknowledge your feelings of not feeling okay’

“My head was feeling all over this morning. I just really wasn’t feeling myself and was being consumed by negativity. ‘Yes, Mommy needs to calm down. Let’s get coffee, baby.’ I made an example out of myself to her.”

To The Girl Without A Tribe: You, My Dear, Are Not Broken—People Just Don’t Know How Wonderful You Are Yet

“I’m talking to the girls who stand alone, the ones who float from circle to circle. The ones who may just have one best friend or a couple of acquaintances. You, my dear, are not broken. You dance to the beat of your own drum.”

‘Say you love them and mean it. Life is so short. Stop hinting around about what you want and just say it. Be happy with your person or don’t get married.’: Woman reminds us ‘love happens not only in the sunshine but also in the shadows’

“‘Girl, run the other way!’ My husband told me a story tonight about a couple who’d been together many years and decided to divorce. ‘They still loved each other, but have become different people.’ They were together for 22 years. This made me so so sad.”