“Our life has been a series of indescribable highs and unspeakable lows. We welcomed my baby half-sister in the world and into our home. The father we shared died and we gained custody. I was in the midst of a miscarriage. We were heartbroken. I don’t know if I’ve felt lower than I did the day we traveled 40 minutes to a food bank just so we could eat.”
‘He never asked why we needed the help, he simply said, ‘Things will get better.’: After a miscarriage and husband’s layoff, woman says, ‘Life doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.’
‘I know they’re super cute, but please don’t call my sons ‘heartbreakers.’: Boy mom says ‘let’s raise men who move through the world with their hearts forward’
“I’m not raising heartbreakers. I’m raising sons who care for the hearts of others AND who tune into the frequency of their own heart. Our boys need more options than the stock characters of Boring Nice Guy and Hot Heartbreaker. Masculinity can come from the heart.”
‘My husband and I ended up in marriage counseling over a bathroom. Yep, I said it. ‘How about aiming IN the bowl? Is it really so hard, fellas?’: Widow urges ‘don’t waste time on things that don’t matter’ after husband dies of pancreatic cancer
“My husband and I had an agreement. We would share chores, INCLUDING cleaning the bathroom. No matter how many times I lost it, wrote it on a chore list, cried, or slammed doors – it just never, ever got done unless I did it myself. I couldn’t understand, and he didn’t have a good answer. So, by God, I dug my proverbial heels in. If he wasn’t going to help me clean those bathrooms, then our-marriage-was-doomed.”
‘We arrived at the checkout. I’d left my wallet in the truck. In my rush, my daughter tripped and skinned her knee as we raced out the door.’: Mom says ‘our children repeat what they hear’
“I apologized and raced out of the store to get my bank card. In my rush, my daughter tripped and skinned her knee. She cried as I scooped her up. I tried to comfort her while drowning in shame. We discovered that the baggers had unloaded our entire cart. His response brought tears to my eyes. It had been an evening fraught with failure.”
‘I left a toxic relationship, loaded up whatever I could fit in my 2-door coupe, and moved to a state where I knew no one.’: Mom says ‘the true fairytale on Valentine’s Day is that I found myself’
“Pretty soon social media will be overflowing with hearts, flowers, and all sorts of mushy feelings. Bless us, we love a good commercialized holiday. But my heart is with the ones who are single, unsettled, and still searching. To the wife who sent her spouse to work today without a kiss, because there’s so much distance between them right now it’s insufferable.”
‘She looked down at my screensaver. ‘Your nephew?’ Her question stung. ‘No, my son.’: Young mom says ‘my motherhood is no less valid than yours’
“No matter how many lunches I pack, boo-boos I kiss, or preschool forms I fill out, the world doesn’t read me as a wife and mother.”
‘I’d been holding back tears all morning. In public, they fell out. A sweet friend saw me go down. She was behind me in seconds.’: Widow urges people to talk about mental health and be ok showing grief in public
“She comforted me while I fell apart. And then, it happened. What always happens when I let anyone see any emotion other than ‘ok’: I got irrationally mad at myself for crying in public. Losing my husband and becoming the soul provider for our daughter has sent me into a deep panic.”
‘I went on countless job interviews but didn’t ‘look the part.’ The second they saw me, the whole vibe changed.’: Woman with Nemaline Rod Myopathy embraces disability, ‘I want to be seen for the smart, fun, boss babe I am’
“After graduation, I was excited to take on the world! That feeling quickly died. Every employer assumed I wasn’t qualified. I didn’t have a specific ‘look,’ or I didn’t fit the part. I realized I didn’t want to work someplace where I would be judged by the way I look, not by the work I contribute. Appearances matter, but they matter even more when you’re disabled. And the hardest part about being disabled isn’t being disabled. It’s fighting to be seen as an equal.”
‘I know what it’s like to not be loved. Can I hold her when she goes to heaven?’: Mom shares touching moment adopted son comforts dying dog
“My son Robbie was adopted from the foster care system after years of severe abuse and neglect. I picked him up from school today and broke the news our dog was showing signs of kidney failure. His response was, ‘Can I hold her when she goes to heaven? I know how it feels not to be loved or cared for. I don’t want any animal of mine to ever feel that way.'”
‘All I heard from doctors was, ‘Breast is best.’ More like, FED is best.’: Mom urges ‘stop trying to be supermom’
“See a few toys on the living room floor? Leave them. Your toddler will ask for them as soon as you wake up. Screen time is toxic? HA! Jokes on you. Your littles don’t want leftovers? Well then, cereal it is! Stop. trying. to. be. supermom. To your children, you’re already perfect.”
‘Unexplained infertility was our ‘diagnosis.’ Weeks later, we received a phone call from an expectant mom. ‘I’d like you to adopt my daughter.’: Couple battling infertility ‘shocked’ by pregnancy during adoption process
“I began to feel nauseous and fatigued beyond belief. ‘Wait, am I pregnant?!’ I decided to take a test, probably the 100th one I’d taken at that point. I laid it to the side and left the room, knowing I’d see the same negative I’d seen for 5 years. Except I didn’t. It was positive. All FIVE of them. My husband and I were shocked. After years of trying, a dozen failed fertility interventions, and an ongoing adoption process, I was pregnant completely by surprise!”
‘You’re not special enough to be my girlfriend.’ I cried. He was embarrassed by my prosthetics.’: Amputee learns to own her uniqueness, ‘My life isn’t normal, but I wouldn’t have it any other way’
“The technician noticed something wrong with my legs. They were shaped like a boomerang. I only had 3 toes on each foot. My feet were turned inwards and pointed down, and my ankles couldn’t rotate. The doctors gave my parents a choice: ‘Amputate her legs or never let her walk.’ When I got pregnant, I wasn’t physically prepared for what was to come. I had no idea how it would affect my body, let alone my prosthetics. I was terrified.”
‘I vividly remember my husband saying, ‘Babe, it’s time!’ I was AT LEAST 125 pounds overweight. I could barely walk up a flight of stairs.’: Couple join forces to battle obesity together
“I’d tried to ‘diet’ like everyone else, but it just never worked. I ate and over-ate for every reason: to celebrate, to mourn, in boredom, in spite. I was insulin resistant, one Coke away from diabetes, had sleep apnea, PCOS, and lived in chronic pain. I was living life overweight and completely miserable. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.”
‘On behalf of all our brave men and women in scrubs: Don’t just thank God, thank a nurse. They’re doing everything in their power to fight for you.’: Woman urges ‘recognize the sacrifices of nurses’
“While my son was sick in the NICU, I bonded with another mom whose daughter was born severely premature. The prognosis was grim. When the time came to take her daughter home, she had one thing to say: ‘Thank you God for saving my daughter’s life. I know this was all your doing.’ Bloodshot-eyed nurses gazed across the room. I couldn’t help but feel a pang in my chest. She didn’t thank them, she didn’t look at them. She simply swaddled her baby, and left.”
‘My son whined, ‘No buzzer, I don’t like buzzer.’ He was inconsolably shaking in fear. We tried again to calm him. It was too late.’: Mother to son with autism addresses mom shamers in emotional letter
“‘Finally’ you said under your breath as I said ‘excuse me’ so we could exit the bleachers. You didn’t know my 4-year-old son has autism. You didn’t know about all of the ear infections and hearing loss. You weren’t there the day we discovered his new sensitivity to loud noises. I’ll never forget the way you made my family feel. I will make sure no one ever feels like that.”
‘She murmurs in a low voice, ‘But, um…girls at school will make fun of me for wearing unicorn stuff.’ I was at a loss for words.’: Mom urges ‘let’s show our daughters how to be a kind girl’
“The few that circulated rumors. The few that always had something derogatory to say about you. The few that would always leave you out of the loop and make you feel unworthy of being apart of the ‘in’ crowd. I moved to a new city to begin my career as a Nurse Practitioner. I was hit with the reality the mean girls club still existed.”
‘He quietly wrote, ‘Before I die, I want to see my Quinn grow up.’ We never thought for a second he wouldn’t.’: Widow shares how husband understood the value of a moment, always ‘showed up’
“20 years from now, your kids won’t care whether you were the most successful person at work. They won’t care whether or not you always made the most responsible choices. The days are long but the years are short. Make them count. Take the trip. Do all the things. Every hope and dream we had for our future together died with him that day.”
Boy In Wheelchair’s Reaction To A Target Ad Highlights The Power Of Representation
“He recognized another boy like him, smiling and laughing on a display at Target. Oliver sees kids every day, but he never gets to see kids like him. This was amazing!”
‘Out of left field, the man asked, ‘Ma’am, will she ever be normal?’ Fighting back tears, my 5-year-old climbed on A.J.’s wheelchair and look him straight in the eye.’: Woman adopts child with cerebral palsy, ‘Life has never felt more complete’
“I got the phone call that would change our lives forever. ‘Her mother was found deceased this morning.’ We asked, ‘How would y’all feel if A.J. stayed with us forever?’ The two girls’ bond is like I have never seen. She doesn’t see A.J as ‘different,’ she just sees her baby sister. I don’t think any of us could imagine life without her.”
‘Something is wrong with Dad. He’s not breathing!’ It felt like a horrible dream.’: Teen mom faces depression, alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy after losing father, ‘I’ve finally taken my life back’
“My boyfriend wasn’t always faithful and being a scared, pregnant teenager wasn’t easy. My boyfriend and baby’s dad asked me, ‘Can you get an abortion?’ I often put on a happy face for everyone, but at home alone with a toddler, I would lay in bed for hours, not wanting to get up. I wouldn’t brush my hair. I wouldn’t clean my house. I didn’t recognize myself and the people around me.”
‘He cannot speak. He plays differently. He may not look you in the eye. Every day, I wonder, ‘Did someone play with him in the schoolyard?’: Mom says ‘thank you’ to young boy for acknowledging autistic son
“‘Hi Riley, see you in the yard.’ This one sentence made me beam from ear to ear. At that moment, I knew that my little boy was OK. My little boy had a friend, one who finally took the time to learn his name.”
‘Is this the time they fire me?’ I see you practicing your speech for your boss on why you have to leave early AGAIN. I see you racing home to MAYBE make it in time.’: Mom details the guilt of being a working parent
“We are told ‘You can be whatever you want to be! You don’t have to live in a 1950’s mindset! You can be a CEO!’ What they don’t tell you is the pit in your stomach you feel when you get a notice about a 6 p.m. conference on the day of your kids practice or activity. The panic when your kid’s school calls and asks you to pick them up because they are sick and you don’t want your bosses to be upset.”
‘I pressed the spray tan button and suddenly started leaking. I hadn’t nursed in an hour. Milk was squirting onto the sides of the booth. I stared in horror.’: Mom shares hilarious postpartum spray tan fail before wedding
“My best friend’s wedding was only 3 weeks away. As we got closer to the date, I realized I needed to get my sh*t together if I didn’t want to look like a hot mess at the altar. After all, I’d just had a 9-pound baby boy cut from my uterus. I headed to my local spray tan salon. Milk was squirting onto the sides of the booth. I was leaking, BAD.”
‘The sounds, the smells, the whole NICU experience. It never leaves you.’: Mom of preemie creates nonprofit organization to ‘give back to the premature baby community’
“When I first saw our boy after he was whisked away, it looked more like a NASA mission. He was hooked up to so many computers, wires were coming out of everywhere. It was terrifying. It’s wonderful what they can do to keep our tiniest little ones alive. It’s a community you never want to be a part of, but once you’re in it, you make friends for life.”
‘Without you, I’d be the same size I was 6 years ago. Without you, there’d be no 3 a.m. panic. Without you, life would be how it used to be.’: Mom says without her children ‘I wouldn’t be me’
“No sleepless nights. No post-natal depression and anxiety. No fights with daddy of who does more. No interrupted conversation. But without you, I wouldn’t know love.”