‘I cannot follow you anymore. You seem hellbent on being negative, on grieving a man you divorced.’ I was at the gym when I got the message from a woman I barely know.’: Woman insists by living her truth she’s ‘hellbent on being honest’

“‘Dear Natalie, I have followed you for years. I adore your boys. I love seeing your beautiful face when it is joyful. But I owe it to you to let you know, I cannot follow you anymore. You seem to be hellbent on being negative when you so clearly have so much to be happy about. I cannot have all of your constant negativity in my feed anymore.’ I was at the gym when I listened to the full 3-minute message left in my Instagram Direct Messages, from a woman I only knew through her comments.”

‘A text from my husband came in. ‘I’m not happy. I want more. If you’re coming home, I won’t be here.’: Woman finds ‘new version of happiness’ after husband’s abandonment

“I pulled into a Dunkin Donuts parking lot and tried to call him. His phone was off. When I made it home, nothing was out of place. Except my husband was gone. Large bar tabs appeared on our statements. Girls’ phone numbers came up on our records. The following week, he agreed to meet me at the park. ‘I want a divorce.’ He was cold, emotionless. I refused, which made him angry. I obsessed looking for something that may have led to this. Some sort of sign. He offered no explanation.”

‘As a teenager, I didn’t appreciate my grandparents like I should have.’: Woman shares appreciation for grandparents thanks to StoryWorth, ‘I’m so lucky to still have them in my life’

“They were by no means the stereotypical grandparents. There were no homemade cookies waiting for us when we visited or secret treat drawers just for us. Their home was decorated with beautiful works of art not meant to be touched. I thought they were too critical, but now I realize they just wanted me to have the best life possible.”

‘You can come, but she’s in a coma. She’s not going to wake up.’ It was days before Michelle passed away. I was tired.’: Man reacts to friend’s unexpected visit days before his fiancee’s death

“It had been days since she awoke or spoke. ‘Are you coming to the wedding? You have to come. My dress is so beautiful. I look like a princess in it,’ Michelle proclaimed. Looking at me through the tears, I knew that Arieona’s glare in my direction was a request for direction. I nodded gently as I wiped the falling tears. ‘I’m coming Michelle. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.’”

‘There is a wreck out on the highway. Her phone location is in the same spot.’ I started to scream. I immediately felt it.’: Woman loses daughter in tragic car accident, ‘Nanny, my heart literally aches for you.’

“I saw all the cop cars pull up. I ran out the door and asked them, ‘Was it her?’ ‘I’m so sorry, Carrie. She was hit and killed instantly.’ My whole world was changed by those words. ‘Nanny! Nanny! Please God no!’ The cops grabbed me because I was falling to the ground. My poor baby, to know you were hit so hard and you were all torn up, all your broken bones. Mom is so sorry. I should have protected you. That was my job.”

‘I was livid. ‘Are we just going to have a negative attitude tonight? Is that how it’s gonna go?’ He answered, ‘I just had a hard day today.’: Mom brightens son’s bad day with bubble bath, Netflix

“Kyler came home from school today with a bad attitude. He was frustrated and it was reflecting in the way he was talking to me. I was livid at first. ‘Are we just going to have a negative attitude tonight?’ Tears welled up in his eyes. ‘I had to do so many things and I didn’t have enough time. And I couldn’t do everything and my head hurts, and I’m cold…’ I knew it was just one of those days.”

‘I went from a 3,000 square-foot house to a little hotel room with nothing. I found out the hard way.’: Mom learns to live in minimalism after house fire forces her to realize what’s important

“The single lone hair tie. You baby it. You put it back on your arm after you get out of the shower. You make sure it’s with you when you head to yoga class. That hair tie is your entire freaking life. Then I threw my – should have washed it yesterday – hair into a quick ponytail and a light went off.”

‘I watched my daughter in tears. ‘YOU ARE BEING A BRAT!!!’ The words tumbled out before I could stop myself. I failed.’: Mom learns important parenting lesson after daughter misbehaves

“After watching her scream and flail on the ground, I had enough. ‘Go to your room! You need to calm down,’ I told her. But instead, she continued to talk back. And that’s when it happened. I yelled at my child. My daughter went upstairs and slammed the door. I heard her yell and cry in frustration. I sunk down onto a chair and cried.”

‘I don’t want to, please don’t make me do this.’ I begged them to knock me out and cut me open.’: Woman gives birth to baby born sleeping, ‘I wondered if I’d ever pull myself out of the darkness’

“As soon as the wand hit my belly, we all knew. ‘I’m so sorry.’ In one breath, she let us know I needed to make my way up to Labor and Delivery. I’d already lost 2.5 liters of blood and it was not slowing down. I turned to my mom and said, ‘I am just so tired, all I want to do is sleep.’ I heard one of the doctors say, ‘We WILL NOT take her uterus’ and then I was out. The next thing I knew, I was waking up. The nurse handed him to me. Perfectly formed with 10 fingers and toes, no heartbeat.”

‘My fingertips gripped the vinyl. It felt like hot rubber band snaps. My mom had to hold me down. For a child who doesn’t understand, it’s torture.’: Woman with port wine stain advocates for ‘torture’ pain control

“As we walked toward the doctor’s office, the fear made my body cold. I would feel my anxiety bubbling up, making it harder to breathe. I wanted to pull away from my mom. Stop getting closer. I became aware infants and children are still treated without any pain control. ‘They just swaddle them and do the treatment really fast,’ I was told. Babies? How could anyone do this? ‘It doesn’t really hurt.’ Reading this made me want to vomit. The memories of the pain and being held down is so visceral for me.”

‘My mom said, ‘You have to leave. I’ll kill myself if you stay in this house with us.’ I was given one week.’: Woman overcomes neglect, eating disorder, ‘I wake up every day and choose recovery’

“When I had my first period, I felt I was confessing to a huge crime. I asked her, ‘Why?’ She simply said, ‘Out of sight, out of mind.’ I moved into a rundown bed where nobody spoke English. There was no lock on the front door and I frequently saw and heard people doing drugs on the roof of my bedroom.”

‘You’re the 5th person to overdose by 3 p.m. today. You’re the lucky one,’ the nurse said. My grandma saw me turning blue. I didn’t feel lucky.’: Woman addicted to heroin gets clean, ‘There are not enough words of gratitude. I would have missed it all.’

“The only time I was high enough was if I was close to an overdose. He shoved the gun into my temple and screamed at my using buddy to give him the money. To be honest, at that moment, I wish he would have pulled the trigger. My arm was swollen four times its normal size the next morning. One person held me while the other drained my arm. I was just going to do a little bit and then go pick my daughters up from daycare.”

‘My doctor complained I need to work out more,’ my pregnant friend said. She looked down at her big belly. I was HEATED.’: Mom reminds us pregnant bellies ‘come in all shapes and sizes’

“Today at a play space with my daughters, I ran into a mom friend who I hadn’t seen in about a year. She was obviously pregnant. ‘Congrats! How are you feeling?’ She looked down at her belly. ‘Just big.’ She went on to explain her doctor complained she ‘needed to work out more.’ She was not only PREGNANT, but raising 3 kids. Guys, this got me heated. Like, breathing fire out of my nose and mouth heated.”

‘Mom. I need to talk to you.’ She looked concerned. ‘What’s wrong?’ I didn’t want to disappoint her, but I am a grown woman.’: Young widow scared to tell mom she’s dating again, ‘I severely underestimated my own mom’

“I wanted to cry and vomit at the same time. Here I am, a 33-year-old woman, terrified to tell my mom I am dating. I mean, c’mon?! ‘I may have met someone.’ She looked at me surprised and asked, ‘How? And when?’ I told her I’d signed up for dating apps and that my friends had been keeping tabs on me. To top it off, I live in my parent’s house and those feelings of that 16-year-old girl came back. Keeping secrets, sneaking out to see boys, saying, I’m ‘going to see friends.’”

‘Don’t say, ‘When can I see the baby?’ Say, ‘Let me know when you’re ready for visitors.’: Post-labor mom reminds us ‘there is nothing more vulnerable than a freshly postpartum momma’

“Truth is, she’s labored NAKED in front of an audience of nurses and doctors. She’s had eyes and hands all over her lady bits. ⁣She literally just expelled another human being from her body through her vagina or from being cut open. She carried this little being for 9 long months and probably isn’t eager to have others just come in and sweep him/her away as soon as they take their first breath. If you are a friend or family member of a new mom, don’t just EXPECT to pop in at YOUR convenience.”

‘Would you change things?’ I answer without hesitation, ‘No.’ We looked like a happy couple, but we both knew it was over.’: Super Dad is single father to 3 kids, ‘I’ve learned how to literally be 2 people at the same time.’

“It seems like I’m just a cool dad having fun while his wife is at work. But that’s not the case. We looked like a happy couple. You’d never know I was sleeping in my children’s playroom on a futon. I remember my mentor being honest with me, ‘You are an African American male in Texas, serving in the military. It’s highly unlikely you’ll get primary custody of your kids.’ I joined the 15 percent of single dads around the world that have primary custody of their kids. Now, I’m a full-time father of the 3 most resilient kids I know.”