“A feeling washed over me. The exact same wave that washed over when they placed my biological children on my chest in the delivery room. ‘There you are, my child.’ Stroking my cheek, I felt her 28 pounds snuggle into mine. ‘Mommy, I’m so glad you found me in Armenia. I missed you even when I didn’t know you.’ She fed my soul, and she doesn’t even know it.”
‘This child will be a burden to you.’ Her chocolate eyes shot through my screen. ‘Oh, crap.’ A feeling washed over. ‘There you are, my child.’: Woman adopts girl with spina bifida, epilepsy
‘The cold room smelt like bleach. It felt so wrong. ‘She’ll be returned to you in a carboard box.’ We dropped to our knees.’: Mom loses 10-month-old daughter to SIDS
“‘We’re here to see our daughter,’ we croaked. They led us into a room with a small cot. We looked over the side, and there she was, asleep. There was a water drop rolling down her cheek. She looked frozen. We were told, ‘You may not be able to view her in an open casket. It’s already been a while. Also, you may not receive any of her back.'”
‘He glared at me. ‘I didn’t lie to you.’ Ben wasn’t supposed to drink on his medications. ‘He has a gun!’ We heard a single shot.’: 24-year-old wife loses husband to suicide, ‘One breath at a time, you get through it’
“Ben was the type of guy who had a specific place for his shoes, wallet, and keys. When I came home from a 12-hour shift in the ER, my husband didn’t greet me like normal. I found his shoes randomly strewn across the kitchen, his clothes heaped in a pile. He was lying atop all the covers on our bed. ‘Are you okay?’ No response. ‘Babe? Did you spill some water in the bathroom?’ He became enraged. I called my mom and began to pack an overnight bag. My mom had been on the phone with me and was hearing all of it. She hung up and called the police.”
‘I’m the last person you’d imagine to be struggling with Kobe’s death today. Why is this white, rural mom so distraught?’: Mom relates to Kobe Bryant as a father, ‘he had to remain calm in the last moments of his daughter’s life’
“The most horrifying part is he had to remain calm in the last moments of his daughter’s life as his own fears were flashing. That’s the part that keeps coming back to my mind. I can’t imagine the selflessness those parents were exhibiting in those last moments. And, while it is reassuring that he was there to hold his daughter, to whom he was a hero, it is still so unsettling to imagine being with your child for their last breath.”
Dear Husbands: Don’t Ask How You Can Help, Just Do Something (ANYTHING)
“You stare blankly at me. Again. ‘What can I do?’ you ask. Again. I’m tired of delegating and constantly giving what I feel like are ‘orders.’ You’re a great dad, a great man. You work hard. ‘He’s such a nice guy!’ they always say. They’re right—you are. But I’m at my breaking point.”
‘I’d hold my breasts in each hand. ‘Who would I be without these?’: Woman opens up about her journey to self-love, ‘My body wasn’t a temple. I definitely didn’t treat it like one.’
“I used to get changed in P.E. and look at all the other girls around me. My hips were wider, my legs were thicker, and my stomach had a ‘flab’ to it. I was already in a C cup by the time I turned 12. I couldn’t bear being naked in front of my boyfriend. I would wear baggy t-shirts during sex, and he wasn’t allowed to see my boobs without a bra–I had forbidden that! My ex-boyfriends would tell me if I just lost weight, I’d be ‘unreal.’”
‘I just want to let you know, Mommy is… the baby is probably no longer viable.’: Journalist brings 12-year-old daughter into restroom during miscarriage
“Mommy doesn’t feel any guilt. This is normal, it happens to so many women, it’s happened to me a few other times,” she said after pulling her 12-year-old daughter into the bathroom during her miscarriage. “When you get pregnant, it might happen to you, honey. And I want you to know there’s nothing you did wrong.”
‘Put the device away!,’ a lady was yelling at me. ‘I’m deaf, this is a closed caption device for the movie.’: Woman diagnosed with ‘profound hearing loss,’ credits daughter for giving her ‘strength’
“Hands pointed at me as they whispered to each other, ‘She is deaf.’ I feared my daughter would not understand me. I feared I would not hear my daughter. One day, when she was in 2nd grade, a boy made her upset by making fun of my accent. She said, ‘My mom is deaf!’ This was just the beginning for her to witness my challenges. I sobbed as soon as we got home. My daughter comforted me, cried with me.”
I Don’t Want To Be In The Perfect Mom Club, And Neither Should You
“I don’t buy organic anything. My kid rolls up to day care in hand-me-downs. You can’t walk through my front door without tripping over a member of the Paw Patrol. Mommy and Daddy LIKE screen time.”
‘When you woke up this morning, was it business as usual? For most of us, I’m sure it was.’: Woman reminds others to ‘tread lightly’ because you never know what others have ‘lost’ in wake of Kobe Bryant death
“But, for some, it wasn’t, and it won’t be for a while. And for those, I pray. After my dad passed, everything was a struggle. I’d get dressed and wonder why. I’d go to put my makeup on and feel like a self-obsessed idiot. What was the point of wearing mascara? How could I care how I look at a time like this? I was a fragile shell of the girl I was just days before. You can do better.”
‘To the family of the other 7 passengers: Every time I think of Kobe and Gigi, I think of your loved ones, too.’: Woman shares letter to other passengers in helicopter crash with Kobe Bryant
“I cannot imagine what was said amongst the 9 of them when they realized their fate. The fear in their eyes, the white on their knuckles. But what I do know is when that helicopter went down on Sunday morning, NINE people walked into Heaven together. Not two.”
‘You’re lucky,’ someone said. Inside, I was fuming. It’s happened the last 3 times I’ve taken my kids to dinner.’: Mom attributes ‘blood, sweat, and tears’ to children’s good behavior
“One day, my kids were acting especially sassy at dinner (dare I say, like brats). I summoned our server to the table. ‘Can I get you something?’ I went into total mom mode. ‘Well, I just wanted my kids to apologize. Girls, can you tell our server you don’t know why you’re being loud and crazy, but that you really enjoy eating here and hope we can come back?’ I winked. Instant behavior upgrade followed. I’m not ‘lucky.’ I’ve been putting blood, sweat, and tears into this for years.”
‘You need to have it looked at, and quickly!’ My heart dropped. I went from a ‘normal’ person to being disabled.’: Young woman survives rare bone cancer twice, ‘Cancer taught me to live each day like it’s my last’
“’How could I have bone cancer at age 25?!’ I called my mom immediately after, sobbing in my car. She was shocked. I was finally able to get married after delaying my wedding, but I still had persistent pain. The surgeon said, ‘We cannot be sure if some cancer was left behind.’. It taught me to cherish every day I have on this earth. Things can change in a blink of an eye.”
‘My kids were eating breakfast when I heard a knock. A sheriff’s deputy greeted me. ‘Your husband’s been killed.’ My world came crashing down.’: Widow talks turning grief into a positive thanks to StoryWorth
“We were awaiting my son Jesse’s arrival for a big celebration. Instead, the Marines met me. ‘Your son’s been killed.’ He died driving home, on the same highway, in the same state where his father died 14 years earlier. I could sense Jesse saying, ‘Okay, God, I’ll go with You, but don’t let my mama hurt.’ I immediately felt a tangible peace cover me.”
‘My new wife is younger and we have a daughter.’ He smashed photos of my sons. I am worth more.’: Woman escapes abuse, alcoholism, creates her own recovery program to give back, ‘I survived for a reason’
“I was living with a very dangerous individual. With him gone, the nightmare became more real. I felt unsafe in the house. You can’t change locks on a shared ownership home. One day, I came home to find my bed had disappeared, along with all the mirrors. He would not stop until he had destroyed everything. The house was repossessed and I received a Christmas card from him. ‘Hope you and your sons are cold on the streets this Christmas. Here’s hoping you prosper.’”
‘Baby’s here! He’s coming!’ I looked down and saw our son’s head.’: Trans woman describes surprise home birth, ’We might not be the typical nuclear family, but our love is strong’
“Before I came out, Shannon and I decided to try for another baby. I got approved by the Marine Corps to begin my transition and started hormone therapy. Soon after, we announced we were pregnant. At 2 a.m., Shannon and I were getting ready to have our baby. We thought we had plenty of time. I walked into the bathroom and noticed blood in the water. She told me, ‘We aren’t going anywhere. Call 911.’ One push later, our baby slid into my arms. We were all smiles and shellshock.”
Why We Need To Do Away With Thank You Letters For Baby Shower Gifts
“She has so many other things she needs to be worrying about. An in-person thank you is sufficient.”
‘He’s using again. I’m heartbroken. If you see him, give him a hug. Say a prayer. Tell him his mom misses him.’: Mom painfully describes loving her addict son, ‘It hurts. I want a do-over. I want my son back.’
“The saddest part is, I know he wants to stop this. I’ve attended too many funerals of good kids who couldn’t win against this monster. I’ve lost my son, but there hasn’t been a funeral. He is no longer there. I can see him, yet I mourn for him every day. It hurts. I want a do over. I want a second chance to protect him from this monster. I want my son back.”
‘You show up when you’re tired. You hug me when I cry and don’t back down when things look bleak. I am on sacred ground with you.’: Mom shares touching ode to pediatric nurses
“When people ask me, ‘What is it like to live in the hospital?’ the first images that come to my mind are your faces and your hands. You listen and teach. You take the time to help us understand. You bring me coffee and chocolate. You look me in the eye when you give good or bad news. I have never been more honored to witness anyone fulfill their calling in life. I am on sacred ground with you.”
‘My mom noticed a hole above my tailbone she could fit her pinky into. The doctors told her, ‘As long as it’s covered with skin, it’s nothing to worry about.’: Woman with spina bifida and fibromyalgia suffers from ‘back attacks’ and ‘wild symptoms’
“During birth, the umbilical cord was wrapped around my neck. In order to save my life, the doctor had to act fast. My mom’s tailbone was broken. Then like any other mom, she diligently looked over my body and immediately noticed a hole above my own tailbone. The doctors told her, ‘It’s nothing to worry about.’ But at 7 days old, I had a temperature of 104 degrees. As I grew, so did the tumor. It tightly wrapped around my bladder and kidneys, slowly killing me.”
‘I caught a glimpse of her little polka dot covered legs in Best Buy. Tears came to my eyes. Like a gut punch, I realized just how much I’m going to miss this one day.’: Mom urges ‘soak in every moment’ with your ‘wild child’
“She’s our wild child. We are at a loss when it comes to how to parent her. She has pushed me to tears with the many ways I feel I’m failing her as amother. And yet, she’s amazing. She will not and cannot bend to our will. She refuses to be anything but herself. That is the kind of strength I only wish I could find within myself.”
‘You look amazing. You’ve definitely lost weight.’ If he didn’t text me back, I’d assume the worst. I was extremely controlling.’: Woman suffers from eating disorder, mental illness, loss of grandfather taught her ‘to get the help I needed’
“I said to him, ‘Pup, it’s ok if you can’t make it to the wedding.’ I’d think, ‘I’ll never have a photo of me and Pup in my wedding dress. I’ll never have the opportunity to eat my wedding dinner with him. He’ll never meet my children.’ I hit the lowest low I ever had. Before my husband and I walked down the aisle, I couldn’t help but feel like Pup was there. I said to my now husband, ‘He’s here. I can feel it.’ My husband grabbed my hand. ‘I know.’”
‘The nurses’ voice cracked, ‘I am so sorry.’ I never knew devastation until that call.’: Couple battling stage 4 endometriosis begin foster care journey, ‘We want the big family, sleepless nights, and poopy diapers.’
“After 6 months of trying, we had more negative tests than I could count. I was told I had two large cysts on my ovaries. ‘Keep trying. If in 6 months, you still aren’t pregnant, call me.’ Our bones are laced with grief.”
‘We’re tired. We cannot relax. Our bodies are battle-scarred. Truth is, we thirtysomethings have let ourselves go. No. We have let our SELVES go.’: Mom finds ‘bliss’ in the chaos of 30s motherhood
“I see you at the school drop-off. Sometimes, we exchange a little smile, an ‘I get it.’ But more often, you don’t see me. You’re chasing your toddler down the aisles, watching your pre-schooler like a hawk as she climbs a little too high, or reaching for a wet wipe. Up on the hill are the shiny twentysomethings selfie-snapping, rested, and toned. Magnificently oblivious to what is coming their way. They don’t even see us. Or if they do, they swear they will never be us.”
‘I woke up in a hospital bed. There was a $100 bill on the bedside table with a note that said, ‘GO HOME.’ My miscarriage left me almost dead.’: Woman quits alcohol and drugs ‘cold turkey’ after addict husband’s death
“I had never smoked a cigarette, never drank a beer, never had a real boyfriend. I was a naïve, 17-year-old virgin. I went to a party with my friends. I paid the guy at the door $5 dollars. ‘The punch is in the kitchen. Don’t lose your cup.’ I was found on steps, lying in a pool of vomit. I fell off the Dean’s List. Then I met the man I would marry. I had a front-row seat to the most terrifying horror show imaginable. I was penniless, homeless, trickin’ on Main South for a 40 piece.”