“You married her when I was 3. I wasn’t at your wedding. I was maliciously sent to Chicago by my mother, just to get back at you. Remember that time you came to my Grandma’s and literally kidnapped me? Dragging me down the hill, kicking and screaming, you trying to hush me? I was 4. This is one of my earliest memories. Tragic. My kids don’t know you. But that seems to be a pattern in this family.”
‘If you can’t respect me and your Dad, don’t come to MY family’s Christmas celebrations.’ Pump the brakes, crazy lady.’: Woman ‘bitter’ over tumultuous upbringing, but learns to ‘forgive’ after all the hurt
‘Let’s get pregnant together!’ Two single women, we decided to do this on our own. We couldn’t wait any longer.’: Two friends join forces to become ‘single moms by choice’
“We both wanted to be moms. Forever. Ever since we can remember. We dated many boys, men, and a few gentlemen. Unfortunately, none of those relationships turned into our fairy tale. One day, we hope to get married and have a spouse, but we couldn’t give up on children if that man never came around. We had to do this together.”
‘When my boyfriend broke up with me, I had the strangest reaction. I was relieved. I literally thanked him.’: Woman ‘gave up’ on distracting herself with relationships, ‘I am living whole and free for the first time’
“I really loved him, so I was caught off guard by my own response to him ending our romantic relationship. ‘Wait, shouldn’t I be sad? Shouldn’t I be crying or something?’ My dating self was cool, sexy, and mysterious. I knew how to seduce and intrigue men. I played the game well.”
‘Sweetie, do you have someone you can call?’ I ask, ‘Is he going to die? OMG, I have to tell my boys.’: After losing husband to sudden stroke, widow finds love again, ‘When we first hugged, he was like home to me’
“I was DONE dating after I found out a guy I was talking to was married. ‘There’s this lawyer I see in court. Every time I see him, I think I should introduce you two,’ my cousin told me. Before I could say how crazy she was, she introduced us online. I knew immediately he was different and special. As his arms wrapped around my waist, I knew these were the arms I would be in for the rest of my life.”
‘My 9-year-old said, ‘I want to eat something I used to eat with my old family. Sometimes, I like to remember how strong I had to be.’: Foster mom shares heartbreaking story of son’s trauma, ‘We must not give up on our kids’
“He said his old parents wouldn’t feed him due to being passed out. All their money was spent on cigarettes and other ‘fun things.’ At age 6, he would find change in their van, buy Ramen packets at the store down the street, and make dinner for himself and his brothers (ages 2 and 4 months). He didn’t know how to boil water, so he had to eat it raw. ‘I’m not sad I’m not with my old family anymore, but sometimes I like to remember how strong I had to be.'”
‘Go home. You’re cured.’ The same day there was an urgent message on my phone. I didn’t want to spoil Christmas.’: Woman diagnosed with Stage 4 breast, lung, liver cancer, ‘I decided to take back control’
“I genuinely thought it would all be fine. I ate a healthy diet, was fit and healthy. I just couldn’t believe it. I was in a trance. Numb. There was yet another tumor, in a third place. I rang the cancer helpline. I tried to speak, but just cried. The poor person on the end just listened to me sob for 15 minutes without a break. I needed to get it all out of my system.”
‘I’m doing the best I can,’ I said to my husband. I felt a tear hit my cheek. It was one of those nights.’: Woman reminds us to ‘be kind’ to exhausted mothers, ‘she is doing her absolute best’
“I was in pajamas by 4 p.m., my hair had questionable things in it, and I had on a stained sweater I probably should have washed a few days ago. My husband got home and walked in on me cooking burnt grilled cheese, for the third time. I threw my hands up in the air. ‘I give up!’ I thought I would be better at this whole mom and wife thing. But the truth is, I am doing my best.”
‘I’m so sad you have such a gift with kids and you’ll never have a baby of your own.’: Woman shares single mother by choice journey
“’I’ll just take him to the living room,’ I said to my sister who was in mid-conversation, talking about what it’s like being a new mom. That was when my grandmother spoke. In one line she had evaluated my situation—single, 36, unmarried—and concluded my childless fate. What was my life? I thought I’d done everything right.”
‘Ben was there for me. He picked me up off of the ground when I felt like my legs didn’t work anymore.’: Woman credits boyfriend for helping ‘calm’ her anxiety
“I was scared people were going to think less of me. I kept saying to Ben, ‘I don’t know how these are going to turn out,’ over and over. Eventually, Ben cut me off. ‘You know I don’t care if these cookies are good, right? You know I’m not going to like you any less?’ And then it hit me. Find your Ben. Because I have mine.”
‘Hey, are you alone? I don’t know how to tell you this, but mom just called. Jason died. He overdosed.’ That moment, everything STOPPED.’: Woman overcomes Adderall addiction, gets sober after brother dies of overdose, ‘my new life is full of magic, love’
“I sat on the floor of my balcony thinking about how I could hang myself but not wanting to do it for the sake of everyone outside. ‘This is all just a game.’ I missed a metal railing by a few inches and went straight into a ditch. I flipped 7 times, hit a tree and went airborne. The next thing I knew I was saying, ‘Jason? Jason, please don’t leave me.’ I was in a full-blown conversation with him. He was in the same white gown that I said goodbye to him at his funeral. ‘Cass, you are not alone, but you need to go back.’”
‘Do your kids know who Greta Thunberg is? Mine don’t, and it’s my fault.’
“Let’s talk to our kids about other children in this world who are doing good for it and the people in it. Let’s remind them that, even at a young age, they’re capable of making a difference. Encourage the heck out of them. Do your kids know all the good they can do? Mine don’t, and it’s my fault. But they will.”
‘TRIAGE. STAT. CHICKEN!!!’ The nurse jumped up and grabbed her walkie talkie. Everyone is staring at us, mouths agape.’: Mom recounts hilarious encounter with injured chicken
“We had just lost the squirrel and the hamster the week before – I just didn’t feel like the kids could handle yet another death. ‘Hi, I have a prescription to pick up,’ I said. ‘Patient name?’ the cashier nonchalantly asked. ‘Ummmmm Cockadoodledoo Evans?’ I responded. ‘Um, ok birthdate?’ she asked. ‘Ma’am I’m not really sure, it’s a chicken,’ I said.”
‘Why did you have another baby?’ I try to not bury myself with my son, but to live better because he had lived.’: Mom finds ‘gratitude’ in grief after losing son, ‘goodness is all around, if I just take a moment to see it’
“My new daughter sleeping should be a scene of total peace, and yet it’s terrifying. The ugly, hateful words swirl in my mind. ‘Life can’t really be good again, can it?’ ‘If something happens to her, then everyone will know what an awful mother you are.’ Child loss leads you to a crossroads—a choice between becoming bitter or becoming better.”
‘Our angel was beautiful. The most precious lips, tiny button nose. I memorized every inch of her. We sobbed.’: Mom says there was a ‘calm presence’ as she delivered stillborn daughter, ‘Our time with her will never feel like enough
“’My gut feelings usually are never wrong, especially about our children.’ I could not shake the sense that there were complications with the baby. ‘I believe there is something wrong with your baby’s head.’ I never once thought our sweet girl would die. She was perfect. I’ll never forget the weight of her laying on my chest. We read her stories and left her cheeks wet from tears. Her sister and brother got to meet her and love her.”
‘I picked up my Kindergartener from school. But her class was held in the cafeteria, not in her usual classroom. None of us will forget.’: Mom remembers Sandy Hook victims on 7-year anniversary
“Her brown curls bounced as she ran up to me with a smile on her face. She eagerly handed me a picture she drew that day. It was a colorful winter scene with penguins skating on a pond with the date 12/14. When my husband returned, he passed by the drawing, stopped and started counting. ‘Did you see what I saw?’ He pointed to the stars in the sky she had drawn. I counted them. Exactly 26.”
‘We were 2 hopeless drug addicts society had written off. We were felons, dealers, thieves. Then, we found each other.’: Couple find hope, sobriety after years of addiction, ‘We are finally free!’
“I came from a good home. I didn’t suffer physical or sexual abuse. I didn’t feel ‘less than.’ I was a 3-sport athlete, excellent student. But I found a new love: drinking and getting high. My friend’s parents let us get wasted in their houses. I’d wake up, teeth chattering from withdrawals. I remember thinking, ‘I’m a college graduate! How did this happen?!’ Addiction had me whipped, and bad.”
‘I could’ve killed myself, or my precious son. I’m riddled with guilt. I’m so ashamed of things I’ve done in front of my child.’: Mother in the throes of addiction, ‘I don’t want to do it anymore. I want my son to have a sober mom’
“I have a toddler at home who I will not be able to take to get his picture with Santa. I will not be able to take him to see all the pretty Christmas lights. I sat in the shower and let the water run down my body as I cried. Then demons creep in. ‘It was boring getting high at home, taking care of a toddler all day. It would be fun to stay at a motel and just get high. I just want to do it ONE MORE TIME.’ I’m riddled with guilt. I’m so ashamed.”
‘Can I get arrested for yelling at my kids?’ I’m pretty sure my neighbors are terrified of me. I carry this anger the rest of the day.’: Mom explains she’s ‘so angry because ‘she’s actually ‘anxious’
“Brother is crying. I get mad. I yell. Sister is crying now. The sneakers I tripped over at bedtime have somehow separated and one is completely gone. Vaporized! EFFFFF!!!! We are now 10 minutes late. ‘Why is this room like this?!’ I yell at the top of my lungs. I carry this anger for the rest of the day.”
‘Please don’t cry,’ I mumbled. ‘It’s a tree. It’s just a tree.’ And then it happened, full blown tears.’: Mom realizes teenage daughter’s meltdown was triggered by loss of father, ‘No matter how many presents I buy, nothing can heal her pain’
“My teenage daughter was standing in the tree lot, her face scrunched up, drawing in a deep breath. Oh for the love of all that’s Holy, she’s going to cry again. ‘It’s a Charlie Brown tree!,’ she shrieked. I rolled my eyes, wishing I’d indulged in a second glass of vino. I thought the worst had passed. Then she blurted out the words I didn’t expect. ‘My dad would’ve NEVER bought this tree!’ There it was. Her dad, who always made everything perfect, died. In front of her. While she held his hand.”
‘What does DTF mean? You swipe which way? Woah, you just sent me a pic of your privates.’ Dating life as a widow is terrifying.’: Young widow recalls first heartbreak post-loss of husband, ‘It stings like hell’
“Mr. Heartbreak knew all the right things to say. He came off very genuine. We clicked immediately, talked for hours on the phone. The first time we met, I was so nervous. He had these intense eyes that looked right through me. After having a drink, we made out in his car like teenagers. He pushed my hair back from my face, told me how beautiful I was. I let myself go there. Then, just like that, ‘This is not light and fun anymore,’ he said.”
‘I blurted out, ‘Hey! Let’s leave our waitress a $50 tip!?’ The times we have nothing to give are the exact moments we need to.’: Couple erase $54,000 mountain of debt, give back to others for holiday season
“The pit in my stomach was always there. Every day. $54,000 of debt robbed me of a peaceful marriage and filled our lives with fear. We wanted to be the type of people who saved, paid in cash for things. Last week after Christmas shopping, I stopped for an unplanned lunch at a restaurant. Something funny happened when we began to be intentional with our money. I could feel our hearts changing.”
Dear Moms: Teach Your Daughters They Don’t Need A Man
“Mama, watch your ‘cant’s’ in front of your children, they’re listening and so much of what they learn is caught, not taught.”
‘His hands were like the devil. They dragged me down to hell to become his mistress. I wasn’t ready to die.’: Woman declares her abuser ‘no longer has power over me, I am a survivor’
“The moment I saw him, I instantly fell for his trap. My eyes met his, and I was immediately hooked. My friend leaned over and told me his name. ‘He’s a cop. He’s well known around here.’ He said they called him the ‘King.’ All hail the King. Our hands met, then our lips, we were inseparable from that night on. His neighbors warned me. They told me to run.”
‘Mama what did you bring me? Can I have it now?! I’ve been so good today!’: Mom struggles with making her daughter wait for big surprise, realizes that’s what God does in her own life
“As I walked in the house from an epic Target Christmas run, my 6-year-old nearly tackled me. ‘Did you get me anything?,’ she screamed with excitement. ‘I really want it now! I’ve been so good today!’ I gently reminded her she loves surprises. ‘Please mama! I can’t wait anymore.’ I whispered, ‘Trust me. It will be so much better on Christmas. You will be so glad you waited!’”
‘My boyfriend went into a depression over his ex’s miscarriage. Then, our pregnancy test came back positive. We were terrified.’: Couple in tears after ‘guardian angel’ emerges on rainbow baby ultrasound
“‘We can no longer detect the fetal heart rate.’ He couldn’t discuss the loss with anybody. After the months of unsaid words came out, we started discussing having a baby of our own. He was hesitant. He didn’t want me to go through the same pain. After the positive pregnancy test, we were both overjoyed and terrified.”