‘I’m sorry I couldn’t provide a good Christmas those years,’ she cried through tears. She didn’t tell me until she was diagnosed with cancer.’: Daughter reflects on childhood holidays being a child on ‘one of those angel trees’

“She told me she cried herself to sleep one Christmas because she saw the way my eyes lit up when I opened the Princess Jasmine pajamas. She was so happy for me, but she knew she didn’t get them. She wasn’t the reason my eyes lit up – it was because of a stranger.”

‘She took her last breath. Over 400 people showed at her funeral, even on the busiest day of the week. That is the legacy she had.’: Woman pens sweet tribute to mother, ‘we will never stop hoping to see you again’

“After losing my mom, I once again feel like that lost little girl in the department store, like the whole world has collapsed. Only this time, no amount of screaming, crying, begging will bring her back. Not a day goes by I don’t recall her. A taste, a smell, a word, a touch. When all else fails, I turn to the memories. But I literally cannot cry, cannot shed a single tear, without also smiling. THAT is the kind of love she left behind.”

‘If they don’t like it, it’s their problem.’ Sophie was always a very quiet child. She never cried. We were frightened something happened.’: Dad and daughter both find out they are autistic at the same time

“My wife just thought I was weird and Sophie was a chip off the old block. More than just acting like her Daddy, she was autistic like her Daddy. My hope is she meets a partner who loves and understands her and she has 3 autistic daughters so I can have 3 autistic granddaughters!”

‘If you had 6 months left to live, what would you do?’ We were living the same, predictable day over and over again.’: Family uproot themselves for unconventional life, ‘we stopped putting off dreams and started living’

“That year, many of our friends and family were struck by cancer. After he told me about this diagnosis, my dear neighbor said to me, ‘Jess, everyone asks me how long I have to live. Instead of answering their question, I ask, ‘How long do YOU have left to live?’ Tomorrow is never guaranteed.’ My husband and I pondered that question for hours that night. It became clear to us WE were not truly living.”

‘This is $150 of underwear.’: Sexual assault nurse examiner shares act of kindness for rape survivors

“Ever seen a woman who’s just been raped, just had a 3-hour forensic exam, had every surface of her battered body swabbed, photographed, and inventoried for the police walk out of a hospital wearing oversized hospital scrubs and postpartum hospital underwear, her arms wrapped tightly around her chest, ashamed, because she doesn’t have a bra to wear? I have. And I absolutely refuse to ever see it again.”

‘I see you peeking!’ He slowly opened his eyes, blinking up at us. His tiny hand closed around my husband’s finger. Our hearts were forever changed.’: Couple adopts after surprise pregnancy, ‘I welcome every ounce of chaos and noise’

“‘Let’s not get our hopes up,’ I told my husband after the shock of the positive pregnancy settled in. He nodded in agreement. But then I received a very unexpected phone call. ‘Jeanette, do you want to be a mother?’ I realized what was about to happen and halted the conversation. ‘Wait!’ I shouted. ‘Can I three-way Zach onto this call?’ I quickly dialed him. Zach was in shock. I had not prepped him. The same week we miscarried our first child, our future son was conceived.”

‘You made the nice list!’ The words that made everything OK again. He gave him a certificate with his name on it.’: Non-verbal boy with Autism surprised by sensory friendly Santa at home

“Riley was diagnosed with Autism when he was 2-years-old. He is non-verbal and has a lot of sensory issues. He doesn’t like loud noises, or bright lights, but what he does love is Christmas. Since he cannot speak, Riley has learned to sign ‘Riley is good’ and for the last few weeks has been telling everyone he meets he is a good boy. Santa showed up at his house to tell Riley he would go through the naughty and nice list with him.”

‘Maybe it’s not about empty soda cans, who forgot to pay the light bill, or dishes in the sink. None of it matters in the end.’: Woman learns to stop ‘fussing about the little things’ after encountering old couple with Parkinson’s Disease

“I stood in the doorway of a restaurant as an old lady shuffled toward me. Her husband patiently held her as she repeatedly attempted to step. ‘She does great until she gets to a door. It’s Parkinson’s and it’s hard,’ her husband sweetly said.”

‘How the hell did I end up here?’ It took me months to say, ‘My child died.’ We hung her stocking. I’m finally ready.’: Mom celebrates stillborn during holidays for surviving twin to know ‘her sister’s spirit is with her for her lifetime’

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve answered, ‘How are you?,’ with a forced, fake, ‘Hanging in there!’ just to make the conversation easier. We hung her Christmas stocking on the mantle this year. I am painfully aware that on Christmas morning, that stocking will hang empty as the others burst with gifts. ‘Why me? Why our family?’ But for now, we honor her absence. I am finally ready.”

‘We found a hole.’ His heart was beating. What did we miss?! I wasn’t a special needs mom. I didn’t have the qualifications for that.’: After 7 kids, 3 miscarriages, mom births baby with Down syndrome, ‘he is our extra special little man’

“‘His heart could be repaired,’ I thought. We could get past that, carry on. And then the doctor said, ‘This is very common with Down syndrome.’ That I didn’t want to hear. Surgery wasn’t going to fix that. I put it out of my mind. Our baby wasn’t going to have Down syndrome! Then the doctor said, ‘You have the option to terminate.’”

‘At 15, I caught the attention of an older man. ‘You’re jailbait. You could ruin my life.’ He blamed me for the entire affair.’: Autistic woman escapes domestic abuse, ‘It is not my job to carry his pain’

“I didn’t understand at the time, but he was triggering autistic meltdowns. He objectified me constantly and often talked publicly about my genitalia, how no man had ‘had me before.’ Months before my 20th birthday, I proudly displayed a photo of my brother in uniform on the TV, which was ‘too imposing.’ I immediately threw my belongings into a trash bag. It was like a light bulb went off in my head.”

‘6 weeks pregnant with our surprise third baby, my husband of 7 years packed his bags and left me.’: Woman empowered to embrace single parenting after husband leaves her during pregnancy

“My face was red and my eyes were swollen from sobbing. When we were good, we were great. When we were bad, we were absolutely volatile. She dropped the inevitable bombshell. ‘Where do you think this is coming from?’ ‘What he put me through,’ I replied. ‘Deeper, Amber.’ It hit me. There was no miracle. Our marriage was over.”

‘I cooked, I cleaned. I was a nurturing, good woman. Yet still, I was not enough for the wrong man.’: Woman urges ‘never settle for anything less than you deserve’

“I cooked when I was asked. I cleaned dirty breeches, dirty dishes, and everything in between. I was loving. I was patient. I tried to look as pretty as I possibly could. I was forgiving. I was ENOUGH. I was more than enough. But for the wrong man, it did not matter. You may be the rib, but a rib cannot fit comfortably in a body it was not designed for.”

‘Help me!’ The color drained from my face. I awoke to cramping and blood dripping on the bathroom floor.’: LGBT couple navigate homophobia, reciprocal IVF journey, ‘our girls will be filled with lots of love’

“Our babies! Were they gone? We drove the 3 hours to the IVF clinic. The doctor informed us, ‘One baby is still there, and next to the baby is a blood clot 4 times its size.’ I remember my eyes filling with tears. I began crying on my wife’s shoulder. ‘What you two are doing isn’t right.’ No one ever tells you how hard it will be to have kids when you’re gay.”

‘I met a guy. He was unlike any person I’d ever met. We fell in love hard and fast. Slowly, he earned my trust.’: Woman credits husband for helping her overcome childhood abuse

“When we got married, I had no idea how to relax my body. How to communicate without completely shutting down for days. I struggled to show emotion, to be vulnerable. It took 5 years of marriage for me to believe he wasn’t going to hit me when he got mad. The simple act of raising his arms triggered me and made me flinch.”

‘This is addiction. This is ‘just one more time.’ ‘Just a little hit.’ It’s a 3 a.m. phone call we knew was coming, but prayed never would.’: Family mourns loved one lost to addiction, ‘drugs don’t love you, your friends and family do’

“Addiction is a room (and whole hospital waiting room) full of brothers, sisters, nieces, uncles and friends beating themselves up because they didn’t save you. It’s a doctor saying the words ‘legally brain dead.’ An empty chair at every family event. It’s a daughter, a son who have to figure this world out without their dad. This is a man who loved with everything he had. Drugs don’t love you. Your family and friends do.”

I Gave Birth To My Daughter, And She Looks Hilariously Angry To Be Alive

“The next day, after a well deserved rest, the family appeared to meet our baby girl. With them taking photos and taking turns holding ‘the potato,’ we really starting to notice her face. She was NOT happy with being evicted. I told my husband as he was holding Luna, ‘check out that face.’ She had his stupid mean mug face, but unlike him, she made it look good.”

‘I want my mom!!! I want my mom to come back!!!’ He was totally inconsolable. I’ve never felt more in tune with a person’s emotion.’: Daughter’s advice on getting through the holidays without your mother

“I was dropping my son off at daycare. When we arrived, there was another little boy who’d just been dropped off by his mom. He couldn’t have been more than 3 years old. And he was wailing. This child was genuinely distressed. He wanted his mom very, very badly. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt more in tune with another person’s emotion.”