‘What’s wrong with her? Can it be fixed?!’ I had wide-set eyes, webbed fingers. People can’t help but stare.’: Woman meets child with similar Craniofacial differences, ‘I hit the jackpot and found belonging’

“I’m a closet Web MD researcher. I typed in all the things I was born with and a term popped up. Low and behold, there were kids all around the world that looked like me! I’ve always made up wild exaggerations as to why I was born this way. Now, I need no answer. For the first time in my life, I can say, ‘Me too.'”

‘Your baby’s heart is on the wrong side.’ I cried. ‘PLEASE be with him, I don’t want him to be alone.’: Mom devastated to learn of newborn’s heart defect, wishes she could ‘take his place’

“The sonographer went very quiet and kept putting her body in strange positions. She said the baby was laying awkwardly. We had to sign papers prior to his surgery warning us of the risks… death being one of them. We were so helpless. He was so tiny. It didn’t seem fair. I was so excited to see my little boy and give him a big kiss.”

‘Why would she do this?! She’s such a pretty girl.’: Woman recounts suicide attempt after devastating breakup by swallowing bottle of Tylenol

“I’d been dating this guy. He was respectful to me. The kind of guy any mom would be thrilled to see their daughter dating. Then he broke up with me. I had to make the pain go away. I swallowed the entire bottle. I didn’t count, I just took. I called my mom to tell her what I’d just done. By the time she arrived, I was slowly drifting in and out.”

‘We would take them no matter what.’: Mother of special needs children tries to relinquish Godmother duties from best friend, she refuses, ‘It doesn’t need to be discussed’

“We agreed my best friend would be their godmother. But after they were both diagnosed with autism, I felt the overwhelming urge to free her from that responsibility. Taking on two children is a lot. Taking on two children with special needs even more. She didn’t agree to autism—none of us did. So, I messaged her.”

‘How dare she take away my unique quality?’ I was the ‘girl with one arm.’ I was MORE popular.’: Young woman with missing arm always embraced her difference, ‘My sparkle is who I am on the inside’

“I was scared boys wouldn’t want to date me because of my arm, and I was scared of going in public because I did not want strangers to ask questions. I remember one time a kid got angry with me and said, ‘You one-armed freak!’ It hurt. People would say, ‘You are so brave! You are so inspiring!’ It was annoying! I wasn’t doing anything different than the other children.”

‘Your son is deaf.’ We were praying it was a huge mistake. They wheeled him out. I lost it.’: Mom shocked by newborn’s severe hearing loss, ‘we had no family history’

“Beckett hadn’t heard for the first 13 months of his life and BAM. He was suddenly hearing. I cried on the way home, if I’m being honest. I received nasty, angry messages. I was ‘playing God’ by wanting to give him the gift of sound. Wanting our son to be able to hear us tell him ‘I love you’ was NOT a selfish thing.”

‘Why are you fat and your parents aren’t?’ It was so hurtful. I didn’t have an answer for her.’: Woman discovers unexplained weight gain due to ‘fat disease’ diagnosis called ‘Lipedema’

“I knew there was something off about my body. During a friend’s wedding, we were getting fitted for dresses. This bridal shop didn’t have mirrors in the dressing rooms, so you can’t see how terrible things look. Well, they didn’t have my size. I was falling out of it. It felt like an episode of ‘Mean Girls.’ My best friend turned to her coworker and said, ‘I wish everyone had a body like you.’ I left and cried in my car.”

‘Who are you and what are you doing in my house???’ She’d get sad. ‘I feel like I’m in prison.’: Caretaker befriends elderly woman with Alzheimer’s, ‘Just love them, they never forget how to love’

“I would re-introduce myself every 5 minutes. ‘I am your new friend. We are going to spend the day together!’ She would smile. ‘Thank you for being here.’ She’d tell me about her first love and all the trips she’s taken. Then all of a sudden, she’d backtrack. ‘All the men I loved were in the war, and none of them came back.’ She’d forgotten so much, but whenever I’d say goodbye, she always thanked me.”

‘He’s never kept secrets from me. Today, in the very back of that last closet, I found something I hadn’t expected.’: Woman works through jealousy of fiance’s past relationships, ‘Do I really want to do this?’

“Everywhere I turned, his ex’s belongings were in all the rooms. Pictures on Facebook showed memories made in what had now become my kitchen and my living room? Every time his ex’s mail came to the house, my body would run hot and cold at the same time. His daughter would start every new conversation with, ‘When she lived here, we did…’ It was eggshells for me.”

‘I felt trapped. I got pregnant at 17. She gently rubbed my hand. ‘Everything will be alright.’: Mother of 10 overcomes suicide attempt, PTSD, trauma to learn to ‘conquer love’ for her children

“While camping, we came across a family with 4 boys. You could tell they weren’t camping – they lived there. I told my husband as we laid in our tent, ‘I have this weird feeling I know them. They are meant to be in my life.’ Later at church, a member asked if we’d take in 4 boys. My husband just got laid off. ‘Absolutely NOT.’ I was exhausted. When I then learned who the 4 boys were, my heart began to beat so fast.”

‘Last night, my son was called ‘HOT.’ He’s 12 years old! I’m having issues with this.’: Mom uncomfortable after son is sexualized for the first time, ‘he is always going to be my little boy’

“I overheard fellow soccer parents talking. My son was called ‘hot.’ I use this word in lusty conversations about Brad Pitt in the 90s. Hot is Ryan Gosling’s abs. HOT is not what I think when I look at my son. He’s always and forever going to be my little boy, no matter how quickly he evolves into the young man people are noticing.”

‘She chanted ‘Peppa’ while holding the stupid thing to her chest. ‘No,’ I said, embarrassed.’: Dad faced with difficult decision learns boundaries with children, ‘It sucked. But I did it.’

“I pried the toy out of her arms, her screaming like I actually removed a limb, me trying not to hurt her, wondering if she was actually Thor because of her freakishly strong grip. I hauled Aspen out of the store underneath my arm, her legs kicking. I looked at her in the backseat, and wondered if I’d done the right thing.”

‘This picture was taken 2 hours before I was bullied in front of my entire school. They made a mockery of me.’: Teen stands up against bullying, ‘I cheered in front of them with a smile’

“Friday afternoon, a group of kids decided to embarrass me. It was my senior year pep rally, my senior cheer night. This was the day they decided to put me down. Even after standing up for myself, they continued on with their foolish comments. I couldn’t stop wondering, ‘Why me?’ Then, I realized I was asking the wrong question. ‘Why do it at all?’ It doesn’t matter that it was done to me, it matters that it happened. It’s unacceptable.”

‘Does your daughter play with many kids?’ I was surprised at my parent-teacher conference.’: Mom shocked my ‘mean girl’ mentality in 6-year-olds after daughter targeted, ‘My daughter views everyone as her friend’

“It turns out, my daughter plays by herself during recess. To hear that shocked me, knowing my daughter is not shy. It’s a certain girl who won’t let others play with her. I’ve seen it firsthand. I’ve overheard that same girl mumble she ‘isn’t friends’ with my daughter. Yet my daughter is oblivious.”

‘I wasn’t playing games. 4 weeks after meeting, he asked me to marry him! I said yes. Then, I tried to break it off.’: Single divorced mom of 2 gets engaged to man she met after 4 weeks, ‘He is worth the risk of another heart break’

“I started to let fear creep into my mind. We came from two totally different worlds. Ryan was an Eagle Scout, never once touched drugs or alcohol, saved himself for his future wife… aka virgin. I was broken, just finished fighting cancer, recently divorced, teen mom, made so many mistakes. He seemed too good to be true. I thought, ‘Surely this will all end.'”

‘You can’t put me in ICU Room 6. My mom just died there last week.’: Young woman miraculously survives pulmonary embolisms just one week after mom dies of ‘broken heart’

“I lost my best friend. ‘What am I supposed to do now?’ All I’d ever known was taking care of my mother. Suddenly, I felt a tightness in my chest. ‘Well here is the panic attack I’ve been waiting for since she died.’ I arrive at the ER. The doctor came in. I remembered her. She was the doctor who admitted my mom. My heart rate shot up in panic. I looked her right in the eyes. ‘You can’t put me in Room 6. My mom just died there last week.’”

‘I REFUSE to buy my kid any toys for Christmas.’: Mom stands by unconventional gift-giving practice, ‘I want to grow her mind and passion’

“Yeah, you read that right. Making the shopping list for this holiday season, I couldn’t help but think what my daughter got for Christmas last year. Her gifts ended up smashed at the bottom of an overstuffed, dusty box. She barely plays with them. I’m avoiding that this year. I emailed, texted relatives with the news. I crossed my fingers and prayed everyone would understand.”

‘Are you kidding?’ I opened the front door. The babysitter was asleep. 8 kids were in the living room, awake.’: Mom says no to in-home daycare, ‘Things are going on behind closed doors’

“I signed my 1-year-old daughter up for a local early children center. My coworker shook her head in disbelief. ‘Your husband must make a lot of money, because I send my kids to an in-home daycare. It’s like, two-thirds of the price!’ My husband and I are teachers, so clearly we’re not in it for the fat paychecks. As the $700 monthly bills continued to roll in, I was tempted.”