“I was home alone. I completely broke down after this phone call. A part of me believed he didn’t have it. Maybe a part of me just wished he didn’t have it. ‘Look at him,’ my husband told me. ‘Think of how hard he fought to be here. He is the best thing to ever happen to us, and we have this under control.’ As long as we all had each other, we would live the best life – and I believed him.”
‘I started to panic. I told my friend we were having this child regardless. ‘Would you really?,’ she responded.’: Mom grateful for taking the ‘scenic route’ with son diagnosed with Down syndrome
‘I was vomiting. My doctor said it was because I was ‘promiscuous.’: Woman with chronic illness claims pain won’t rob her ‘passion for living’
“The pain got so bad. I pulled over on the side of the freeway and called my dad, begging him to come get me. I became confused, disoriented. I remember thinking I could understand why my mother took her own life. It made me realize I either had to fight for my own health, or continue to fade away. I had to be stronger than my mom was. I couldn’t stop fighting.”
‘How blessed are we that I got pregnant?! I would’ve never known I had a tumor if it weren’t for the baby. I felt fine.’: Mom-to-be learns of cancer diagnosis thanks to surprise pregnancy
“This photo was taken 5 minutes before the doctor told me my tumor was cancerous. At our first ultrasound, my doctor found ‘a baseball size tumor’ on my ovary. She thought it was benign, but couldn’t tell me without biopsy. They don’t do that to pregnant women. ‘So I have to wait 9 months to find out if this thing is benign or cancerous?!’ My mind was racing. This little miracle inside me saved me from letting cancer go further.”
‘Come on, you’ll be fine. Your friends did it.’ She gave in, inhaled helium. Mid-laugh, she collapsed.’: 14-year-old girl dies of helium inhalation, ‘My life will never be the same’
“‘Mom, can I go to a slumber party?’ It was 5 minutes away. Of course, we said yes. ‘Be careful. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.’ The mother of the birthday girl became ill, so she asked her daughter to host. Instead, she took our kids to the liquor store, brought 30-year-old men in the house. A helium tank was brought out. My daughter kept pulling her head away. The man insisted it wouldn’t hurt. Nobody saw it coming.”
‘When she left for Heaven, my mom felt she didn’t leave us with much. She apologized, wishing she had more to give us, a fancy house or nice car.’: Daughter hopes late mother knows she left her with ‘more than she could have ever dreamed’
“She said sorry so many times in the end that I lost count of how often she mentioned it. I wish I would have stopped right there in the middle of all that chaos that death brings and all the stress and regret that comes with it, and just grabbed her hand.”
‘You spent 30 years chasing something, only to get ahold of it and realize your dream is completely, utterly exhausting.’: Mom says family life isn’t for the ‘faint of heart,’ but tender moments make it all worth it
“Family life will nickel and dime you. It’ll squeeze you until you’ve got nothing left. Then it’ll squeeze you even harder. And right when you think you’re completely tapped out and you don’t have what it takes… You walk in on a moment like this.”
‘I can’t tell you about your future because I need to tell your past.’: Fortune teller reminds mom suffering from trauma, PTSD she is a ‘hero’ for parenting with mental illness
“A man had a sign that said, ‘Tell your future for a gold coin.’ I laughed, and told him my name. He stared at me for a while, told me I had mysterious eyes, then finally said, ‘Tell little Laura it’s okay. She’s safe now. Know it’s going to be ok.’”
‘How did I end up here?!’ I awoke in jail to the sound of a cell door slamming, no idea what happened the night before.’: Man beats life-long addiction, says ‘as long as you’re still breathing’ there’s hope for recovery
“I lost everything. I stepped out of jail with a few one-dollar bills and 3 cigarettes. I was missing a shoe, had blood on my shirt, and one of my fingernails was completely ripped off. I had taser burns on my arm and chest, and zero memory of my arrest. I faced the biggest decision of my life. I had to fight.”
‘Get me off speaker now!’ She hangs up. ‘We have to go, something happened.’ I see ambulances at the river.’: Woman loses husband in boating accident right after micropreemie daughter regains health, family ‘starting to live again’
“We purchased a vacation home at the river where we could bring our daughter. Our plan was to start showing Emma a world outside of hospitals. We planned an entire summer there, living happily ever after. Little did I know life had a different plan. ‘What happened?,’ I ask. Something inside me knew Danny was hurt. ‘Don’t go to the hospital, follow those firetrucks!’”
‘The weird looks. Names. Disgust. Laughter. Violence. I just couldn’t fit in.’: Woman with Congenital Melanocytic Nevus claims ‘beauty is diversity,’ learns to love her ‘endless birthmarks’
“Before I could prove myself, they already knew what they thought of me. Judgement straight away. To be honest, nothing feels more discouraging than not even getting a chance. Over the years, teachers just accepted the bullying. I can’t even remember how many times my parents spoke to the principal, but I’ll always remember him saying, ‘We don’t care.’ I was alone, scared, broken. It was my son that got me through the worst. When everyone else left me alone, he always offered a home to my soul.”
‘I looked down at my wedding ring, and my heart broke. Where would she wear a wedding ring?’: Mother learns of child’s limb difference diagnosis, looks at her as ‘my perfect daughter’
“Our daughter was missing part of her left arm. Would I look at her differently after her arrival? ‘This is her eviction notice,’ the doctor said. They paused to let me see her. As she turned, I saw her little eyes ever-so-slightly open, looking at me, her mom. My heart melted. She was my perfect daughter.”
‘How much is the yarn?’ She replied, ‘It’s 5 dollars. My grandma started a project, but never finished. She passed away.’: Stranger’s act of kindness carrying on a grandmother’s legacy brings granddaughter to tears
“She said, ‘I’m so sorry for your loss,’ and came home with the bag. At home, she opened the bag, beneath the yarn, to see a granny square blanket that had been started. Mom finished the blanket and drove to the house where the garage sale was. The granddaughter was in tears and hugged her.”
‘Y’all, if a mom is burnt out she does NOT need a pat on the head and a pedicure. She needs HELP.’: Mom claims ‘basic human care’ should not be considered ‘a luxury’
“When did going to the dentist become a break? When did getting a haircut become anything other than a necessity? Why is ANYTHING centered on the mom considered ‘me time’ for her? Sorry y’all, but taking a dump shouldn’t be considered a break if my kids don’t barge in. This has to stop. You want to help a mom be less overwhelmed? Do some of her dishes, laundry, cooking, and child-wrangling.”
‘A meek, ‘it’s me’ came from the kitchen. It wasn’t my kid. A teenager appeared at my bedroom door.’: Mom has ‘open door policy’ for daughter’s friends after husband’s death, says they’re ‘family’
“I heard the microwave. I called my daughter’s name. Not once, not twice but 5 times with no answer. It wasn’t her. I didn’t know where she came from. It appears my ‘open door policy’ has been taken literally, and to be honest, I’m ok with that. After my husband died, our family of six 6 dwindled down to just me and my daughter. Her friends ARE her family.”
‘I was on social media, and there it was. Yet ANOTHER story about a mother being shamed for her parenting choices.’: Fed up mom says ‘real friends’ don’t care about these ‘silly arguments’
“All I could think in that moment was… where do you find these people?!”
‘Honey, I loved you first. But, you get the last of me.’: Wife realizes husband has to ‘fight’ for her attention now, admits their life ‘looks much different’ after kids
“I remember you picking me up for our first date. I spent a whole hour getting ready for you. Making sure every hair was in place and my makeup was perfect. When you see me now at the end of the day, the makeup on my face is smeared. My hair is in some rat’s nest. And my outfit, 100% has someone’s bodily fluids smeared somewhere.”
‘Ma’am there’s been reports of gunshots.’ The cops open the closet, we all stop. I see his legs.’: Woman finds true love after abuse, miscarries, welcomes rainbow baby with man who ‘rocked her world’
“I come home terrified, not knowing what to expect. I walk into each room looking for him, nowhere to be found. There are cops at the door. My heart sinks in panic. The cops pull him out, still alive. He stated he was ‘cleaning his gun,’ and he wanted to ‘hide in the closet.’ WHAT?! ‘Ma’am, you need to get away from him. This is not safe.’ Then I met Michael. I forgot what laughter felt like until that moment.”
‘Never in a billion years would I have imagined myself a stay-at-home mom with 3 foster kids.’: Foster mom starts movement to help others understand ‘the effects of childhood trauma on foster and adoptive youth’
“I was working as a marketing consultant. ‘What are you REALLY passionate about?’ I got on a soapbox about trauma and foster youth. She just looked at me and said, ‘That’s your passion girl. That’s your THING. Until you’re all in that, you’re not gonna get where you want to be!’ I quit my job. She was right.”
‘I totally biffed my first kindergarten car line drop off. Everything was going great, initially.’: Dad hilariously recounts running over traffic cone, ‘disaster’ of dad duties
“I was sweet and charming with the designated kid picker-upper teacher. And then… it. hit. the. fan. THUMP. I plowed over the ridiculously large orange traffic cone. The safety patrollers began frantically yelling at me, waving me down. I proceeded to army-crawl the entire length of the car, trying to pry out the stupid cone. I was a disaster.”
‘I was living in a tiny NYC apartment, working long hours.’: Woman quits job at bank to become ‘professional kitten cuddler’
“I wasn’t really aware how big the need for kitten foster homes was when I started. I missed having a pet, but with working long hours, having a tiny apartment, and my love of travel, I figured that adoption was out of the question. I requested kittens from the shelter and it’s been a revolving door ever since.”
‘If you see a child with no socks, for goodness sake Barbs, don’t assume she is neglectful.’: Fed up mom wishes the ‘judgement’ would end
“If she complains she’s exhausted, she doesn’t need a lecture about, ‘How they’re only little once.’ If you see a mother giving her kid some juice, don’t assume she’s beer bonging those kids with red cordial every day. It’s probably a treat. Sit down with your judgement.”
‘My husband doesn’t make tons of money or write poetry. But he says I love you without saying, ‘I love you.’: Woman reminds us to ‘soak in the tiny gestures’ we often miss
“I can count on two hands the number of times I’ve gotten flowers, but I’ve lost count of how many days my husband’s made my coffee before his own. He blushes when I compliment him, grins if I wear a new dress. Even all these years later, I can still turn his head. The gifts he gives me aren’t laced with diamonds, but I feel rich. There’s probably someone doing their best to pour love into your empty cup. And if you blink, you’ll miss it.”
‘You’re worthless. No one has ever wanted you here.’ I was a suicidal, hopeless teenager. ‘We would adopt you!’: 26-year-old adopted after years of child abuse
“My dream of having a forever family was coming to an end. I lost hope that I’d be adopted because I had aged out of the system, and I was fearful I’d have to do life alone. ‘We would adopt you!’ Tears flowed down my face. You’ll never be too old to need parents.”
‘At least he didn’t suffer. You’re young, you’ll get married again.’: Widow recalls ‘useless’ things people told her after loss, no one understands ‘how heavy’ grief is for her
“I watched as another widow buried her husband. My heart ached for her. When I looked at her, I could see a reflection of myself. Unsteady and unsure. Overwhelmed. And so very afraid. It took my breath away. I couldn’t wait for it all to be over. They don’t tell you just how heavy it is.”
‘This is crazy! We don’t have any pink hats left. This has NEVER happened before.’: Mom realizes signs from her dad in heaven were ‘loud’ throughout pregnancy with son
“Each patient gets a blue and a pink hat. She pulled out a blue one to hand to me. ‘It’s strange. There weren’t any pink ones in there. I don’t know if you believe in signs, but there’s no way the baby you’re carrying is a girl. Absolutely no way!’ I’ve only carried 4 girls. To me, there was no way this baby could be a boy. I wanted nothing more than to give my little brother we adopted a brother.”