“A lady behind me in line was excited to see her. After a few head pets, the lady told her to ‘have a good day.’ I almost lost it. I almost fell to the floor. The cashier went to hand me my receipt and I missed. The tears filled my eyes. I couldn’t grab a receipt. I couldn’t speak.”
‘She laid there. I told her one last time, ‘I love you so much.’ I filled my pockets with tissues and walked out.’: Man fills dog’s last day with favorite activities, encourages others to cherish every moment
‘I turned the key, and he clapped. Yep, CLAPPED, yelling out a ‘yeehaw!’ I had a hard time focusing over his hootin’ and hollerin’. He also lived in an RV park. Yippee ki yay.’
“This guy LOVED his truck. He insisted I drive the dang thing. Now, look, I am 5-feet-tall and the door to this monster was 6 feet in the air. But, I’m a sport. I threw my long, blonde hair into a ponytail, tossed my Dolce Gabbana purse onto the seat, steadied my stiletto on the step, and yanked myself in like I was getting on a horse. I prayed we weren’t about to reenact a scene from ‘Deliverance.’”
‘From the master bathroom, I bellowed, ‘I NEED LOVE!’ This is my passive-aggressive way to gain his attention. My husband drops his phone as if it suddenly caught fire, and is at my side in a flash.’
“My husband, who’d been taking in my every word, looks at me, solemnly. ‘Wow,’ is all he can formulate. ‘That seems like a lot.’ I sincerely thought motherhood would look different.”
‘I heard you tell your kids you already ‘can’t wait until school starts’ because they’re driving you insane. Your face and tone were NOT joking.’
“To the annoyed mom at the store, I wasn’t eavesdropping. It can be so frustrating. I get it. But, I WISH I was doing that.”
‘We thought we had reached an agreement. My daughter would live with her dad. But I had no idea how hard they would make it.’: Mom details custody battle and parental alienation, ‘I choose to make the best of it’
“I felt strongly prompted to let her live with her dad. At first I ignored it. That was the worst thing I could ever imagine, and I would NEVER let it happen. Now she’s gone.”
The Moment I Realized We Shouldn’t Compare Ourselves To Moms On Social Media
“What we see on Social Media isn’t always real. Sometimes and often it’s a complete set-up.”
‘I felt a POP down you know where. ‘No! This can’t be!’ Tears streaming, I peeked between my legs. ‘What do we do now?’ I wanted a ‘perfect’ pregnancy. I now know I was totally oblivious.’
“We hadn’t prepared for this scenario. ‘NO!’ I cried. ‘I don’t want a c-section! Please! I don’t want a c-section!’ Crazy-eyed, I waddled as gushes of warm liquid ran down my legs. I completely lost it!”
‘Tell the truth. When you were dating your wife, and she got so comfortable that she started to pack on the pounds, you noticed.’
“You noticed when she started to lose her desire for hanky panky. We don’t need you to lie or pretend that our current reality is different than it is. We just want to be noticed.”
‘My mother-in-law wore a wedding dress to MY wedding. I didn’t even think to ask what she planned to wear.’: Woman shares touching backstory behind mother’s ‘frugal’ wedding attire
“There are a million and one things that can go wrong on your wedding day. Then, she walked in. I see it. My sister kept looking at me, then my mother-in-law, then the cop the venue made us hire. She pulled me aside, hoping I didn’t go for his taser.”
‘After my daughter’s birthday, I realized he’d been lying to me our entire relationship. I watched as the life I expected crumbled away. We longer felt like lovers. We felt like roommates.’
“Shortly after, we found out we were expecting. I was a wreck. I knew no part of me wanted that. I was a child myself, terrified of changing my life. I hadn’t realized he’d been seeking satisfaction from other women. I became uncomfortable breathing the same air as him.”
‘This is my baby now. ‘Mountain View Crematory 31934,’ it reads. It’s been 15 months since I held him as a body, and not as ashes in a bag.’: Mom emotionally explains life after losing baby son suddenly
“‘I had a brother,’ they’ll say. Perhaps he’ll tell people about that morning, watching us screaming over his brother’s body. Or maybe he’ll hold that in his memories quietly, to spare others that sadness.”
‘I choked out, ‘So, their dad and I are no longer living together.’ 8 months into fostering two of the girls, and 2 months after saying ‘yes!’ to adopting, my children’s father and I separated.’
“We had 5 kids and had just celebrated 6 years of marriage. Our entire life crashed, the walls built with facades and fantasies. I was secretly dying inside. It was silent, painful. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be taking family photos without a husband, my children’s father.”
‘Something had changed. He’d never be the same again. I came undone. I was losing my husband.’: Mom loses husband to cancer shortly after giving birth
“‘Why? Why now?’ Alex had just become a dad. I couldn’t imagine my life without Alex. I didn’t know how I would raise our son alone and it killed me to think Ezra would never fully know his dad. I was watching my husband slowly die of cancer.”
‘I didn’t tell her. I never told her. What if she didn’t know how much I loved her?’: Woman loses best friend in tragic car accident
“I was 12 when I met the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. I noticed a tall, skinny, blue eyed girl with curly blonde hair and a smile that could light up the world. It was 10:45 p.m. when I heard the words ‘Ashley’s gone. She’s dead.’ Ashley was so skinny, she flew out of her seatbelt and was thrown into the back seat of her car.”
‘Her pupils became dilated and dark. She started wetting the bed, baby talking. My once happy daughter became angry and rude.’: Girl diagnosed with PANDAS after months of turmoil, ‘No one knows your child better than you do’
“Her eyes turned dead and hateful, and she began laughing at things that weren’t funny. If she was forced to make a decision as simple as what shirt to wear, she would rage and scream, ‘I DON’T KNOW!!!’ I had to explain to her 5-year-old sister why her sibling didn’t want to play with her anymore. ‘She’s very sick right now.’ It started as the flu, but my instincts knew better.”
‘No eyebrows and eyelashes,’ she said. I hadn’t noticed his lack of hair. She ran her hand across his sweet face. There was a concern.’: Mom learns of son’s rare CFC syndrome disorder, but keeps ‘pushing forward’
“Our midwife came in and hugged me. ‘How are y’all doing?,’ she asked. It was all too much. What did she mean by ‘abnormalities?’ I stopped her and asked. That’s when the rest of the conversation disappeared from my memory. I would NEVER let this define Nolan.”
‘But she is here Mommy,’ my 4-year-old replied. Puzzled and speechless, I just looked at her little face. ‘Meema is here,’ she stated. My daughter taught me a valuable lesson.’
“Out of the blue, one early morning, my daughter asked me, ‘Do you miss Meema?’ Just hearing her name is enough to stop me in my tracks. ‘Of course, I miss her,’ I replied. ‘What do you miss?’ She asked. ‘I miss her here.’ I said. My heart felt heavy.”
‘My phone rings. ‘I don’t have time for this. I need to get my kids.’ Then my mouth dropped. We were greeted by 2 officers as we drove down the long gravel driveway.’
“I had already popped a bunch of pills and drank a bunch of Vodka. ‘I want to see him!’ I screamed, shaking profusely. My mom said, ‘No, you don’t. He shot and killed himself with a 12-gauge shotgun in his mouth.’ I look at my phone. It reads, ‘I love you.’ 6:24 pm.”
‘Your grandson looked around the table and announced he was going to take over your job. ‘What do you mean?’ I asked him. He smirked. You’d be so proud.’
“I catch a glimpse of you when I look at myself in the mirror. It takes my breath away at first. You died six weeks too soon.”
‘My low was mommy fighting at me. She YELLED.’ He said in a firm and frustrated voice. My husband looked at me. I was mortified. I felt ashamed.’
“We were sitting around the dinner table sharing our ‘highs and lows’ of the day. Everyone was laughing. It felt like such a good meal conversation. It was Sawyer’s turn to share his high and low. ‘Alright buddy, you’re up.’ It got quiet.”
‘We found McKenzie in the bathroom. She hung herself. Get here now!’ It was too late.’: 9-year-old girl commits suicide after relentless bullying, family’s grief inspires ‘anti-bullying’ foundation
“They kept calling her ‘ugly and black’. At first, she wasn’t afraid. But it got to the point where too many were joining in and it became a daily occurrence. During the drive, I prayed for a miracle as my son slept behind me. I just wanted to see her. To make sure she would be okay. But I’d never get to see her alive again. Now the only way I can ever be with her again is at a grave site. McKenzie Adams. I will not let here name die.”
‘They would only keep me if I agreed to do electroconvulsive therapy. People warned me. I was told I shouldn’t do it. I felt I had no other option. To me, it was this or death.’
“I remember being rolled into an operation room while lying in a hospital bed. I looked up at the ceiling and prayed this would work. I was nervous. Quickly, the anesthesia knocked me out. I received over 10 treatments. My body ached, but not as much as my soul. I longed for peace.”
‘An overwhelming feeling came over me. I put my car in park and ran upstairs. After 20 seconds, a faint line appeared. Suddenly, I am bawling. I told myself to calm down.’
“The timer went off. I patted my belly. ‘You did it! Well done!’ It was time to take the first step in doing what I’d been thinking about for quite some time. When the nurse walked in with those papers, I went straight to the bathroom and sobbed. I walked toward the dreaded exit. I had to say goodbye.”
‘When we lost her, we lost our way completely. The day she died, my heart didn’t break – it disintegrated.’: Baby dies of SIDS at daycare; family heals by choosing to ‘make the world a kinder, more loving place in her name’
“Our family of 4 was complete the day Scarlett came into the world. When we lost her, we lost our way. Our bouncing, baby girl died of SIDS at daycare just 2 weeks after I went back to work. The hospital staff literally held me up as I watched them work on her tiny, lifeless body. Deep into my grief, I had a realization; Scarlett would never want this for me. Her time on Earth was short, but her impact is undeniable.”
‘I asked my wife if I was her best friend. She gave me a twisted, ‘I’m confused by your question’ face and said, ‘Well… yeah.’
“‘Why do you ask?’ she said. I didn’t know exactly how to respond.”