“I warned him, ‘Something horrible is going to happen.’ He wrote down my dream in his journal and carried it in his backpack. I received his call later. ‘Everything you said was true!'”
‘I had a vivid dream someone broke into my house. At 5 a.m. the next morning, I awoke to a man crouched on the side of my bed with a knife in hand. My gift began at an early age.’
‘Doctors told me I was ‘lying.’ I hadn’t started my period. Before I took the birth control, I took a pregnancy test. It was POSITIVE!? We bought 5 more tests. All of them were positive!’
“I was having vivid, strange dreams. A neighbor said, ‘Are you pregnant?’ I said ‘no’ and cried. A switch flipped in me. I became crazy emotional. I was having day dreams about drilling a hole in my head or cutting it off. I went to doctor after doctor. They all said that it was because of my weight.”
‘He carried her! I noticed an elderly lady having a rough time. I pointed her out to my husband. She did not have the strength to come up the stairs.’
“Y’all I have to brag on my husband big time! He made me soo proud.”
‘I remember screaming, ‘What part of no don’t you understand!’ He looked at me shocked. ‘She’s harmless,’ he said. I had no idea what he had. I’d never seen it before.’: Woman overcomes addiction, twins motivate her to stay clean
“I didn’t kiss my kids goodbye. I didn’t tell anyone. I left without a second thought. I don’t know how many times they asked, ‘When is mommy coming home?’ A few months later, I found out I was pregnant with twins.”
‘There’s only one of me!,’ you scream. It’s okay to lose it. It’s okay to scream into a pillow. It doesn’t mean you’ve lost. Or you’ve failed. You feel like a bad mother.’
“The day you want them to nap, is the day they’ll be jump on couches. The day you’re going to clean is the day they’re going to throw toys, ask for millions of snacks and draw on walls. The day you have an appointment is the day they sleep in.”
‘My 18-year-old sister had JUST announced she was pregnant. My parents were going to DIE. I was too.’: Young woman ‘terrified’ to tell parents of unexpected pregnancy
“We went to the store to get the morning after pill. As we stood in line, pregnancy tests caught my eye. Something kept forcing me to look at them. The longer we stood there, the louder this voice in my head screamed to buy one. I told Tim, ‘Let’s buy a pregnancy test instead.'”
‘Oh no, Mommy, the feet are coming out first.’ We watched one birth, then another and another.’: Adorable little girl enthusiastically ‘prepares’ for brother’s home birth
“‘Mommy? If you don’t have a midwife… I can help you with the birth.’ I wanted her to be prepared for the home birth of her little brother, so I showed her a birth video. ‘Can we watch another one?’ She was fascinated.”
‘You can’t do it, don’t touch him!,’ she’d scream at me. He was alive. I wanted to meet him. I blacked out after. I died and woke up in the ICU.’
“It was not over yet. This time it was different. This time CPS came to visit me. She told me I was mentally unstable, and there was an open investigation. My whole world flipped upside down. I begged to not let this happen.”
‘I felt like I was the only person I knew who was experiencing anxiety. So, why is it something no one wants to talk about?’
I stopped saying, ‘I’ll take care of myself when’ and started saying, ‘I’m taking care of myself because I deserve all of the love for myself that I share with others.’
‘My appendix ruptured while pregnant. ‘She is perfectly healthy,’ the doctor reassured. He was so incredibly wrong.’: Mom births baby with craniosynostosis, ‘she is perfectly imperfect’
“The ultrasound photos showed a perfectly formed body, 10 beautiful fingers and toes. Once born, she cried out one time and then fell silent and blue. Her nasal passages were blocked by bone and my placenta was torn to shreds. Avery’s condition was so much more complicated than any of the photos led us to believe.”
‘I love you to the moon. See you tomorrow.’ But tomorrow never came. ‘Paula, he was in an accident. He’s dead.’: Woman loses husband in motorcycle accident
“It was one of Noel’s friends. The friend who is supposed to call if anything bad were to happen. I answered with a laugh. ‘Hi, what happened now?’ He was a great rider and it seemed impossible that one day he was here and the next he was gone.”
I Got Divorced After 22 Years Of Marriage, Then I Stepped Foot In Kmart And Found My Soulmate
“He said, ‘I’d ask you out if you weren’t wearing that wedding ring.’ Newly single, it was the first day of the rest of my life. I had to act swiftly.”
‘It’s funny how a 2-sentence email can change your life forever. ‘I need to speak with you about a unique situation. Please give me a call.’: Couple adopt triplets born at 30 weeks
“My husband and I had been married for over 10 years and due to a cancer diagnosis and treatment shortly after college, we were unable to conceive children of our own.”
‘Nervously, we asked what was happening. ‘Are you sitting down? The birth mother is having twins.’ Our tears of joy were replaced with complete shock.’: Gay dads welcome ‘beautiful and healthy twins’ after adoption journey
“I instantly begin crying. ‘Can someone please get the other dad?!’ A nurse says, ‘Sure, where is he?’ ‘Waiting in the delivery room.’ Nick rushed into the recovery unit with the most happy, surprised, and confused look. ‘They are BOTH here?'”
‘He asked bluntly: ‘Am I allowed to hug you?’ I don’t love hugs. I especially don’t like men initiating physical contact. ‘Come on, it’s just a hug.’
“I cuddled up with my ferocious 5-year-old in bed. She said, ‘keep your hands to yourself.’ Then she smiled at me, and fell asleep. God, I hope for her.”
‘To the woman at the pharmacist. Not the one who stared at me like I was a disgusting pile of filth. The other woman, with kindness in her eyes. You didn’t know it, but you saved me.’
“I was ready to burst into tears. I was trying to talk to him, because being on your last week of pills is like standing on the edge of a cliff. Everyone heard me, even the pharmacist could hear the panic and my voice quivering.”
‘I was the gift that was traded in exchange. What killed me the most, was pulling my Sunday dress back down and walking out as if nothing had happened. I was 5 years old.’
“I finally ended my silence and told my dad. His response was, ‘I had a feeling that was what was happening.’”
‘One boy said, ‘Why is she even in here? She’s f—king crippled!’ I ignored it, but it would get worse. My mom and I got into a huge argument. She stopped, and looked at me in shock.’
“One day someone came to talk to me at lunch. I thought, ‘Finally someone wants to be my friend!’ Instead, they cut me off by saying, ‘If I was you I would kill myself because I couldn’t live like that.'”
‘I want to surprise him. To make it official.’: Boy eagerly asks Stepdad to adopt him forever
“My high school sweetheart was shot and killed at a party. I was left a single mom, lost without my best friend. This man stepped up and took care of this amazing little boy when his daddy was taken from this world. Connor asked if he could ask Jonathan to adopt him.”
‘Weeks before boot camp he said, ‘What if we get married?!’ I knew the risks. The statistics were against us.’: Military spouse candidly recounts ‘navigating the chaos’ of young marriage, pregnancy
“When I got pregnant, we had a fairy tale image of what our little life would look like. We went from the comforts of our family homes to living off ramen. From regular date nights and weekend outings to sleeping in shifts. We barely spoke. Our connection and intimacy had gone numb.”
‘I had to leave my 5-month pregnant wife behind. I was completely alone. ‘Am I cut out to be a dad?’ I showered and climbed into bed. Then it began. ‘THUMP, THUMP.’
“‘Does she even miss me? Is my wife going to love me after this long separation? Would I be able to provide for my family?’ My heart started beating louder. LOUDER. I started sweating profusely. It was 4 a.m. I began to panic.”
You know the teacher who made flashcards for every kid in the classroom? Who writes encouraging notes, and notices the kids being left out? Tell them.’
“You know the waiter who just did a really great job? The one who worked their tail off to refill your water glass over and over, remembered your complicated order perfectly, and smiled when your kids were acting like fools? Don’t assume they know they are doing a good job. Tell them.”
‘My husband and I decided during his deployment we would try to get pregnant as soon as he got home. I got pregnant the first try. But, I wasn’t supposed to mother this baby.’
“It was hell. My doctor removed it and sent me on my way. And then I was alone.”
‘I knew he had Down syndrome. I asked ‘Why us?’ His eyes were almond-shaped, his ears were tiny and low-set, and he had a sandal-toe gap.’
“Knowing what I know now, I believe he was trying to prepare me for what was to come.”
‘If I refused, I’d get in trouble. I had to keep my head down, my mouth shut. I couldn’t ‘ruin’ her image of the perfect family.’: Sexual assault survivor breaks silence after 2 decades
“At first, Mickey’s grooming was very subtle. I was starved for affection. He used that to introduce adult discussions and behaviors. I saw glimpses of silent threats. He’d sit in the dark until I got home, silently staring, so I knew he was watching. He’d threaten to kick me out, send me away to the state. All in the name of control.”