“My boys are slipping through my fingers every single day. I’ll hold them a little tighter this summer.”
I’m Excited For More Time With My Kids This Summer, But I’m Also Sad
‘Holy heck, where have all these eyelid wrinkles come from? You could fit a day’s worth of groceries in the bags under my eyes!’: Mom of 3 reminds us ‘you don’t do easy’
“As I was washing my hands at the pool restroom, I caught a glimpse of myself.”
My Mom May Have Forgotten My Name, But She Will Always Know My Soul
“She didn’t know our relation, but she knew the sound of my voice. She didn’t recognize my face, but she recognized my soul. She felt safe and loved with me, even if she didn’t know why.”
‘Why do I feel inadequate? I was invited, requested. I’m the birth mom.’: Woman feels trepidation attending birth daughter’s graduation
“I have a choice. I can sit in this room and reflect on every moment I’ve missed, I can choke on despair. The other road is more difficult.”
‘Just 5 months after having my third baby I heard, ‘You need to sit down. I don’t know how to say this. I’m so sorry.’: Mom of 3 beats triple negative breast cancer
“My head was urging me something wasn’t right while my heart was wanting to ignore this all and resume my normal life. ‘How is this happening to me?’ I was only 27, living a healthy lifestyle. I kept repeating, ‘I can’t leave my daughters without a mother.’ I collapsed into my husband’s arms, hysterically crying.”
‘Friendship is coming over with Chick-fil-A to help you pick your life back up.’: Woman grieving miscarriage urges ‘show up for your friends’
“I had a miscarriage and Kailey was the first person I texted. ‘My house is in full depression mode.’ She helped me literally pick my life around me, back up.”
‘Only middle-aged men get that disease.’ I was only 22 and my body was falling apart.’: Woman with Ankylosing Spondylitis becomes wellness life coach
“On days I didn’t work, I spent the whole day on the couch. When I managed to get to the grocery store, I felt like a robot that had powered down. My brain just didn’t work.”
It’s Hard Letting You Go—Please Be Patient With Me
“My once missing front tooth child with dirty knees is now ready to put on a cap and gown and fly. I gaze at you with wonder, as tears form and a smile parts my lips, for I know your future is nothing but bright.”
‘Do you want to be my friend?’ They’d laugh and walk away. There were unwritten rules to friendships.’: Nonbinary person shares autism diagnosis
“I remember thinking, ‘How is it so easy? Do you just go up to someone and say you want to be friends?’ I didn’t understand what I was doing wrong.”
‘My sons see themselves in the pages of books we read. But what about everyone else?’: Mom starts inclusive ‘Kind Kids Book Club’
“My sons are knights on horseback, dinosaur keepers, doctors, pilots, sidekicks, heroes. What about different cultures and countries, strong girls and women, and people with disabilities? The little things matter.”
‘I was out of town when I got the call. ‘Pack your stuff! We have a baby coming! She was induced this morning!’: Single mom adopts son from brave birth mother after emotional journey
“It dawned on me I was sitting in a hospital room waiting on a 21-year-old I’d never met to progress past 3 centimeters. She was alone in her room telling no one, not even family, what she was doing. She was in the midst of a decision that would change at least three lives forever.”
‘I’ve been in pain every day for a year,’ I confessed. This was more than a headache.’: Woman with kidney disease ‘proud to be an advocate’
“When 3 o’clock approached, I’d start bracing myself. ‘No one gets headaches at the same time every day.’ Just because an issue is in your head doesn’t mean it’s not real.”
‘Isabella has potential…but is easily distracted.’ I am not stupid. I am neurodivergent.’: Woman diagnosed with ADHD urges ‘representation matters’
“When I looked in the mirror, I felt broken. Now, all I see is a small angel who needed someone to nurture her mind.”
‘After a life of pretending to be normal, I finally let myself be me.’: Woman diagnosed with autism, ADHD as an adult
“It felt my identity had been built up like a Jenga tower. I started removing bricks and at the same time, I was piling new bricks on top. It led to a complete collapse. I broke.”
‘I was the youngest person in the waiting room with a walker.’: Chronic illness warrior says diagnosis proved ‘how strong I really am’
“I couldn’t lift my leg to get in the shower. I was 29 years old, feeling like a senior citizen. My family had to help me do everything. I was no longer myself.”
‘What are you going to DO about it?’ mom asked. I wasn’t popular. But I DID know how kindness could look.’: Young woman creates ‘Let’s Be Kind Day’ for community
“I decided to have an event where we could all focus on one thing we have in common: the ability to be kind.”
‘Tell her,’ I whispered to my daughter as she pressed her body against mine. The cashier’s face lit up.’: Mom shares beautiful moment daughter learns ‘the power in raising others up’
“With a brilliant smile the cashier said, ‘You made my day.’ As I walked out of the store, holding my daughter’s hand, I stole a glance back at the young woman. Her energy was brighter now than it had been when we first entered her line. In this very moment, my daughter learned the power in raising others up.”
‘No boy? Their daddy is going to have a hard time when they are teens, watch out!’: Mom to four girls powerfully responds to gender remarks from strangers, urges ‘words matter’
“At first it didn’t bother me, the stares or the questions, but then it started to chip away at me. With each comment, my daughters would silently absorb a stranger making me feel less because we were a large family of girls. With each question, my daughters would internalize something they couldn’t yet grasp.”
‘We received the call. ‘You’re the chosen home for a girl and boy ages 1 and 2.’ DHS labeled their case ‘Shocking and Heinous.’: Mom candidly shares emotional sibling adoption journey
“They had been taken away from all they knew, too young to understand what was happening. Too young to ask why. They had no idea who we were and why they were in our home. It didn’t matter what color our skin was, how much money we had, or where we lived – it was about love. It was about fighting to give them a better future.”
‘Mom, what’s wrong with that boy?’ She was looking at MY boy. It broke my heart forever.’: Mom advocates for son with rare genetic abnormality
“The doctor tried to comfort me. ‘I see it very often.’ Then she looked at him. What we found was worse than we could ever imagine.”
‘Your mom has taken her own life.’ The room spun as I screamed. If I had answered her call, could I have stopped her?’: Woman loses mom to suicide, advocates for mental health
“She ran away for the first time just before I turned 9. She drove straight to the airport and headed across the country. ‘I promise I’ll make it home for your birthday.’ She wasn’t there.”
‘He said, ‘You’re in the thick of it right now. One day you will be having coffee at the kitchen table in silence again. There’s an end.’: Mom to toddlers urges ‘I’m going to miss this’
“I looked down at my sweet smiling two-year-old, eyes following a bird in flight above. ‘But I’m going to miss this,’ I answered in a soft, quiet voice. Because gosh, I’m going to miss this.”
‘I looked in the mirror. ‘There’s no way I have anorexia. I’m not thin enough.’: Woman recovers from eating disorders, ‘I finally feel at home in my body
“In fourth grade, I remember looking over at the girl sitting next to me. ‘Why don’t I look like her?’ Her stomach was flat, not round like mine.”
‘They asked, ‘Does she taste salty?’ Panic began to sink in.’: Mom says daughter’s cystic fibrosis is ‘a mama’s worst nightmare’
“If you kissed Alexis on the forehead and licked your lips, it would taste like the ocean. All the blood drained from my face.“
‘What began as a single kitchen turned into 2,100 TONS of food.’: Man serves 15 million meals to homeless community during pandemic
“I had NO idea how I’d do it or where I’d get the money. I just knew I HAD to.”