“I felt like I did not deserve to have a life nor the career I do to help people if I, myself, am ‘crazy.'”
I am an EMT. We respond to patients who are anxious, suicidal. I often think to myself, ‘What if you were the psych patient?’ Well, I have been.
‘The hospital had never seen anyone like him. They said he wouldn’t walk, he may even have fetal alcohol syndrome, but he needed a home, TODAY.’: Mom adopts special needs son
“Child waiting in hospital for 2.5 months, can’t find placement. Has no femur bones and is medically fragile. We made our decision, but what would our friends and family think of us?”
‘What are you doing, Mommy?’ ‘Oh nothing, Sweetie.’ That was the honest, ridiculous truth.
“I was scrolling through my phone, doing absolutely nothing. Nothing of value. Nothing worthy of taking my attention from him. And him asking that of me —it made me uncomfortable.”
‘After my dad died, I would beg him every night to visit me in my dreams. 6 months to the day after his passing, he finally delivered in a major way.’
“I just kept whispering, ‘Show me your face. Just show me your face. Please Dad, I just want to see your face.’”
‘It just makes me feel good.’: 94-year-old WWII veteran has handed out 6,000 chocolate bars to strangers
“You’d think I’d given them keys to a new car. Honest to God, these people were thunderstruck.”
‘We lost Addy on June 3rd. We found out 3 weeks later my wife was pregnant.’ Father reveals pregnancy news 3 months after losing daughter to aggressive brain tumor
“We didn’t have much time left with her, but our hope was to have her long enough to tell her she was going to be a big sister. It would have lit up her world. That happy news was never delivered.”
To The Woman Wondering Why She Wasn’t Invited
“And then I remember this one beautiful truth: I’m not her anymore.”
‘I saw him picking up playdough. He stopped, smiled and gave me the most beautiful engagement ring I have ever seen. I couldn’t catch my breath.’
“I never wanted to take that ring off. I didn’t want to be a widow. Yet, as I was washing dishes, I heard it hit the sink as it slipped off my hand. I just knew. He was telling me it’s ok to move on.”
‘Where does the time go?’ It’s amazing how parents are so shocked by all the things that have changed in our children.
“Some parents comment on how tall their child has gotten. Or how their daughter’s baby pudge is finally gone. One thing I have learned is how time moves differently when you are raising a family.”
‘Dad is losing mom at a more rapid pace than he wants her to go. She no longer reaches for his hand. She doesn’t lean in to kiss him. He feels so alone.’
“He doesn’t want to leave mom, but he feels like he doesn’t belong there. He hates the feeling of losing his freedom. My heart aches for him.”
‘People assume they have us figured out. The un-ringed left hand, tattoos, a Mama with diverse children, no doubt living off the government.’
“If they only knew.”
‘I don’t use makeup because I’m ashamed of my disease but because I feel entitled to not be defined by it.’
“It’s a way to distract myself and hide the raw emotions of my mental, emotional, and physical struggles. The power of makeup has been a nice reminder that through my suffering, the true me is still in there.”
‘He’s out here everyday in the hot sun trying to earn money, and not beg for it or rob for it.’
“I barely even know him but he has touched and inspired me so much.”
‘I was just raped thousands of miles away from home as a 15-year-old, and I was scared.’
“I kept quiet about the incident out of sheer terror. Raising a girl is so terrifying when you’ve seen the ugliest parts of what being a girl has to offer at times.”
My Child Was Born Still, And I Will Never Be The Same
“You realize how profound and deafening silence can really be.”
‘We are so lucky to have a human like Terry. Terry just came along one day and introduced himself. He said he’d like to brush cats.’
“He also accidentally falls asleep most days. We don’t mind – Cats need this!”
‘But he was fine just last week.’ I know the look on a mother’s face the moment she is told her child has cancer after a ‘routine’ ER visit for a sore throat.
“Is he going to die? How is this happening? I can’t believe this is happening. This. Isn’t. Happening.”
Dear Women: You Are ALLOWED To Depend On A Man
“As if somehow depending on a man is weak or makes you less of a woman…”
Mothers Don’t ‘Let Themselves Go,’ They Grow And Evolve
“You are more than just a pretty face.”
‘I’m sorry I cheated on you in your dreams. I would love to say it won’t happen again, but it’s out of my control.’: Husband shares sweet and funny romantic gesture
“A real man admits when he’s wrong. You have to own up to your mistakes. No excuses.”
‘In this picture, I see a happy pregnant woman. Not a heartbroken mother days away from losing two of her babies.’
“After years of infertility, my husband and I were ecstatic to be expecting triplets. But, the pregnancy bliss was shattered when I went into labor at 22 weeks gestation.”
Dear Postpartum Moms: Your Body Is No Longer The One Your Partner Fell In Love With—It’s Even Better
“I stood in front of him, exhausted and broken, the tears welled in my eyes. Then he said, ‘You’re right. It isn’t the body I fell in love with.'”
‘Have you ever had a child who has anonymous notes in her locker telling her to ‘kill herself”
“How about a child who begs you not to call the school because she is scared of the repercussions?”
‘Something was seriously wrong with our daughter’s eyes. They were mostly pupil!’: After ‘normal, healthy’ pregnancy, mom receives Axenfeld-Rieger diagnosis
“Every time we’re out and a stranger compliments how big and beautiful her eyes are, I have a mental debate on whether or not I should mention her defect. I decide no, smile and say thank you. I’m always left with a weird feeling. I just pray she’ll always know how beautiful she is.”
‘He told us, ‘I’m afraid it’s your only chance.’ Even though I was nearing my mid 30’s, I didn’t think twice about my age.’
“I remember thinking, ‘This is it. This is our only hope.'”