“If one sees another person in a difficult situation, it is our job to help them out.”
‘Can I give you these shoes?’: Rabbi shares powerful act of kindness for barefoot subway passenger
‘She’s not a tally on the task list. She’s who I’m doing it for.’: Mom shares turning mundane tasks into magical moments for kids
“It doesn’t have to be a chore. The cleaning, the mundane daily master list… that’s the experience.”
‘Yes, I’m so lucky. I only had to sacrifice my hormones, my social life, and mental wellbeing. But hey, at least I’m lean!’: Woman shares anorexia recovery, road to healthy pregnancy
“It didn’t hit me when my heart rate was at 40 bpm and the doctor called cardiology in a panic. Or when I was freezing cold in the summer heat. Or when I woke up at 3 a.m. every morning, dripping in sweat. I finally realized something was wrong when I stopped loving my dog.”
Parenting Feels Like An Open Invitation For Criticism
“When I became a mom, I was shocked by the amount of unsolicited advice I received. The mommy shaming train took off the second I got pregnant.”
‘I spent all day making this happen for him. But instead of excitement and joy, there was panic, anger, regret, sorrow, and rejection.’: Mom works through the trauma of adoption
“I knew that moving his bedroom was a risk to my ‘parent of the year’ title, but I needed to test the waters of the ‘handling change’ part of his brain.”
‘Make no mistake, we didn’t adopt because it’s hard or good. We chose to adopt because it matters.’: Mom emphasizes both struggle and beauty of adoption
“We had so many misassumptions of ‘what we wanted’ going into the process. We were nervous, excited, and completely clueless.”
‘We’re creating our own family by the heart.’: Woman adopts family friend from broken home, former foster daughter as adults
“I’ve looked at others’ family relationships and wondered, ‘What is that like?’ When Connie expressed how she knew what it was like to have a mother now, it touched me deeply. We’re creating our own family by the heart.”
‘She said no one would ever hire me again. I quit college and gave up on my dreams.’: Woman with amniotic band syndrome shares story, ‘I wouldn’t change anything’
“I thought my family and friends would be better off without me. Living with scars and all of the pain, insecurities, and fears they caused felt too hard. I felt like a burden, without purpose or worth.”
‘I went to uncurl the fingers on her left hand and realized she had none. I couldn’t sleep not knowing what this meant for her.’: Mom shares journey learning about daughter’s limb difference
“‘At least you know she’ll be right-handed!’ the nurse joked. There was a wave of grief when I realized someone may pull back their outstretched hand when her nubbins reached for it. Education is the key out of the shadows.”
‘How can I feel so much loss at a time I am the most grateful?’: Postpartum mom shares ‘paradoxical emotions’ after giving birth to second child
“Nothing prepares you for how hard postpartum hits. With the colossal love for this new life comes grief our world has changed.”
‘I QUIT. I quit being a mother, a partner, a friend – I quit being all of it.’: Woman encourages taking breaks for mental health, ‘We can get through today and start anew tomorrow’
“In this freaking season of life and pandemic, so many of us are done, exhausted, depleted, suffocating, over it. I don’t think faking it ‘til we make it is going to get us through this.”
‘When I met her parents, it was the morning after my senior prom. We could barely see through our tears.’: Birth mom expresses the grief behind adoption
“Grief comes from love. If we never had to love, we wouldn’t miss it. Celebrate the awesome beauty, but don’t diminish the pain.”
‘Today is a bad day, and that’s okay. The bad days aren’t every day.’: Mom shares encouraging message for overwhelmed parents
“Some days, I feel so much pressure. It’s almost suffocating. So when I have a bad day like today, please don’t ask me if I’m fine. I’m not fine today. But I know I will be tomorrow.”
‘You won’t love your ballerinas or your baby dolls forever. Each day you’ll grow bigger, smarter, more independent.’: Mom cherishes little moments with her daughter while she can
“I’ll do my best to relax, and appreciate who you are in this moment. And I’ll try not to worry about everything that’s calling me away from you. Because tomorrow you’ll be bigger, and I don’t want to miss today.”
‘I shook her hand and—BAM—lightning! I literally felt a shock when our hands met. I couldn’t stop thinking about her.’: Woman comes out later in life, urges ‘it’s never too late’
“We texted every day. I’d never met someone I clicked with as much. A part of me knew we would get married someday. I felt fully known and seen by her.”
‘Not all heroes wear capes.’: Uber driver goes above and beyond to help distraught teen passenger during 1-95 Virginia disaster
“I’m happy it was me that was her driver. Any other driver, I’m not sure what would have happened.”
‘I realized I couldn’t remember the last time I had used the bathroom. The more I tried to go, the more pain I was in.’: Lupus warrior shares journey with multiple chronic illnesses
“I needed my boys to know mommy was okay, and we would get back to normal. But nothing was normal. I still had no feeling in my bladder. I thought my life was over, but I was so wrong.”
‘My father looked right at me and said, ‘I can’t do this.’ I spent my childhood bouncing around from home to home.’: Former foster youth urges ‘you are enough’
“All those moments feeling alone, lost, and unloved helped me become the strong and resilient woman I am.”
The Biggest Parenting Lesson: You Are Not (Always) In Control
“Every day, I must put forth a certain level of trust things will be okay. I can’t be there for every fall. I can’t self-diagnose her every ailment on Web MD. And I certainly can’t spend my days asking myself, ‘what if.'”
‘Hug the ones you love. Relish today.’: 15-year-old hockey player dies after neck lands on teammate’s ice skate blade
“Routine play turned tragic accident.”
‘Are you willing to take in a 17-year-old boy?’ He was months from aging out of the system, from being thrown into the real world with no home.’: Foster dad vows to give teen ‘the life he deserves’
“When he arrived, he did everything in his power to try and sway my decision on taking him in. He was angry, because for the 7th time, he would be meeting a new family. He told me many stories to try and scare me away, but no matter what he would say to me, I sat and listened.”
Adorable Experiment Shows Even Blindfolded Kids Always Know Their Mom
The moms in waiting couldn’t help but tear up.
‘The mole on the back of your neck is possibly cancerous. Please go see a doctor!’: Hockey fan who saved stranger’s life mid-game receives 10k for medical school expenses
“She’s a hero.”
‘I know what society says about dads, and they deserve way more recognition. They do hard stuff too.’: Wife challenges stereotype, crediting dads for their effort
“I’ve seen all the memes and videos. I’ve heard all the jokes. But sometimes those stereotypes get it wrong.”
‘It’s confusing, this motherhood business. But it’s beautiful.’: Woman shares changes, new ‘states of being’ after becoming a mother
“To live in a state of tension between opposite feelings and states of being. To be human when little people are expecting you to be superhuman. A business that has made me the strange being I am today.”