Surprise!
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‘Help me!’ The color drained from my face. I awoke to cramping and blood dripping on the bathroom floor.’: LGBT couple navigate homophobia, reciprocal IVF journey, ‘our girls will be filled with lots of love’
“Our babies! Were they gone? We drove the 3 hours to the IVF clinic. The doctor informed us, ‘One baby is still there, and next to the baby is a blood clot 4 times its size.’ I remember my eyes filling with tears. I began crying on my wife’s shoulder. ‘What you two are doing isn’t right.’ No one ever tells you how hard it will be to have kids when you’re gay.”
‘That is a mean mug.’ I saw my little girl for the first time. She was NOT impressed.’: Parents surprised by daughter’s hilariously angry face after birth
“The next day, after a well deserved rest, the family appeared to meet our baby girl. With them taking photos and taking turns holding ‘the potato,’ we really starting to notice her face. She was NOT happy with being evicted. I told my husband as he was holding Luna, ‘check out that face.’ She had his stupid mean mug face, but unlike him, she made it look good.”
‘I buy my own gifts. ‘That’s a really greedy, narcissistical thing to do.’ Maybe so, but we needed a solution.’: Wife buys her own holiday presents because husband ‘sucks’ at gift-giving
“I’m really good at gift buying. But my husband sucks at it. For years it used to make me SO mad he couldn’t get it together to surprise me with a thoughtful gift. I’d get so offended that all the hints I dropped never manifested into an idea. Then I learned of the five love languages, and it finally made sense. Now, I do the socially unacceptable thing. ‘That’s really conceited,’ I’m told. Well, you have to pick your battles in marriage, and this is one I fought for WAY too long.”
‘If you don’t get help, I’m moving out.’ I had a seizure. My mouth felt wired shut. I couldn’t speak.’: Young woman suffers alcohol-induced seizure, finally gets sober, ‘I can look people in the eyes again’
“I was terrified of being locked away if I was honest. When I turned 27, I was convinced that would be the year my body wouldn’t be able to handle the alcohol I was consuming. I became okay with dying. Then, one morning, drinking before work, I had a seizure. I didn’t drop to the ground or convulse. Instead, my hands cramped up. I couldn’t speak. I went to the hospital, but didn’t dare tell doctors.”
‘Do you know her?’ He looks caught off guard. ‘No.’ He didn’t say a word to anyone.’: Mom thanks ‘quiet’ high school senior with ‘giant heart’ after humble act of kindness at school’s Secret Santa
“He’s like a deer in headlights. He shrugged, and opened his wallet. He didn’t say a word to anyone about what he was doing, just quietly helping out child after child with their Christmas lists for their families. The kids didn’t even know.”
‘Within five years’ time I lost my mom to cancer, got married, lost two grandparents, had a son, got divorced and went broke.’: Woman’s journey re-defining definition of success
“There was never a break. Being a single mom was time-consuming as is, add in juggling three small businesses and attempting to figure out how to heal in the midst of it all. Comparison knocked on my door frequently in the beginning.”
‘You’re my best friend!’ She cupped my face with her hands, and I was hooked.’: Single foster mom adopts daughter after ‘bump in the road’ delays finalization, ‘she is safe, she is loved, she is home’
“‘Would you be interested in adopting your foster daughter?’ For me, it wasn’t a question. The first day she walked into our house, she was home. Every day they would ask, ‘Is today our adoption day?’ But we then hit a bump in the road. I tried to keep my emotions in check. I can only describe Katherine’s journey as a roller coaster. But she is safe, she is loved, and she is home.”
‘When he hit me the first time, I fought back like an animal. Until I had to decide if I wanted to be the woman who fought back or the woman who lived.’: Woman details journey through physical, emotional abuse, ‘I have an incredible life now’
“He showed up at my house. I was convinced I was going to die. I was obsessively checking my yard each morning for rat poison in case the dogs went out. I was afraid. Afraid I’d have to fight him off. I just wanted to be strong enough to survive. When I realized I could deadlift his body weight, I felt less afraid.”
‘You get the first puff.’ 3 men stood there, staring at me. I smoked something I hadn’t paid for, and now payment was due.’: Woman overcomes ‘nightmare’ crack cocaine addiction, ‘We can overcome the most tragic lives’
“Within weeks, my antique jewelry was gone. The horror was so awful, the things that went on. I remember begging her not to make me go into the room with them. She said, ‘It’s about to get real,’ and then she was gone. I found a single, unused stamp. I used an old envelope from an overdue bill and a scrap of paper to write the only family who would still listen. They lived 3,000 miles away. I wrote 5 words: ‘GET ME OUT OF HERE.’ That was 13 years ago.”
‘You’re my mom,’ he said. WHAT? I gave birth to a GIRL. Second of all, my daughter died at birth. ‘Could it be?!’: Mom reunites with son 29 years after being told he ‘died at birth’
“As soon as I gave birth, my mother told the doctor, ‘Get the baby out of here! We’re not keeping it.’ That crushed my soul. I was 16 and never allowed to see my daughter. I overheard the nurse say ‘severe infection.’ I cried even more. ‘She didn’t make it.’ 29 years later, after the birth and death of my daughter, I received an email on Ancestry.com. Deep in my heart, I knew. My mind was racing.”
