“I struggled with the idea I scheduled his surgery in the middle of baseball season, and he may never be able to play baseball again. I felt like I was taking the joy from my son.”
‘How could this active, healthy boy need surgery? How could I care for him after major surgery of my own?’: Mom shares ‘blessings’ after kidney donation, son’s open-heart surgery
‘WHAT the heck?’ The test came back positive. He had the full-mutation, and I was the carrier.’: Special needs mom shares son’s journey to thriving with Fragile X Syndrome
“Did I bring this on myself? Did I drink that glass of wine too soon? Was it because that damn delivery doctor left him in the birth canal too long? I started blaming myself.”
‘His smile faded. My heart hurt watching him sit there. But then, it happened. ‘Man, you destroyed that ball!’: Mom shares lesson learned from baseball player son
“When we got the email he had been selected, he beamed with pride. But excitement turned into anxiety quickly for me. ‘I’m working on my stance.’ The lesson was not for him, it was for me.”
‘My mom found my diary. She broke down crying, ‘I think we have a gay daughter. Where did I go wrong?’: LGBT woman overcomes childhood trauma to advocate for others
“My dad started throwing out all my ‘boy clothes’ and told me to leave. He called me weird, nasty, stupid…every name in the book. ‘Where am I going to live? Who is going to love me?’ In a cloud of depression, I was ready to give up on life.”
‘Does it not bother you that you aren’t getting to play?’ Her response rocked my world: ‘I know what my role is on the team, and I’m okay with that.’: Mom learns powerful lesson about sports from daughter, ‘Not everyone can be the star athlete’
“I had never had a kid be a benchwarmer before. I didn’t know how to be the parent of a kid who didn’t play. I didn’t know how to get excited for the team when my kid wasn’t on the floor. It was a new role for me, and I didn’t like it. What really bothered me most was that it seemed to NOT bother her. After 2 weeks into the season, I couldn’t bite my tongue any longer.”
‘My son whined, ‘No buzzer, I don’t like buzzer.’ He was inconsolably shaking in fear. We tried again to calm him. It was too late.’: Mother to son with autism addresses mom shamers in emotional letter
“‘Finally’ you said under your breath as I said ‘excuse me’ so we could exit the bleachers. You didn’t know my 4-year-old son has autism. You didn’t know about all of the ear infections and hearing loss. You weren’t there the day we discovered his new sensitivity to loud noises. I’ll never forget the way you made my family feel. I will make sure no one ever feels like that.”
‘To the family of the other 7 passengers: Every time I think of Kobe and Gigi, I think of your loved ones, too.’: Woman shares letter to other passengers in helicopter crash with Kobe Bryant
“I cannot imagine what was said amongst the 9 of them when they realized their fate. The fear in their eyes, the white on their knuckles. But what I do know is when that helicopter went down on Sunday morning, NINE people walked into Heaven together. Not two.”
‘I love watching you play.’ This is the ONLY thing a child needs to hear from a parent after a game.’: Sports mom says children need to know their worth ‘isn’t measured by wins or losses’
“Parents. Stop the madness. The lectures. The play-by-plays. The should’ve, could’ve. Look around and you’ll see on every court, field, ball park…all the talk. How would it feel for someone to criticize your every word or move, in your ear? Even when they didn’t score, even when they didn’t win, even if they turned over the ball, flubbed up, or missed the catch, our kids need to be praised for their effort.”
‘Oh, God. This has to be a dream. Not MY Mick.’ They were only going to the race track. A 3-hour drive from home. Their horse was racing, and then they were supposed to come back.’
“Then it dawned on me. Is this what Mick meant when he said to me, ‘Under no circumstances can I change my plans on Saturday and take Chloe to basketball.’ I can’t believe I never questioned him on that; it was very unusual for him not to go and watch her play.”
‘My initial reaction was to text the teacher and ask her if she could hold one for him. He helped pick them out, so he deserves to get the one he wants, right? But then the other half of me thought, ‘No, you’d better not.’: Mom grapples with giving son special treatment
“And then it dawned on me: This. This is why moms are so exhausted.”
