“I told my son, ‘Your present is in the van, you can go get it.’ He stopped dead in his tracks and exhaled, ‘Mom?’ He took off sprinting into her arms, sobbing.”
‘I just want you to know, we are the family who adopted your son.’ She hadn’t gone a single day without thinking about him. ‘Can you be here in 2 weeks?!’: Adopted boy surprised with biological mom, now part of beautiful open adoption
‘We held hands all the way to the courtroom and tearfully told the judge we wanted a divorce.’: Mom finds new strength in co-parenting and blended family
“Things between the seven of us, however, have followed more the natural progression of your average blended family. Meaning we have been to hell and back. Thrice.”
‘Stop trying so hard with others who don’t make you feel right.’: Woman urges ‘find the friend who will walk with you through every season of life’
“Like when you go through breakups, layoffs, and downgrade your life to an apartment in the basement of a crappy apartment complex. Or when you have surgeries, family health scares, fights, and can barely pay the bills. Like when you say hateful things about people in the heat of the moment.”
‘My name is Steve.’ I left on a high. Six months into our marriage, I stumbled across something on the computer that sent me into a spiral.’: After divorce, couple co-parents as friends
“We were happy, content, and had a healthy thriving marriage. Through all of this, there was a side of Steve and went unfulfilled and wore on our relationship. I stood frozen as Steve’s eyes caught mine. Something had changed. Something was wrong.”
‘She was skinny and riddled with lice and worms. But there was something special about her. I met my soulmate.’: Woman shares unique friendship with chicken, ‘Til we meet again’
“I’ve held her while I’ve cried, and I’ve talked to her about my problems. She started spiraling quickly. She held onto my finger tightly as soft music played. The vet said, ‘There’s a risk, but I have to do this NOW.’”
‘No wonder you don’t have friends.’ Did I do something wrong? I wanted to be someone’s ultimate best friend.’: After friendship struggles, woman realizes ‘I need to be my own best friend first’
“Everyone was fake or using me. I had NO ONE to talk to when I ended things. And who would even want to listen? ‘You’re going to have to just get over it.’ I was the only part of the tribe that wilted.”
‘It was horrendously painful. She would’ve been your friend, too. It’s too much for me to bear alone.’: Struggling through loss of friend, woman realizes ‘she was one of my soulmates’s
“Does it matter whether we called each other soulmates? I was in awe and had dreams about her. Her death was sudden and painful.”
‘My divorce was finalized. And my ex brought me coffee in bed. There are just no words.’: After divorce, mom expresses ‘gratitude’ for her ex
“I stood side by side, laughing and crying through three decades of this life. Of building a home together. Of bringing children into the world and raising them. Of building two businesses. Nobody needs to understand it.”
‘I was driving with my newborn in the back. ‘Can you take in a 12-month-old emergency placement for a few days?’: New mom takes in child from foster care, ‘Bubba is truly one in a million’
“The case worker casually mentioned, ‘You’d be the first considered for his long-term placement.’ I laughed! I assured her we would absolutely NOT be able to do this with a 4 month old in tow. Within days, everything changed. We were absolutely smitten. We were ready to commit to him, for however long he needed us. Bubba is truly one in a million.”
‘I got the call from her sister: ‘Things are bad. Come now if you want to say goodbye.’ I kissed the top of her head and walked toward the door, for the last time.’: Woman loses best friend to 15-year battle with anorexia, ‘She did not choose this’
“I rubbed lotion on her legs and changed her socks, tasks she could no longer do herself. I wanted so badly to find some way to at least make her more comfortable. Afterwards, I let the door close behind me. I was 29 and she 30, but I knew this was the last time I’d see my sweet best friend on this side of Heaven. She did not choose this.”
