“He was always supposed to be older than me, yet now he is suspended forever in time at 45. I don’t want to be older than him. It’s not the way it’s supposed to be.”
‘I am older than he was when he died, and there is nothing more unnatural than that.’: Widow powerfully reminisces on birthdays, ‘This is not the way it’s supposed to be’
‘You get the invite. You roll your eyes, instantly scoff. ‘She won’t even remember this or know what’s going on!’: Mom powerfully explains why first birthdays are ‘not just about the baby’
“First birthdays are not just about the baby. There, I said it. When a mother sends you an invitation, she assumes you’re an ally.”
‘Every half-birthday, my grandma would take me to breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Every year, she texted me to make me feel special.’: Christmas Eve baby cherishes grandma’s kindness during forgotten birthday
“As a Christmas Eve baby, I never got parties with friends. My birthday presents doubled as Christmas presents. People wrapped my gifts in Christmas wrapping paper, birthday cakes had Santa on them. Living in the shadow of Kris Kringle, my grandma wanted to do something to make me feel special.”
‘He met me at the door. ‘Close your eyes.’ I could tell by the eagerness in his voice, he had something delightful to show me.’: Widow recalls late husband’s emotional birthday for daughter
“He led me into the living room. I found myself dripping in anticipation. He took my hand and shuffled me to the center of the room. ‘Okay, open!’ he exclaimed. I didn’t realize I was crying until I reached up to wipe my face.”
‘Then cancer struck. It’s hard to be single in a sea of married people. Friends dragged me to the next step.’: Widow is grateful for ‘friend family’ who carry her through life
“They stand by me through the hardest times of my life. They have most recently watched me lose myself in someone who was not worthy of my time. They include us in family gatherings, and their husbands step up when my daughter needs a father figure in her life.”
‘No one has tried to fill your role. No one can love us the way you did. You were the GOAT. Not a day goes by we don’t celebrate you.’: Man pens letter to late wife on first birthday in heaven
“You’ve been in Heaven for 75 days now, and there is this pandemic thing going on. Yep, right after you went to be with Jesus, the entire country shut down. On really ‘important days,’ like today, I find myself searching for you, even more than usual.”
‘I told him two men shot you, for no reason. ‘Do you wear sneakers. In heaven?’ It’s too big. He can’t swallow it.’: Mom of autistic son wonders how to take action for Ahmaud Arbery
“I don’t know what it’s like to watch behind me when I run, or worry someone may shoot me. I am a middle-aged white woman living in suburbia. I don’t know what it’s like to be you, but I do have a vulnerable child—not for the color of his skin, but for the invisible wiring inside his brain.”
‘I got pregnant a month after turning 21. I am living through a deployment and now, like everyone, surviving a pandemic.’: Mom asks others not to judge, ‘They should feel validated in their sorrow’
“After being on my own for five years, I moved in with family again (thanks deployment). Every single one of those situations brought a screeching halt to what I had planned ahead. People who imagined 2020 to be THEIR year, I absolutely see you.”
‘I heard him say to his sister Ellie, ‘I’m going to save these for you. We can all have chocolate for my birthday!’ I swelled with pride.’: Mom explains why teaching kids to share is a ‘priority’
“Today my son woke up to birthday presents. Right away, he gave out his chocolate to his siblings and his mommy and daddy. Next, he gave his sisters a balloon for their bedroom. We have never FORCED them to share. We’ve just always modeled it.”
‘They said I mishandled the baby. All the blame came to me. She was met with 18 fractures and a brain hemorrhage.’: Mom of child with Osteogenesis imperfecta says ‘I won’t give up’
“She keeps on crying in devastating fear of breaking. But the smile on my little fighter’s face always pulls me up. Her twinkling eyes always said, ‘Yes mommy! I can do it.’ My husband and I were blank and confused.”
