“The whole time I was trying to show Meriton we are equal, something was missing. I got a tattoo of a chromosome and said, ‘This will make us equally different, forever.’ The only sickness in life is the bad attitude towards people with special needs, and I’m not going to stop working to show society different.”
‘A woman on the bus kept pointing at Meriton and touching me on the back. ‘Is he sick?’ She was loud and kept repeating herself.’: Woman urges ‘there is no cure for human being’
‘I took out the trash to ‘investigate’ our new neighbors. We watched the dreaded moving truck from the second-story window.’: Two moms find new friendship during quarantine
“While I was loading my kids into our car, the other kids made eye contact. They stood there, silently staring like it was some sort of old western stare-off. The dreaded moving truck was parked outside. In a matter of a month, our children’s childhood changed for the better.”
‘We’ve been locked in our apartment for weeks. We are at peace in the epicenter of the virus.’: Woman shares positives from quarantine in Wuhan, ‘Fear and worry have no seat at our table’
“We have bonded with and supported each other in ways I’ve never experienced in my 9 years of living here. This is a bond that may lessen when our world gets back to normal, but for now I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”
‘What could your excuse possibly be, Dad? You’ve known about the dance for weeks!’: Single father says dads aren’t ‘showing up’ enough, ‘I am doing all I can to cherish her’
“Saying ‘I love you’ when they are going to bed is not nearly enough. You can’t be over-present. They want our time. Our warmth. Our interest in their lives. There are many fathers who aren’t engaged enough (or at all) with their daughters. That crushes me. This is one of life’s most honorable privileges.”
‘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.”
‘Her father walked into my office, completely lost. His daughter was spiraling. She just needed someone to believe in her, so she could believe in herself.’: Police officer forms beautiful friendship with troubled teen, ‘I refused to give up on her’
“His daughter had started to drink and hang with the wrong crowd. She’d received her first official charge for destruction of property. He had no clue what to do with her. ‘I’ll meet with her.’ As she walked into my office, my whole life changed. She would come to challenge me, as I would challenge her. A bond would be formed that helped both of us become better people. I refused to give up on her. She was in need. She wanted to be better.”
‘The father apologized. ‘Mind if I try something?’ By the end of the flight, it clicked. He was astounded.’: Dad ‘nearly cries’ after speech pathologist teaches autistic son to communicate on plane for the first time
“On my flight, I sat next to a father and his autistic son. Before it even took off, there was screaming, hitting, grabbing. The father repeatedly apologized, but did little else. He warned it would be a difficult flight. ‘Not to worry.’ I had experience with minimally verbal kiddos. By the end of it, his son was changed.”
‘I need to talk to you. Please.’ My best friend sat me down. I knew she did something really wrong. ‘Promise you won’t hate me.’ I didn’t see it coming. I had no idea.’
“My heart dropped. All I could muster was, ‘What?’ She tried to hold my hands, but I pulled away. ‘We can’t choose who we love!’ It was surreal to take in. I pictured her in my future. Now I can only tear up thinking about it.”
‘I was sitting in a hotel room. I had on a tight black dress, listening to my client say what ‘he wants to do.’ My gut was screaming to leave, but if I left, there is no money, and my ‘boss’ will be upset.’: Woman beats heroin addiction
“I begged my loving and supportive parents to please take me home. I begged and pleaded with my dad and promised I’d be good. But there were 11 charges, and a few were felonies. Bail was set at a million dollars.”
‘My son was screaming, ‘That thing on her chest popped!’ The doctor bandaged it up and told me to change it once a day. Um, yeah. Ok. Have you ever tried taking a bandage off a 4-year-old? Like giving a cat a bath.’: Brother ‘never leaving’ little sister alone after dad dies
“My son came in. He knew he had to act. He took a bandage from the counter and presented his little sister with a simple question. ‘If I put this bandage on me, and let you take it off, will you let Mom take off yours?’ She pondered the idea, then nodded in agreement. He was going to protect her forever.”
