“I quit my job. I avoided a possible catastrophic marriage. Everything I’d kept bottled up was starting to surface. I didn’t have much courage under my belt, but I was still brave.”
‘This isn’t for me. I quit.’ The pressure lifted from my chest. I was free to forge my own path.’: Woman deletes social media on healing journey, ‘I started a clean slate’
‘The clerk answered the phone in a shaky voice. ‘Oh my god, sir. Is your son tall and strong with black hair?’: 16-year-old ‘hero’ rescues 3 children from sex trafficking, ‘Love conquers all’
“With no regard for his own safety, he approached the blood-soaked scene to a man attempting to kidnap 3 children. Not knowing if he had a knife, a gun, or what level of danger he was facing, my son sprang into action.”
‘I have no idea what that feels like. Tell me everything.’ True friends will still be there when you drop your guard.’: Woman says friendship is ‘the silent permission to tell your truth’
“No competition for who has it better or worse. Just you be you, and I’ll be me. It all begins with telling your truth, and the silent permission that I can tell mine.”
‘I always said, ‘He had sex with me while I was passed out.’ That is what I told myself it was.’: Rape survivor says ‘everyday I choose love and forgiveness’
“Like 19-year-old me. The girl who wore diamonds in her hair to the party that night. The night. The night it happened. He was my friend I took to the party. He knew I was falling for his friend.”
‘I think you need to go buy me some diapers.’ I hung my half-naked self off the side of the bed and peed in the bowl.’: After laparoscopic surgery, woman says husband’s care is ‘real love’
“Surgery isn’t sexy. A man by your side going along with your crazy ideas because he loves you so much…that is sexy.”
‘I was typing on a friend’s Facebook, ‘You’re so P-R-E-T…’ when I realized I was part of the problem. When did ‘pretty’ become the best compliment I could give?’: Woman urges ‘remind your friend she’s bold, brave, and inspiring’
“At one point, we were little girls dreaming of the day when we would be smart, successful, bold, brave, and strong. We would become doctors and lawyers and presidents. Then, the world told us what really matters most for girls: how we look.”
‘We have our stomachs cut open before us. We spend weeks recovering while still caring for a totally dependent new life, bringing joy to the world.’: Mom says you are ‘powerful, strong, and brave’
“We somehow survive on minimal sleep, and just when we reach the point where we think we can’t give any more, we do. We are teachers, healers, therapists, safe places, comforters, givers, lovers, and friends.”
‘We have an emergency placement for a 3-week old baby boy.’ I stared at the baby who had been mine and cried in front of the social workers.’: Foster mom recalls pain of giving child back to his mother
“When little Rylan first showed up, I was so nervous. The moment I saw him, I felt attached to him. I was ready to be a mom. My heart grew for our baby too. I would sob every time I had to drop him off for visitation. The day he left was the hardest day of my life.”
‘I picked up my Kindergartener from school. But her class was held in the cafeteria, not in her usual classroom. None of us will forget.’: Mom remembers Sandy Hook victims on 7-year anniversary
“Her brown curls bounced as she ran up to me with a smile on her face. She eagerly handed me a picture she drew that day. It was a colorful winter scene with penguins skating on a pond with the date 12/14. When my husband returned, he passed by the drawing, stopped and started counting. ‘Did you see what I saw?’ He pointed to the stars in the sky she had drawn. I counted them. Exactly 26.”
‘I told him to stop! He pushed him again. So, I punched him, hard,’ my son said. I took him for ice cream.’: Mom proud of son for sticking up for bullied classmate, ‘My child has full permission to rock your kid’s world if they’re bullying them’
“I walked in to pick my son up from kindergarten. There was a crying child, holding his face, looking embarrassed. On the other side of the room, my child, arms folded across his chest, eyebrows touching in the middle, a teacher squatting down to talk to him. ‘There’s been an incident’. The teacher was asking him the wrong questions: ‘Did you hit him?’ I watched the teacher’s expression change.”
