“For some reason, I wanted to be a young mom–fit, fashionable, and in the prime of life. I was doing all the pregnancy math. If we get pregnant at this time and it takes nine months to cook, then we’d have the baby at this perfect time. After several months of trying, I started to get a little worried.”
‘She placed her hand on my belly and shouted ‘PREGNANT! PREGNANT! PREGNANT!’ I never met this woman before in my life.’: Woman becomes pregnant with rainbow baby after ‘five years of praying for our family to grow’
‘They whispered to each other. ‘How can that be?’ My heart sank. ‘He doesn’t seem THAT different. It must be a mistake.’: Mom surprised by son’s autism diagnosis, ‘We just chalked it up to ‘every kid is different and learns at their own pace.’
“He was a super chill baby and we thought we had it MADE. I started to notice the other little boys’ interactions with their moms. I began to get worried. I didn’t think anything was different about Landon at first, I just thought I was not a good enough mom. I thought I wasn’t teaching him these little things well enough. This was our first child and we didn’t know any different.”
‘I’m too scared to tell you because you’ll get mad.’ They’ve been cowering every time I ask, ‘what happened here?’ They’ve been lying!’: Mom implements ‘safe zone’ for kids after realizing she’s been bullying them for bad behavior
“I erupted like a volcano, spewing anger at her tiny 4-year-old body. I can hear the bully I am being. Then she matter-of-factly said, ‘I was too scared to ask you for a piece of paper so I colored on the table instead.’ The very first thing I said was, ‘thank you for telling me the truth.’ I noticed how mean I’ve been. I have realized I’m being unfair. I needed a change.”
‘Mama, you’ve been chosen!’ I met my baby for the first time in someone else’s house. My heart raced.’: Young couple adopt baby with Down syndome, ‘He is the light of our lives!’
“I was 19 when I decided I was going to adopt a baby. My husband shrugged, smiled, and said, ‘Sounds good to me!’ We had 4 days to do…everything. We laid in bed, trying to fathom the idea this would be our last night alone. When the day came, the grief rocked me to the core. While we were gaining a son, his first family was losing a son.”
‘My mom loves to decorate at Christmas. It’s a big deal to her. She begged me to go outside to make sure they were ‘just right.’ I didn’t want to.’: Daughter ‘couldn’t care less’ about holidays, but realizes ‘there’s always a reason to share genuine human spirit’
“Christmas? Forget it. It’s not for me. I like the quiet. For a girl like me, holidays are overwhelming. But my mom loves to decorate. She puts up 5 Christmas trees. She goes all out. She begged me to go outside with her to look at them. I didn’t want to. I couldn’t care less. Just then it hit me. She cares. It’s important to her.”
‘I’ve been saving this money. I heard your husband died. I want you to have it because I still have my dad. Merry Christmas.’ It was a child’s handwriting.’: Widow receives unexpected act of kindness, now wants to pay it forward
“As I sat staring at the tree, silently pleading with God for direction, my doorbell rang. I made my way to the door, opened it and looked out – no one stood there. I looked down. To my surprise on the porch sat a glass jar piggy bank full of money. I read the card and started to cry. In a child’s handwriting, scribbled on a makeshift card, read the most beautiful little words.”
‘Please, sit with us. Text us. Stop by and insist on taking our kids for the day because I promise we won’t ask for help. But mama, we need it.’: Mom says all a special needs parent needs is for you to ‘show up’
“When you ask a special needs parent how they’ve been and they roll their eyes, yawn, and say, ‘Eh, it’s been rough, honestly.’ It might be our pride or that we feel guilty. If you have been wondering how you can help, know that it is simple. Show up. Keep showing up.”
‘Does your daughter play with many kids?’ I was surprised at my parent-teacher conference.’: Mom shocked my ‘mean girl’ mentality in 6-year-olds after daughter targeted, ‘My daughter views everyone as her friend’
“It turns out, my daughter plays by herself during recess. To hear that shocked me, knowing my daughter is not shy. It’s a certain girl who won’t let others play with her. I’ve seen it firsthand. I’ve overheard that same girl mumble she ‘isn’t friends’ with my daughter. Yet my daughter is oblivious.”
‘It’s a girl! I have a 35-year-old child. I do not know who the mother is.’: Man ‘mind blown’ after discovering adult daughter he never knew existed, becomes a grandfather overnight
“I did not know Heather existed. In the early 80’s, high school in Southern California presented many opportunities to throw caution to the wind. As a 17-year-old boy, caution was thrown as often as possible. Caution here, caution there, caution was thrown everywhere. On that fateful night, I was enjoying a late dinner with my wife when I got the news.”
‘I hope that’s not his stroller! Is it?!’ Of course it is! There’s no reason my son can’t play with a baby doll.’: Mom ‘proud’ of son for caring for his baby dolls like a real-life daddy
“I was caught off guard. ‘Why don’t you give him a sibling or a dog to play with instead of a doll?’ There’s no reason my son can’t play with babies or dolls or anything deemed ‘too girly.’ Why? Because one day, my son may choose to become a father. You’re not going to tell your adult son he’s too ‘manly’ to change his newborn child’s diaper, are you?! Doubt it.”
