“My husband drove me down to the waterfront, my idea of motherhood now a pile of dust and rubble. Was I really made for this? We’d both been crying for several hours. He opened the envelope. ‘It’s a girl!’ his voice cracked. When they wheeled her away, we gave our final kisses. No matter how long she was with us, Shirley was a gift.”
‘She’s beautiful, but something’s wrong with her heart.’ HOW? I was only 23! I clapped my hands over my face and WEPT.’: Mom births baby with Truncus Arteriosu, says motherhood is all about ‘rolling with the punches’
‘What is it like? To be a mom?,’ she asked, while clutching her barely pregnant belly.’: Mother of 5 says she didn’t want to ruin friend’s ‘sweet anticipation’ with the ‘harsh truth’ of parenting
“A friend of mine is expecting her first child. I laughed, because she was so excited. So earnest. I didn’t want to dash through her sweet anticipation with the harsh truth. My energy was drained. I was in survival mode. With days like this, comes guilt. I want to tell her all this, but then I consider maybe I should tell her about the other side of parenthood. The good stuff.”
‘I never got sick as a kid. Until the itching started. Then the horrible, red rash covering my 8-year-old self.’: Touching moment woman realizes her mom was the real ‘cure’ for her Scarlet Fever
“Not even my mom could deny there was actually something wrong with me. She rushed my calamine-soaked body to the doctor. My eyes got as big as sand dollars and my life flashed before my eyes. The only time I had ever heard of a Scarlet Fever diagnosis was on an episode of ‘Little House on the Prairie.’ I didn’t know what to do. So, I did the only thing I could think of in that moment. I cried. My mom slid into the bed next to me.”
‘No one has ever wanted you here. If you find a family that will actually love you, go be with them.’: 26-year-old adopted after years of childhood trauma, abuse, says you’re ‘never too old to need parents’
“At 17, I was put into foster care. ‘We would adopt you!’ Tears flowed down my face. I’d never thought I’d hear this as a 26-year old, aged-out foster youth, and a formerly abandoned child. The judge wiped away tears, pausing to thank us for letting him finish his week with us. As we were ending, he declared, ‘This is a happy day!’”
‘I think I am meant to know you.’ My grandpa didn’t recognize us anymore. This disease transformed him into someone else.’: Woman shares ‘fond memories’ of granddad with Alzheimer’s
“I’d been toying with the idea of having him immortalized on my body. I wanted to keep him close to me, and we all knew how important fishing was to my grandpa. But I had a partner that wouldn’t ‘allow’ me to get tattoos on my body. Luckily, I kept the idea within me until I found true love. Each day I see my tattoo, I am reminded of this huge bond I had with my grandpa.”
‘My children were screaming like wild hyenas. That was my worst parenting day yet. I went to sleep with a sore throat from yelling.’: Mom left ‘frazzled, disappointed’ that summer didn’t go as planned
“Our kids will probably have lots of junk to talk over with their therapist. I will never be the cool mom who lets things roll off her shoulders. I am the one who loses her temper, and then immediately regrets it.”
‘Why is Mami in the hospital?’ She’d turn manic. It was like walking on eggshells.’: Young woman recounts growing up with mom battling bipolar disorder, ‘days without sleeping’
“I always knew there was something wrong. ‘I’m not sick, I don’t need to take medication.’ It would intensify. I had so many questions. Why wasn’t she like other moms? Why were there times she wasn’t there? Why did she sleep so much? Why did her emotions change so drastically? All the built-up emotions from my childhood hit me like a ton of bricks.”
‘I saw this picture of my teen daughter and her boyfriend. I cringed. I yelled. I demanded she take it off social media.’: ‘Infuriated’ mom changes her mind after she recalls ‘young love’ with her late husband
“As I opened my eyes and focused on the empty space next to me in bed, the space I once shared with the man I love, her dad, I couldn’t help but smile. I knew what that young love felt like. I hope my daughter and her boyfriend never worry. I hope they never pay attention to anybody who questions their truth.”
‘If not your breasts, they’ll attempt to convince you your worth depends upon your thigh gap, complexion, weight.’ Mom shuts down 8-year-old daughter thinking her body is ‘flawed’
“My darling girl, there is something I must get off my chest before you grow into yours. As you get older, society, men, even some women, will try to convince you that your breasts — their size, shape, level of ‘perky’ — are what define you as a woman. Hear me clearly when I firmly inform you, they are wrong.”
‘My father died 3 years ago when I was 25. I have a relationship with my mother, but talk to no other members of my family.’ Mom explains why her family feels like ‘distant strangers’
“Our communication ceased, and nobody batted an eye. We all moved on with our own lives and didn’t take each other with us. It really is sad. But I guess, sometimes, family can be toxic enough to no longer serve us.”
