“I’ve been frustrated, tired, and worn out. I have felt walked on, unseen, and undervalued in my place of work, and just when I thought it couldn’t get worse, it did.”
‘I’m a teacher, and I’m angry. Then I went to see ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,’ and I don’t know anymore.’: Teacher says Fred Rogers reminded her that ‘grace doesn’t run out, there isn’t a limited supply’
‘I need a favor.’ We had nothing under our Christmas tree. ‘The only thing I was able to purchase was a nail polish. I need you to be OK with that.’: Woman pays it forward after stranger’s act of kindness on Christmas day
“My single mother took me aside one day. ‘I need your help.’ I looked her in the eye. ‘Do not buy me another thing. If you have any money left, get something for the little girls.’ Christmas morning came. I sat quietly as the others opened their meager gifts. It killed me to watch my mother trying to smile. She felt like she’d failed us. Soon there was a knock. We all scampered to the door of our little duplex. It was hard to breathe as I chocked back tears.”
‘I can feel her head!’ You were pregnant, living under a bridge. Those precious cries are something I’ll never forget.’: 911 dispatcher shares act of kindness for homeless woman birthing twins, ‘sometimes all you need is a little love and support’
“It was 4 a.m. and 39 degrees outside. You had no pregnancy symptoms and found out barely a month ago you were expecting! The contractions hit. You thought you had time to get to the hospital. When they increased in intensity, you realized that was not the case. You quickly dialed 911 and they transferred you to me. This call was a rough one for me. You were in so much pain, cold, and all alone. As a mom too, I can’t imagine how you felt. I could tell you wanted to do better.”
‘What does your son want to be when he grows up?’ ‘Um, well. He’s autistic.’ Silence. I could tell she was uncomfortable.’: Mom to son with autism encourages us to ‘share, normalize’ differences
“There it was. A question I couldn’t really answer without sharing autism. After just telling me all about the things her grandson is doing and will most likely achieve, she felt bad for me. I knew this would happen. It always does. People hear autism, nonverbal, lifelong care and feel bad. I get it. I’m not offended. But his world is not less. It’s just different.”
‘What are you doing? STOP.’ An older gentleman approached me in the store. ‘You stole that baby!’: Mom adopts ‘beautiful white baby boy’ from foster care, claims ‘love is colorful!’
“‘I’m recording evidence to take to security,’ the older gentleman explained. He began photographing my son. ‘Why didn’t you let that baby stay with his kind?’ The first day that nurse handed me a 2-pound, beautiful white baby boy, I thought, ‘Is this a joke?’ Then, my motherly instincts kicked in. Not once in my mind or heart did I feel Princeton didn’t belong to me. I will ALWAYS choose him.”
‘Help me, mama. Pleeeease, help me!’ Covered in sweat, he escaped the doctors. That was it! I was DONE.’: Boy beats cancer 3 times, loses vision, ‘he wasn’t supposed to survive his first day’
“The doctor looked me square in the eye. ‘Brain tumor.’ WHAT?! I looked at my baby playing with Tonka trucks. ‘I’m sorry, but I think we both knew it.’ WHAT? Are you freaking kidding? No, I didn’t! I sat in the pre-op area signing consent forms. I wrote in large letters, ‘NO STUDENT OR RESIDENT IS TO TOUCH HIM.’ Never again was I going to just accept what a doctor said without question.”
‘It happened. My husband messaged a woman I didn’t recognize. What I saw made me cry.’: Woman celebrates mental health growth after discovering her old texts, ‘I am nothing like that woman now’
“He was showering after a long day with our kids and happened to leave his phone on the table. Unlocked. For some reason, I felt compelled to look at his messages. I scroll up, hoping to see some cute old texts we sent months back. I wanted to re-read them, to smile. What I saw, made me want to cry. The person he was texting was a very broken woman.”
‘Birth control?!?!’ At 18, I was told I wouldn’t conceive. WELL, one little puck slipped past the goalie.’: Woman receives emergency hysterectomy at 23, ‘it still stings to think about’
“I was STRONGLY encouraged to wait for kids. My incision was paper thin. 3 months later, I was pregnant. My little baby was growing alongside fibroids the size of ORANGES. To make matters worse, he was sunny-side up. My life was in danger. In my foggy head, I heard, ‘Amber, we can’t get the bleeding to stop. Do you want your tubes tied?’ I woke up covered in blood.”
‘She’d been faking it for 10 years. I was kicked out. ‘Dustin, I’m gay. Say goodbye to our dogs.’: Man finally ‘healed’ after wife comes out as gay, ‘I wish her all the happiness in the world’
“I’d done everything I was supposed to do. I found a woman I loved. We had a house, dogs, great jobs. We were the rock solid couple to be envied. I cried for the first time in 10 years. ‘If you don’t leave, I’m calling the police.’ Something inside me cracked and fell away. I couldn’t speak. I was left to pick up the pieces of my white-picket life. Worst of all, I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone.”
‘Are you KIDDING? Don’t be a prude. Just take the drink!’ I shook my head no. I was weak. I took it.’: Woman loses father to alcohol poisoning, ‘it is my right not to drink, please respect it’
“At 11, they draped a pale, unfamiliar version of my dad in white. ‘Are you alone?’ I watched a flurry of red and blue police lights dance across my ceiling. Alcohol poisoning. He never returned. You knew my past. Yet, you judged me when I turned down your drink. Did you know, I saw my father in my nightmares that night? Did you know, I was smiling, but dying on the inside? My trauma is more important than your right to a fun time.”
