“He grabbed a toy cup, went over to the full pot of coffee, and pulled it down to pour into his toy cup. My baby sister’s seat was just below. You may or may not notice her scars when you see her.”
‘Her skin was gone. I can still hear her scream while gasping for air. What exactly happened that day?’: Sister of burn survivor takes confidence-boosting photo shoot, ‘Her flaws don’t define her’
‘The doctors described it as a ‘fire storm.’ She lost her sight overnight. It stole her spark.’: Woman raises awareness after losing mom to breast cancer, ‘I want my pain to be purposeful’
“She would forget simple, everyday tasks like school pick-up and turning the oven off. I did little to support or ease her recovery. The 13-year-old me had other priorities. The guilt will forever haunt me.”
‘I read a viral post about romance that read, ‘Marry the person who…’ The thing is, we marry the person who ticks our boxes.’: Woman declares ‘love isn’t a romance movie, it’s HARD work’
“People really love to paint the dream it isn’t. It’s always a simple message that declares lifelong love. Marry the person who will see you fart and pick your nose, who won’t care if you’ve gained 50 pounds.”
‘You didn’t like your sister. ‘Meh, at least she won’t be here long.’ I worried about how we would ever navigate this growing chasm between you.’: Mom thankful for growing bond between siblings, ‘What a privilege it is to watch this friendship blossom’
“You picked on her. You were extra rough and rambunctious as a toddler. You were jealous. It was hard. I made it a point to explain…over and over again… if you were on the same side, at least you’d always have a friend. I’m awestruck when I see you protecting her from harm.”
‘Go home and rest. It appears there is nothing we can do to prevent this.’ I look over at my husband and his face breaks me.’: Mom adopts after infertility battle, ‘He chose us, he set us aside to be parents’
“Every time I saw some pregnant woman smoking a cigarette… I questioned how in the world he could be giving all of these women these babies and they can’t even take care of them? It hit me like a semi-truck. They fulfilled us and completed our lives.”
‘I pulled him hard and fast. He began bleeding, crying. My single thought was, ‘Well maybe he shouldn’t have been climbing.’: Mom with postpartum depression says ‘be there for the struggling mom or dad, it takes a village’
“He was climbing the arm of the couch. My husband stepped in and comforted him. I didn’t feel sorry or remorseful. I didn’t feel sad or have ping of guilt because I had just injured my son. I don’t know how to fix this.”
‘I got the news my ‘first love’ passed away. I grabbed my phone. ‘I’m bleeding and it won’t stop.’ I also felt an overwhelming presence beside me.’: Woman finds faith after near-death experience, ‘I’m living proof of the power of prayer’
“I heard the news of him having children, joining a church, and getting sober. I messaged Zach one day to tell him how proud I was of him I was. I grabbed my phone off the counter and called my mom. ‘I’m bleeding and it won’t stop.’ I could FEEL Zach’s presence. It is something many don’t believe. But I felt it. I will never ever deny this happening.”
‘If your friends on social media are spreading negativity, unfollow them. If the news makes you feel bad. STOP watching it.’: Woman says ‘I’m choosing not to marinate in fear during this time’
“Let’s be real, some people live for the drama, gossip, and to whine and complain. Choose to continue living. I may not have control over a lot of what’s going on in the world, but I do have control over what’s going on in MY world.”
‘I hung up my hat as a stay-at-home mom and outsourced my children’s needs to people more capable than myself.’: Mom to children with autism says ‘hope is equally as contagious as a virus’
“Both of my children have autism. Now here we are in self-isolation. I don’t know when our children will return to school. I am, frightened—and if I’m being completely honest—angry. We lost our village.”
‘Flesh was hanging off the roof of his mouth. ‘Your son has no immune system to fight this.’ We were trapped inside the house for months in total isolation.’: Mom to medically complex, autistic sons urges ‘find your village’
“His lesions were so severe he couldn’t eat. Rashes covered his entire body. We had to inject him with Pedialyte every 15 minutes just to keep him from passing out. In the midst of trying to be a normal family of 3, we suffered 3 miscarriages. Here we were, emotionally and physically exhausted, still yearning for hope. Little did we know, after 11 pregnancies, baby B would surprise us with blood in his diaper at just 2 months old. We knew something was terribly wrong.”
