“One time, I spent 3 hours cooking an extravagant meal for a man only to be told, ‘I don’t really like that. I think I want Wendy’s tonight.’ It’s never too late to find someone who appreciates you, who you can appreciate back. WAIT for what you deserve.”

‘Tonight, my boyfriend said ‘thank you for cooking’ after I put frozen chicken strips in the oven.’: Woman urges ‘it’s never too late to find someone who appreciates you’

‘When this is over, I’ll let you pick the restaurant we dine at first. I promise I won’t complain, be picky, or be impatient if the food takes longer.’: Woman tells husband ‘let’s make the most with what we’ve got’
“Date nights were our peace in the beautiful chaos of family life – our time, just you and me, together. Date nights reminded us our marriage was a priority, before being daddy and mommy. I miss the romance, break from the ordinary, and the routine too.”

‘Our waitress says, ‘Your bill is already covered.’ Who would pay for a family with a whining baby? She points to a couple inches away.’: Mom ‘astounded’ by strangers’ Valentine’s Day act of kindness, ‘Thank you for restoring my faith in humanity’
“This was our first Valentine’s Day as a family. Our 10-month-old instantly starts whining. He begins throwing rice everywhere. Sitting next to us is a young couple. They look so in love and my anxiety quickly sets in. I sense a meltdown coming on. The last thing I want to do is ruin this nice couple’s dinner.”

‘I was dating a guy. He ended it. He didn’t see a future because while he was partying ‘I’d just stand there.’: Woman recalls the perks of dating sober, ‘You learn this awesome thing called standards’
“I used to consider going to the bar and getting hammered a ‘date.’ It’s nice to learn about a person and actually remember it now, rather than waking up the next morning and thinking, ‘Wow, this guy drinks as much as me – so I know he won’t judge me. He’s a keeper.’”

‘Unexpected guests rang the doorbell. ‘Are you mom?’ I nodded, ‘Yes.’ With 10 adults, you’d assume our daughter would’ve been safe.’: Parents lose daughter in drowning accident
“A bag of popcorn started on fire, and multiple kids ran outside. It only took seconds for Preslee to slip past everyone into the canal. He ran along the canal for a mile. He saw the farmer pulling her out of the water. Our sweet girl had bumped into this farmer’s leg.”

‘I asked if she was OK. She smiled through faint tears. She thanked me for giving her these moments back. She told me how lucky I am that I get to do this every single night.’
“She babysat, and SHE thanked ME?!”

‘This weekend we had our first date together since March. Not halfway through and the sitter texted that one of the kids was throwing up.’
“We made guesses on how long until the rest of us caught the bug, and we contemplated how much extra to pay the babysitter for having to deal with a sick kid. But here’s the thing….”

‘The wildest part is the hallucinations. She thinks her reflection is another person, whom she has named ‘Sharon.’ She has always been ditzy and silly, so it was harder to catch the changes happening as time went on.’
“Usually ‘Sharon’ is a good friend, but sometimes she gets messy, so I have to take the bathroom mirror down. She will have bursts of anger, and has tried to run away. We had to get an alarm for her bedroom.”

‘I’m upstairs doing my hair and he comes to the bottom of the stairs and says, ‘BABE! Someone is at the door for you!’
“Of course I roll my eyes because I inconveniently had to pause curling my hair… and then I came down to this.”

‘Stay in your own lane.’ How a car crash reminded this mom of what’s important in life
“Just drive in your own car, honey. Full speed ahead.”