“They had their back turned for just one second, and my oldest son came on the porch yelling for them. They ran in and found the lamp laying on the floor next to my son, bleeding. Later that night, people messaged me questioning the type of wounds my son had. I hadn’t thought much of it until others pointed out how much it looked like a dog had attacked him. The doctors agreed. By this time, my son’s eyes were swollen shut.”
‘I ran inside and found my sweet boy gashed up. Grandmom was rocking him, absolutely horrified.’: Mom warns parents to be ‘vigilant’ of pets around children after dog attack leaves infant son in stitches
‘If people had hearts like dogs, we would be better humans.’
“We would take up space without guilt. We would love our people unconditionally. We would find and fill empty spaces in rooms and hearts. We would offer up nonjudgmental support.”
‘The tree crushed the roof of the car. My head compressed. My spine burst. I don’t remember it. I woke up thinking it was a nightmare. ‘There’s no way I could still be alive,’ I told myself.’
“Life has changed. The depth of loss I face daily. But everyday I am faced with a choice. Will I choose to survive today or will I choose to thrive? No matter the lemons or curveballs, the choice is mine.”
‘Doctors told me I was ‘lying.’ I hadn’t started my period. Before I took the birth control, I took a pregnancy test. It was POSITIVE!? We bought 5 more tests. All of them were positive!’
“I was having vivid, strange dreams. A neighbor said, ‘Are you pregnant?’ I said ‘no’ and cried. A switch flipped in me. I became crazy emotional. I was having day dreams about drilling a hole in my head or cutting it off. I went to doctor after doctor. They all said that it was because of my weight.”
‘Please, Courtney. Don’t leave me!’ I rocked with her motionless body. I just wanted to die so I could be wherever she was.’: Young woman loses identical twin to Addison’s disease
“She went to sleep early because she wasn’t feeling well. ‘Mom, is Courtney going to work today?’ I asked the next morning. Courtney wasn’t up for work yet, which was strange. I knocked on her door. No answer. I tried to go in. Locked. Frantic, I searched for a key and opened the door. I thought it was weird she was lying on her back. She looked peaceful, like she was in a deep sleep. When I rolled her over, she was lifeless. When she died, I died.”
‘I stood in our doorway. After 9 years together, these are the final days of just me and Jake. With an aching I can’t shake, our lives are far from perfect.’
“Tonight, it hit me. These are the good old days. My man, this bedroom, that quilt, those dogs. Now let’s pause for a second and set the record straight.”
‘I love you, Cindy, I’ll always love you. Please forgive me.’ I was no longer going to be her Momma and watch her grow up. ‘DO IT NOW,’ the Voice says.’
“This time it will work. I even have two bottles of sleeping pills for safety’s sake. Time to die. I unscrew both lids and turn the tap on. I’ve locked the door behind me, just in case, but I’m not expecting anyone else … not in this lifetime.”
‘I knew she was ready to go. She had done her job, and done it well.’ Firefighter says tearful farewell to his ‘best friend’ Dalmatian therapy dog
“In her final moments, I held my girl one last time and looked at her big brown eyes to tell her how much I loved her.”
‘My name’s Erik, and I’m an alcoholic. I got sober 5 years and 110 pounds ago.’
“I bought liquor and dog food with my last paycheck. I was about 310 pounds for the second time in my life, freshly laid off, and lacking in a lot of the things I used to use to define myself.”
‘I was sad we weren’t pregnant together, we knew we had to do something!’
“I knew I wanted to show off my new puppy like people do with their newborns and marriages because it was where I’m at in life. .People may think it’s excessive or silly, but results were absolutely heartwarming.”
