“Thank you to the woman in the bathroom yesterday… you are so unaware of amazing kids like my son. I’m sorry you felt the need speak to a stranger’s child the way you did. I’m thankful for you giving us more reason to go out into the world and share my son.”

‘Shut up and be quiet!’ An innocent, amazing child was crying, but he was also present and doing amazingly well.’: Mom advocates for autism awareness after shocking encounter

‘They ‘must not enjoy their kids’ if they want to be away from them. We call them ‘attention seeking’ or ‘self-centered.’: Mother urges for ‘less jealously, more camaraderie’
“They are ‘lazy’ and ‘unmotivated.’ We call them ‘attention seeking’ and ‘over-sharers.’ Their insatiable need and desire to socialize is selfish and irresponsible.”

‘We buy supplies. We prepare for gunmen. We spend nights and weekends away from family to make your children feel supported.’: Teacher urges ‘give us a minute’ among school reopening crisis
“I spent today removing my personal belongings from my classroom. Nothing but empty desks remained. I cried all the way home. Right now, we’re scared to death.”

‘I gently patted my son’s back when I heard a crackling, wheezing sound. ‘Something’s wrong, I just know it,’ I told my husband.’: Mom candidly shares journey with parenting PTSD
“I cried to the nurse on the hotline, ‘It sounds like he has fluid in his chest.’ I would sit nursing my son, crying endlessly in that rocking chair. Every breath my son took heightened my already over-the-top anxiety attack. I knew it wasn’t just anxiety. It was something more. This was the start of so many triggers.”

‘I feel like I’m pissing off a lot of people. I break my back, good mood, and spirit in pursuit of the best me. Don’t mock.’: Mom struggling with best decisions asks for understanding, ‘You have no idea’
“I’m too much or too little of something, or I’m doing too much or too little of something I should or shouldn’t be doing. Sometimes you’ve got to call other people out and now it’s time for that.”

‘Your handwriting is a complete disgrace.’ I was livid! ‘This should have never happened.’: Mom and daughter with learning disabilities speak out against mistreatment, ‘Respect instead of judging’
“‘It’s all in her head. I can teach her how to write properly; it’s just pure laziness,’ they said. We got home and cried together. Nobody, from what I could tell, caught what he said. I spoke up. I was livid!”

‘Just get out of bed and work out.’ A darkness set over me. I was in the therapist’s office at 6 weeks pregnant.’: Woman shares reality of prenatal depression, ‘I hope women feel understood, not abandoned’
“Within a week of getting a positive pregnancy test, I could barely function. This darkness was scary and not something I had the tools to combat. It was like I was gone, and there was no magic solution to get me back.”

‘I haven’t been able to call you up or vent. I haven’t been able to text you just to say, ‘Hi.’ We haven’t ‘talked’ in what seems years.’: Woman pens emotional letter, ‘I will forever be grateful for everything you’ve taught me’
“I still care you’re hurt from a previous relationship. I probably pushed you into feeling the way you feel about me. We haven’t ‘talked’ in what seems years. This letter isn’t to make you feel bad. I truly apologize if it does. It is definitely not my intention. I still deserve you.”

‘She murmurs in a low voice, ‘But, um…girls at school will make fun of me for wearing unicorn stuff.’ I was at a loss for words.’: Mom urges ‘let’s show our daughters how to be a kind girl’
“The few that circulated rumors. The few that always had something derogatory to say about you. The few that would always leave you out of the loop and make you feel unworthy of being apart of the ‘in’ crowd. I moved to a new city to begin my career as a Nurse Practitioner. I was hit with the reality the mean girls club still existed.”

‘I’m not everyone’s cup of tea. I’m too loud, too quiet. We try so hard to bend 50 different ways to fit a mold, but why? For what?’: Woman learns to accept herself as is
“We over-analyze texts. We wonder why we didn’t get the invite. We see glances, whispers and assume they’re directed at us. We waste so much of our time worrying about other people’s opinions only to leave ourselves feeling empty. But, why? For what? This is YOUR journey. Stop doubting your own decisions. Stop looking over your shoulder. Stop trying to please everyone else.”