“No matter how hard I worked, how dedicated I was, or how much effort I put into my classroom, I was still considered ‘just a teacher.’ My parents did not raise a quitter.”
‘After 9 years of teaching, I decided to leave the classroom. No, I’m not talking about summer break.’: Woman leaves the classroom after 9 years, ‘I was slowly losing my spark’
‘You spent 30 years chasing something, only to get ahold of it and realize your dream is completely, utterly exhausting.’: Mom says family life isn’t for the ‘faint of heart,’ but tender moments make it all worth it
“Family life will nickel and dime you. It’ll squeeze you until you’ve got nothing left. Then it’ll squeeze you even harder. And right when you think you’re completely tapped out and you don’t have what it takes… You walk in on a moment like this.”
‘I love my family and friends. I genuinely do. But those dearest can wear me out. I NEED to be alone sometimes.’ Woman explains why the need for alone time is not a ‘personality flaw’
“My husband and I recently took our daughter on a 5-day road trip. We returned to host family, barbecue with friends. I loved every bit of it. I did. But then I crashed. I wanted nothing more than a nap in a dark, quiet room. I was 100%, without a doubt, suffering from a social hangover. I love people, but peopling requires lots of energy.”
‘I had just watched my husband die, in the hospital, right in front of me. I NEEDED to change. Finally, I got a text. ‘Are you free to come in right now?’
“It was the one month anniversary of Albert’s death. ‘I trust you,’ I said.”
‘Ewww I don’t wanna see that.’ I am 29 weeks pregnant. No one will take my photo. I asked my husband, and he rolled his eyes and avoided me.’
“I had to beg my toddler to.”
‘It’s the mom who won’t look at you because she’s afraid she will say something stupid. It’s the girl who sends 50 text messages in 1 hour because her thoughts tell her you don’t like her.’
“The photo on the right was a week after I got out of psych ward that I posted to social media with a hashtag #happy.”
‘My son starts to scream. This angel comes to the back and says, ‘You look like you need a break,’ and holds him for the rest of the flight.’
“We were standing in the security line, on the verge of tears. When I said thank you to both of them, they said, ‘Don’t you worry, we’re going to make sure you get on that flight.’”
‘A 4-pound bundle of goodness was placed in my arms. By a stranger. In the middle of my street. Just before 10 p.m.’
“As the effects of cocaine crippled his central nervous system, we fought. We walked and bounced and rocked, and walked more. And here’s the thing… he will never remember me.”
‘We forget what it is to go into labor. To be wracked with pain so excruciating we can’t fathom ever withstanding it. A mama is meant to forget.’
“We are mamas, and we are meant to forget.”
‘He woke with a small cough. Within hours, he had trouble breathing. A few hours after that, he took his last breath.’: Woman’s husband who ‘never got sick’ passes suddenly from Bone Marrow Failure months before birth of son
“My husband Jonas began to look pale. We both chalked it up to jet lag and went on with the week. We had two small children and I was 14 weeks pregnant with our third, so being tired wasn’t out of the norm. Later that week, even picking up the kids’ toys would make him dizzy. Another week went by, all the while he continued to ride his bicycle over 20 miles a day. He came home that night after riding and had almost passed out while riding. ‘Enough is enough.’ I figured it couldn’t hurt to go to the doctor.”
