“I blamed myself for not being like other moms who had it all together. I would halt a workout and walk out of the gym if I spotted a fitter girl. It drove me into a pit of despair.”

‘If I lose 10 more pounds, I’ll be happy.’ I had a postpartum body to ‘fix.’ I was terrified of getting fat.’: Mom overcomes postpartum depression and eating disorder, ‘Change is possible’

‘WHAT ARE THE RESULTS?!’ I created a narrative of this perfect girl. We needed her!’: Mom shares ‘gender disappointment’
“I wasn’t ready for the comments. The ‘OMG ANOTHER BOY?!’ comments. The ‘wow looks like you’re outnumbered’ comments. The ‘maybe next time’ comments.”

‘She didn’t sign any papers. Maybe I wasn’t given up. Perhaps, I was taken, or she was told I died.’: Adoptee searches for biological mother, answers to her past
“We were nationally unwanted children. It is not always the romantic picture of children being ‘saved.’ My only connection to my past is my genes.”

‘I got home and literally nothing from the grocery list I gave him was in the bags. Not a damn thing.’: Woman urges ‘show your partner grace through the struggles’
“Marriage isn’t always two people who are on the same team. We are not always on the same page, and we do not always like each other. But we made a vow to make this work, and that is what we are doing.”

‘I didn’t expect to spend my daughter’s spring break roaming the bare aisles of a grocery store. I also didn’t expect it to unite us.’ Mom says ‘with perseverance, perspective, and hope—the best is yet to be’
“I didn’t expect the storms to come, literally and figuratively. The streets are flooding with water, but also fear and panic. I didn’t expect to see younger generations caring for the elderly. Stepping outside of ego to defend the defenseless.”

‘Why bother?’ She asks herself. ‘Why put myself through it all again this month.’ She walks past this test in Target, and gives it a doubtful glance.’: Woman urges those battling infertility ‘you are not broken’ in viral pregnancy test post
“To any woman picking this box up to stare at it in longing, in mourning, in hesitation. To wonder. To wish. To throw it in her shopping cart again this month. Throwing it in with hope. With fear. With premature excitement. With anticipation. With a sense of dread that it may just be another down the drain waste basket Walmart drop of $12.98.”

‘I stared at the edge of divorce with a man I desperately love. He is not a mind reader.’: Wife says ‘perfection is not real’ in marriage, ‘It’s never too late to say I’m sorry, I love you’
“I am not a perfect wife. I get jealous. I’ve snooped through his phone. I’ve done things I’m not proud of. I have insecurities. I’ve been cheated on.”

‘He doesn’t buy flowers or cook romantic meals, but he always pushes the grocery cart.’: Woman claims ‘love is found’ in small gestures, learns to accept husband as is
“If his restaurant order is better, he’ll switch plates. He knows all my favorite ‘lady products’ and will run to the pharmacy for me. He unloads the groceries while I sit with the seat warmers on. Every time. I wasted years looking for the love shown in movies, disappointed time and time again, instead of paying attention to how HE loves.”

‘When I send my daughter to school, it hurts. My heart skip beats. My cheeks are hot, tingly.’: Mom is ‘worried sick’ about daughter with disabilities being accepted at school
“I feel sick with worry because I am here, and she is there. Every single moment of every single day I see the potential behind my daughter’s beautiful brown eyes. My biggest fear is that others will not see the same things in her.”

‘My daughter dressed herself. Tall polka-dotted socks, bike shorts and a glittery snowman long-sleeved shirt. It’s 85 degrees.’: Insecure mom tells daughter she looks ‘awesome’ despite being disappointed in herself
“I was proud of her, but disappointed in myself. I took her to preschool drop-off in her trendy threads, but I packed a change of clothes for afterwards because we have a PTO meeting at our son’s private school this evening.”