“I tried all of the creams. For years, I wore only high-rise pants and would turn away from friends when we were getting dressed. I hated what I saw in the mirror. But one day, I looked down at my tummy and saw the ripples, the marks, the stretched belly button. And I smiled. This body is my home.”
‘Pregnant at 18, I heard, ‘You’re young, you’ll bounce back!’ It became etched in my mind. Stretch marks and loose skin? BAD.’: Mom learns to cherish postpartum body, ‘This body is my home’
‘At 22, I had two kids and still couldn’t drive. Every time a car got behind me, I had to pull over and cry.’: Woman battling anxiety says ‘don’t let anyone make you feel less for not driving’
“When I was 10 years old, I was involved in a car accident. I watched all my friends get their licenses, as I depended on my parents to drive me. At 23, I decided to book my license test. I wasn’t ready, but I felt very pressured to drive. The instructor asked me to back into a stall. I burst into tears. I tried to explain to her I wasn’t crazy.”
‘Teachers change students’ lives, they tell you. I can honestly say ‘my kids’ saved my life. Their love is a constant in an ever-changing world.’: Teacher pens appreciation letter to students, shares 10 pieces of advice for seniors
“I had to take leave of my job and relearn to walk, cut my own food, and wash my own hair. There was no other option. Immediately, the emails and cards started pouring in from my kids. I was determined I would make it back to them.”
‘I’m going to tell him to stop.’ Our son said the words I dreaded. I prayed he would sleep through this.’: After divorcing alcoholic husband, woman says ‘I have hope for love and happiness on my own terms’
“I heard him say, ‘Wake up mother f**kers, it’s time to clean.’ I knew this was bad. Then, I heard a loud bang. Then, another bang. I could hear him, soundly mildly amused. Suddenly, I felt I was being stared at.”
‘She told me, ‘Find someone who loves you as much as I do.’ Raising children on your own is no easy task.’: Widower says ‘I will not look in the mirror one day and see a lonely old man staring back’
“I push my needs down to the bottom of the priority list. I beat down the fears with mantras like ‘one day,’ ‘when the kids are older,’ and ‘if it’s meant to happen.’ Raising children on your own is no easy task.”
‘I went into my late wife’s inbox and found some humbling words she wrote about what I meant to her.’: Widower thanks late wife after finding lost emails, ‘You helped me all these years’
“I haven’t cried in quite some time. But tonight, I did. It was as if I could hear her voice, something I haven’t heard for so long.”
‘She should be here to watch them grow up. I want the love of my life back.’: Widowed single dad creates new normal, ‘I’m different now and that’s OK’
“You are still the same person physically, with a couple of extra pounds stacked on, chowing down Doritos and binge drinking cheap wine on the couch while watching home movies and bawling for days on end. But inside, you are forever altered.”
‘She is moving mountains, even when she loses her footing. She will never forget the pain of fatigue, but she’ll find herself aching to breathe in those cuddles again.’: Mom urges ‘you are enough’
“If I could go back, I’d tell her she’ll have alone time again, but it will feel like two hearts wandering in different directions. I’d tell her the memories she’ll lose herself in won’t just be the milestones, but those long nights. That a love like this is a silent language that speaks volumes.”
‘I drove by my grandchildren’s house to drop off something they love on their front porch. I knocked on the door, and backed away.’: Woman shares plea for kindness during pandemic, ‘Love, not anger, makes the world a better place’
“Has anyone else noticed people are angry? Get back to work. Stay home. Wear a mask. Don’t wear a mask. Stay inside. Get out and breathe some fresh air. Don’t post happy photos, people are suffering. Maybe you want to post what you think without fear of your Facebook ‘friends’ blasting you.”
‘I’m not a good quarantine mom. There are no school charts, no stickers for rewards. No fancy math sheets printed off Pinterest.’: Mom says ‘give yourself grace, you are doing enough’
“There’s been tears, both from the littles and from the adults. There’s been the locking of bathroom doors just to catch a breath, and hiding away in the laundry room for even just twenty seconds feels like a day at the spa.”
