“I felt this innate need to be liked. When people didn’t like me? Guys, it would haunt me. I’d tweak my personality to become what I thought would be more appealing. I’d get bullied. I spent an unhealthy amount of time thinking about it. Was it because my family wasn’t rich? That I wore the wrong clothes? Thank God I don’t make the cut.”
‘I can be awkward. I was never a part of that elusive inner circle I so desperately wanted to fit in.’: Woman admits she was never part of the ‘popular crowd,’ ‘I can’t be everyone’s cup of tea’
‘Go visit your high school friends. The ones who make your southern accent come back with one conversation.’: Woman insists high school friends are the ones who ‘help guide you back to your roots’
“They’re the ones who hold your best-kept secrets, and swear they’ll take them to their grave.”
‘I’m the ‘strong’ friend. Yet, I battle depression. Did you expect me to pull it together? I don’t work like that.’: Woman reminds us to ‘check on our strong friend,’ ‘she’s faking it’
“I’m the strong friend. I meet you for drinks when you’re facing disaster. I bring you dinner, flowers. I’m your sounding board. But you forgot to check on me. You ask me where I’ve been, you say I seem ‘off’ and that you miss my posts. You know what I heard? ‘Why aren’t you playing the role I need you to play?’ But I can’t play that role in life right now. I don’t have it in me.”
‘How was school?’ He sobbed, ‘My best friend doesn’t want to hang out anymore because I’m gay.’: Mom to LGBT son ‘in tears’ after local family ‘plant seed of fear,’ ‘this is why moms like me lose their kids’
“I wanted to pull over, crawl in the back seat, and hug him. ‘She said her family doesn’t hang out with gay people.’ Tears dripped through his little fingers. When we got home, he climbed into my lap like a small child. ‘I love you so much. If I could take the pain away, I would,’ I whispered. ‘I know,’ he whispered back, ‘But you can’t take away the gay.’ My heart shattered.”
‘Are you Becca’s mom?’ A detective arrived at my house looking for ‘the woman swept away by flood waters.’: Mom loses daughter to tragic ‘flood, drowning’ accident after sensing her danger
“I told my daughter I loved her. She replied with a big red heart and said, ‘I’ll call you in a bit.’ This call would never come. At exactly 4:30 p.m., I felt every cell in my body shift. ‘Something horrible has happened. We need to find Becca.’ I posted on her boyfriend’s Facebook, ‘Where is Rebecca?!’ My family watched with confusion.”
‘Women tell girls to ‘never depend on a man’ as if it makes you less of a woman. Well, call me weak. I depend on this man right here.’: Woman admits she ‘needs, depends on’ husband despite criticism
“I’m not scared to say I depend on my husband for so much, and that doesn’t make me weak. In fact, it takes a strong person to depend on someone else with their whole heart. He’s my home base, the one always there to help carry whatever life throws at me. I’m showing my kids that a strong woman is one who knows how to depend on a man without losing herself along the way.”
‘My core friends left me forever. Girls can be mean. Women can be vicious. It’s terrifying to put yourself out there.’: Mom says making REAL new mom friends is scary, but when you do, ‘hang on to it’
“My husband, who is usually ridiculously patient, pulled out his phone. He gently suggested I stop whining and tried selling me on potential new friendships with everyone he knew: What about Tom’s wife? She seems nice? Maybe Tammy from work? I bet you’d like her. ‘No, dear husband, everyone knows Tammy is literally the worst. She’s always trying to sell magic stretch-mark cream to whoever will listen. She is a know-it-all and a gossip.’ I wasn’t having it.”
‘Others think you’re stupid. They’ll laugh when you flap your arms. But you were created special on purpose.’: Mom of daughter with Rett Syndrome details emotional moment grandma’s love quiets her symptoms
“You see, my daughter’s syndrome doesn’t allow you to touch her face or hands. That day, I saw Ivy on the love seat with granny. They both leaned in, foreheads touching, and granny was holding Ivy’s hands and face! Ivy was SMILING and listening to granny quietly speak. ‘You are special. You are good enough. You are different…on purpose.’ No matter the diagnosis or prognosis, I KNEW my Ivy heard granny and understood.”
‘You know what I love? Friends who don’t make this friend thing complicated.’: Woman ‘thankful’ for friends who ‘don’t set unrealistic expectations’ of her
“I won’t always be a phone call away. Sometimes, I leave my phone inside so it’s not a distraction. I won’t always be there the exact moment you need me. I really try, but sometimes I’m fighting my own demons. I won’t give you my undivided attention, but I’ll listen to you vent between pushing babies on swings. We may not be planning many girl’s nights or remembering to text each other back, but anytime you cross my mind, I’m thankful for you.”
‘You’ve been burned. You’ve been talked bad about. You’ve been left out.’: Woman insists this is ‘your life,’ so ‘don’t wait’ for someone to include you
“You’ve felt like because one group didn’t want you, something must be terribly screwed up with you. But it’s not true. That ain’t nothing but dirty, nasty lies. I believed them for a long time myself.”
