“I see you all, meeting and greeting at a local coffee spot after drop off, pouring life into one another. I see you sipping fancy lattes and chatting about summer vacation trips you took, catching up like old friends. I see you, the ones I know from word of mouth who look my way, then right back to your cozy, familiar circle. Do you reminder what it was like to be an outsider?”
‘To the established school moms, invite the new mom in. That small gesture may not make your day, but it will sure make hers.’: Mom shares heartfelt reminder ‘in a world where mom shaming is so real and frequent, lift one another up’
‘I used to be a horrible friend. I was alone, lost.’: Woman overcomes insecurities and anxieties to be better friend
“If someone had something great, I instantly felt less than. I was sarcastic, pessimistic, and judgmental. It was the swiftest, most needed kick in the face.”
‘We shoot 1000 pictures of the same instant, but we often forget to live it.’: College student urges ‘capture the moment’ rather than the picture
“‘The quality of the pictures suck.’ I wasn’t worried if my smile was too big, or if my hair was messy, or if my makeup was smeared, and it truly made all the difference.”
‘We ask each other ‘real’ questions. This is real friendship, and it is scary.’: Woman’s advice on close friendships, ‘Be the kind of friend you are hoping for’
“In high school, friendships were easy. Once I turned 30, I didn’t have the patience anymore for the superficial.”
‘They’re the ones you call when you need to vent, or talk about nothing at all. The minute you hear their voices, you know you’re safe.’: Woman shares ode to long-time friends
“They don’t judge you. They don’t tell you what to do. They simply rally. And they pull you close. The minute you hear their voices, you know you’re safe. There is nobody like a friend you’ve known for years who can instantly remind you of who you are.”
‘Do you ever feel GUILTY for saying no?’: Woman urges ‘don’t put all you have into others’
“It’s not RUDE to say no.”
‘I’d been on my phone. I might have judged another mom, had I seen her doing the same thing.’: Mom reminds others not to judge
“I couldn’t process what I’d heard. I still haven’t.”
‘As a bereaved mother of a medically-fragile, premature twin, I can finally say I’ve met my ‘people.’ And the funny thing is, I’ve never actually met any of them.’: Mom thanks ‘Insta-Village’ for ‘being my source of strength’
“I turned to Instagram. Right before my eyes was a ready-made group of soulmates. Women who advocate with such ferocity for their children, who live on 3 hours of sleep, who know reference numbers and caloric values and fio2 conversions off the top of their heads. My people.”
‘One day, you’ll need a transplant.’ I was DEVASTATED. I never really accepted this, until I had no other option.’: Man with autoimmune hepatitis undergoes liver transplant, ‘It’s my second chance’
“I lost 30 pounds, began sleeping 14 hours a day, and suffered terrible stomach pains. It was raining when I received the call. When I hung up, I watched the raindrops fall down the window in streaks. I was preparing to take my hands off the wheel and hand it to my doctors.”
‘Four years ago, I met a woman and her child at a public park. We became friends on Facebook and never saw each other again. Until last fall, when they joined us for Thanksgiving.’: Mom shares story of ‘friends who feel like family’
“As she chased behind her new friend, her mother and I struck up a conversation, and at some point she mentioned her daughter’s autism. My daughter was two at the time. I was at the beginning of my suspicions she shared that same diagnosis. This stranger—this mom—was the first person I told.”
