“When I was a little boy, my dad drove from our home in Harlan County down to Cherokee, North Carolina. That’s where Dad bought me my first store-bought toy: a wood-and-string bow and arrow, carved by the Cherokee on the reservation. Boy, I thought I was hot stuff. We were dirt poor. But my aim was improving, and years later, others noticed I could shoot. I was bad news for anyone who came up against me in competition.”
‘Boy, I thought I was hot stuff. They noticed I could shoot. I taught beginners and built a reputation as a coach.’: Man recalls his ’15 minutes of fame’ and brush with Olympics thanks to StoryWorth
‘I wanted to overflow this tree with gifts like in the commercials. If your Christmas tree looks like this, IT. IS. NOT. PITIFUL.’: Mom reminds us Christmas is not about the amount of presents we buy
“If I can be honest, looking at this photo makes me feel a little pitiful, because it’s not a lot. And that’s okay. They’re lacking nothing.”
‘We won’t have a little voice waking us up Christmas morning, no opening presents. We put up lights, even though they can’t express their excitement.’: Special needs mom shares reality of Christmas season, ‘our babies are the gift’
“Our Christmas is different than yours. We get no excited screams when they see what Santa brought. It’s struggling with gift ideas. What do you get a non-mobile, non-verbal child? It’s walking past all the cool toys at the front of every store, wishing our child could play with them. Our Christmas is different, but it’s still so magical.”
‘Let’s get married now, this weekend.’ Her response killed me. ‘No, you don’t have to do this.’: Husband’s young wife dies of cancer, she gives him ‘gift’ of second wife, ‘There wasn’t an ounce of jealousy from this woman’
“‘The doctors said the chemo will mean I won’t ever have kids. I know how bad you want to be a dad. Don’t do this.’ ‘NO!’ I said. I planned the wedding for 2 days later. She’d been looking for a dress. Each bride had their wedding day on a name tag they wore. Melissa’s said ‘TODAY.’ Some were confused. Moments later, her eyes lit up. This gown, like Cinderella’s, would need no alteration. 10 months after our wedding day, she gave me the gift. ‘I love you, and I promise to learn to love whoever you choose after me.’”
‘We need to talk. Your baby’s head is BIG. His fingers look like a starfish.’ WHAT? He passed the Kleenex. I lost it.’: Mom births son with Dwarfism, ‘he was made special on purpose’
“I thought he was joking. ‘Ohhhhh, I was hoping to walk in and see that you two were just very short. Have you ever seen the little people shows on TV?’ What the heck? He was convinced our son was a dwarf. He double checked measurements. He was actually serious! ‘What will our friends think?!’ I couldn’t breathe.”
‘My husband complains I never tell him what I want for Mother’s Day. I want to be as clear as possible. Don’t say you DON’T know what we want.’
“3. A break from the kids. Sure, we are celebrating being a mom, but our ideal celebration doesn’t include wiping butts or picking up LEGOs. Give us this day off, please.”
‘I will never forget the phone call. I couldn’t bring myself to answer. My heart was being torn from my chest. It was a friend, expressing her sorrow over my loss.’
“By sobbing uncontrollably, she did just that.”
‘I opened the door and saw a man holding flowers. ‘I have a delivery for Nikki,’ he said. I instantly turned to my husband, assuming they were from him. Except, they weren’t. I could tell by the confused look on his face.’
“‘Who are they from?,’ I asked. He so matter of factly said, ‘Your Mom.’ But my mom has been dead for almost eight years now.”
‘Rather than give me nothing, this student took the time to take every marshmallow out of her cereal to put in a bag—for me.’: Teacher receives Christmas gift from student in need
“You see, 100% of my school is on free/reduced lunch. They also get free breakfast at school every day of the school week. This kiddo wanted to get my something so badly but had nothing to give.”
‘After 6 miscarriages, 9 IVF transfers, 15 embryos, and 5 egg retrievals, my best friend offered to be our surrogate.’: Couple take home ‘rainbow baby’ after several years of battling infertility
“I lost my dad suddenly 3 years ago. I knew then I would name my baby after him. After all our struggles, our sweet Scottie finally arrived, of all the days, on my dad’s birthday. Talk about coming full circle! There was not a dry eye in the room. She was worth absolutely ALL the heartbreak.”
