“My grandmother bled to death. My grandpa was heartbroken. It was a shock for all of us. A freak accident. There was no time to say goodbye or make sure she knew we loved her. When I called my grandpa to let him know I was eloping, his voice immediately perked up. ‘You need THE RING. She always wanted you to have it.’ I never expected it. I never even knew I wanted it. I felt an immense sense of peace wash over.”
‘The surgeon accidentally cut an artery. ‘This ring is yours now, Molz. She wanted you to have it. I wish she could have given it to you, herself.’: Woman surprised with late grandma’s ring after freak accident, ‘It was her little gift to me, straight from Heaven’
‘I’m not scared of dying. I’m ready to go anytime God wants to take me home.’ I began to cry. It was the first time I realized she wasn’t going to be here forever.’: Woman urges us to cherish time with our loved ones, ‘I wish I knew then what I know now’
“I still have dreams. They’re both still alive and I’m on the couch. My grandfather is smoking a cigar in the recliner and I can smell lunch cooking. She speaks to me so clearly and calls me ‘Al’ in her sweet, Southern voice as she asks if I’d like some sweet tea or a walk around the neighborhood. I miss the couch and the yard, the smells, and the sounds. What I wouldn’t give for one more meal, one more hug, one more anything.”
‘I love my kids, but I don’t miss them when I get a break. I look forward to it.’: Mom says ‘loving time without your kids doesn’t make you a horrible mother, it makes you human’
“I went out with a friend last weekend for a late dinner. When I arrived, she asked where my kids were. ‘Oh, they’re at their grandparents for the night.’ And she said, ‘Oh, that must be hard, you must miss them!’ I thought to myself, ‘Not really!’ It’s important for me to remind myself that I am a person. I am not just ‘mom.’ I am so much more.”
‘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
“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.”
‘As a teenager, I didn’t appreciate my grandparents like I should have.’: Woman shares appreciation for grandparents thanks to StoryWorth, ‘I’m so lucky to still have them in my life’
“They were by no means the stereotypical grandparents. There were no homemade cookies waiting for us when we visited or secret treat drawers just for us. Their home was decorated with beautiful works of art not meant to be touched. I thought they were too critical, but now I realize they just wanted me to have the best life possible.”
‘Christmas came just 3 months after my ex’s death. That’s when they showed up. My in-laws. They rallied together to help our broken family make new, magical memories.’: In-laws rally to provide kids a Christmas after woman’s ex-husband’s suicide
“It was an ‘all hands-on deck’ type of tragedy. My kids were so young. His parents flew us to Florida. My only job was to get on the plane with the kids. There was absolutely no obligation to love on the ‘ex-wife.’ They could have easily blamed me for their son’s downward spiral into suicide. They could have chosen to hate, curse, and isolate me from their family. But they didn’t.”
‘Stay with us,’ they kept telling me. All I wanted was to close my eyes. The next many moments were a blur.’: Woman overcomes addiction, finds faith, ‘I’m so thankful drugs didn’t take over the precious life that awaited me’
“My mom covered her mouth and ran out of the room with tears in her eyes as my brother sat next to me. I was dying. I took 30 more pills slowly, not realizing what was happening. I should have died, and I almost did.”
‘If you can’t respect me and your Dad, don’t come to MY family’s Christmas celebrations.’ Pump the brakes, crazy lady.’: Woman ‘bitter’ over tumultuous upbringing, but learns to ‘forgive’ after all the hurt
“You married her when I was 3. I wasn’t at your wedding. I was maliciously sent to Chicago by my mother, just to get back at you. Remember that time you came to my Grandma’s and literally kidnapped me? Dragging me down the hill, kicking and screaming, you trying to hush me? I was 4. This is one of my earliest memories. Tragic. My kids don’t know you. But that seems to be a pattern in this family.”
‘There has been a death of the family gathering. It’s no longer an event, it’s an inconvenience.’: Woman reminds us of the importance of family, ‘people aren’t commodities, everyone has an expiration date’
“Today, we focus on our careers, raising our own kids, getting away when we can. Our extended family isn’t the center it once was and if a reunion were planned, most wouldn’t bother to come. Besides, we keep in touch on social media. Family meant something back then. People understood the importance of visiting, of shaking hands and laughing. They understood time was fleeting and those you care about most won’t be here forever.”
‘Christmas Eve finally came. I had to open that big box first. I tore into the paper and there she was – a My Size Barbie.’: Woman remembers what matters most this holiday season, ‘The pricelessness of being together’
“Christmas, when I was 5-years-old. I remember in the back stood a box approximately 3-foot-tall with MY name on it. Of course, my brother couldn’t help but tease me there is only a small gift inside, and the big box was just a trick. But I knew.”
