“A question that often comes up for me is, ‘Do you hate your dad?’ My answer is no.”
‘My dad shot my mom 5 times, then shot himself. I was 8 years old and an orphan.’: Woman loses parents to murder-suicide, finds ‘peace, healing’ after 21 years
‘I think I am meant to know you.’ My grandpa didn’t recognize us anymore. This disease transformed him into someone else.’: Woman shares ‘fond memories’ of granddad with Alzheimer’s
“I’d been toying with the idea of having him immortalized on my body. I wanted to keep him close to me, and we all knew how important fishing was to my grandpa. But I had a partner that wouldn’t ‘allow’ me to get tattoos on my body. Luckily, I kept the idea within me until I found true love. Each day I see my tattoo, I am reminded of this huge bond I had with my grandpa.”
‘It finally happened. I was introduced as her ‘new Grandma.’ My heart was so full. This is what I’d been missing for so long.’
“I thought, ‘Well, what the heck.’ A lovely young lady messaged me. Turns out, her girls needed a grandma in their lives just as much as I needed grandbabies to love. She has struggles she is unable to disclose to her own mom, so I have become her confidant. All I ever wanted to be is a good mom, and an even better Grandma.”
‘I noticed an elderly woman sitting alone. My exact thoughts were, ‘Dang, I’d hate to have to eat alone’. I walked over to her and asked if I could sit with her.’
“She told me she lost her husband and that tomorrow would have been their 60th anniversary.”
‘This elderly man needed pain meds for his wife. The employee simply said, ‘It’s in aisle 6.’ He struggled to navigate the supermarket. I left all my groceries and took him there.’
“Today, I watched an elderly man who had obviously fallen, with a huge scrape and blood on his leg. He walked past people in the cafe, while he slowly made his way to his car. Not one person stopped. Or looked. Or acknowledged him.”
‘Hear me out, before you say anything.’ Those are the first words I heard. ‘It’s a girl and she’s due next month.’ I could barely speak.’
“My husband cut me off mid-sentence and simply said, ‘Yes, this is our daughter.’ Before we hung up, I could hear him telling everyone around him, ‘I’m going to be a dad.’”
‘Mrs. Morgan? We have a 3-year-old little boy in the PICU. He’s been here 6 months and needs a home.’
“‘6 months in the PICU! Why?!’ 3 months, because he was sick. 3 months, because no one would take him home.”
‘You know what I don’t remember about my childhood Christmases? I don’t remember anything being especially decorated.’
“I don’t remember Pottery Barn centerpieces or monogrammed stockings. I don’t remember Pinterest-worthy trees or anything that would make one declare, ‘That is so precious. I must Instagram it immediately.’ That all might have been there. But if it was, I don’t remember.”
‘I’ve actually heard my Grandkids calculating which Grandparent they can hit up for which toys for maximum impact. Our little angels are fully aware of our weakness.’
“When my girls were little, my parents doted on them shamelessly. Over-the-top-please-stop-you’re-ruining-my-kids doting. It made me nuts, but now I get it.”
‘We have been living with my parents for 3.5 years. Never in a million years would I have imagined we would move in with my parents, 2 months before the triplets were born.’
“Bringing in a very pregnant daughter, son-in-law and triplets was a lot to ask, and we knew that. My dad said, ‘This is an opportunity for me to be there for my grand babies, the way I wasn’t able to be there for you.’ I cried.”
