“I walked past the TV playing Mickey Mouse, the mess on the floor, my husband sitting silently on the couch. I started driving and I wasn’t sure where. I just walked out the door and left. Because I have a husband and healthy kids, I’m supposed to ‘enjoy every second’ even when I’m slipping. So, I suck it up because there’s real people going through real things.”
‘I got in my car and drove away from my family. I didn’t know where I was going, but I wanted to go far away, for good.’: Mom feels ‘guilty’ the things she’s ‘always wanted’ bring her ‘the most heartache’
‘I keep telling myself, ‘Today is the day.’ The day I get it together. Workout more, eat healthier. Serve less frozen foods. Then, week after week, I don’t.’ Woman explains self-care is more than a ‘bubble bath’ or ‘weekend out with the girls’
“We’d never want our children to run on empty. Put themselves last. So, what are YOU doing? Life isn’t meant to be a series of checklists and drive-bys. Stop trying to fill up everyone’s cup and take a look at your own. It’s empty, isn’t it? That’s not living, sister – that’s just going through the motions.”
‘I heard a cracking sound and a thud as my head hit the window. He threw the car into park. I’d ‘pushed his buttons’ and made him do it. He told me it was my fault.’ Woman recounts how ‘fairy tale’ quickly turned to abusive nightmare
“In slow motion, the scene still unspools in my head. ‘You loved me once,’ I croaked out, looking up at him. We had history. We had a home together. Failure was not an option. I clung to him, my heart believing if I just loved him enough, he’d emerge from the darkness.”
‘The first time my child was made fun of, he was 5 months old. I never excepted them to target a baby.’
“I’ll never forget where we were: the deli line at our local grocery store. I had just ordered a pound of rotisserie smoked turkey and looked over to find a middle-aged woman snickering and pointing at my son. I ran out of the store before the tears came.”
‘Life’s too short. Do yourself a favor and weed your circle. Let’s face it. Friends can break your heart, too.’: Woman explains importance of ‘eliminating toxic friendships’
“Eliminating toxic friendships is one of the hardest things about growing up. The realization that the bond you thought you had with someone is over is a hard one. But it’s not fair to you, or them, to surround yourself with anyone who makes you less than HAPPY. It’s okay to find the strength to let go.”
‘I was afraid of having a girl because of my mother. Into my teens, she taunted me about my weight. I was terrified.’: Mom’s candid fear about having daughter after her mom caused childhood PTSD, eating disorder
“The ultrasound technician asked me, ‘Alright, are you ready?’ I asked with excitement, ‘Is it a boy?!’ She shook her head. ‘Nope.’ ‘It’s a girl?’ I was hoping I misunderstood her. ‘Yes,’ she said. My heart sank. I felt it would be impossible to have a successful relationship with a daughter.”
‘This is weird, but I feel like I know you.’ My heart dropped. ‘Were you adopted?’ Yes. ‘How old are you?’ 40. ‘I gave birth to a child 40 years ago.’: Woman gives son up for adoption, runs into him 40 years later at supermarket
“The mutual dreams. The age. The feeling. It all seemed to align by some inexplicable magic. He didn’t speak. He only sobbed, my tears flowing with him. I was never a believer in miracles. But this? This felt like a miracle of the utmost kind. The universe brought us together. It’ll take an army to tear us apart.”
‘Oh wow, my thighs look huge in these jeans. After you have an eating disorder, they say you’ll never be normal again.’
“The next five minutes I spent trying to change the illusion of what I had just seen, pulling up the waist of my dark jeans a little higher, smoothing out the denim hoping that may give the twins a slimmer appearance. I pulled on the hem of my sweater a bit, pulling it down a little further than the widest part of my thighs, hoping once again to give a thinner illusion.”
‘My son begged me to wear a dress. I could see the pure joy on his face. The next morning, my heart raced as we dropped him off at school. Then I got the phone call.’
“I heard parents snickering as we walked by. I hoped and prayed he would be okay. When I picked him up, I asked, ‘How was school? Where is your dress?’ His eyes filled up with tears. ‘I had a bad day,’ he said.”
‘Doctors told me I was ‘lying.’ I hadn’t started my period. Before I took the birth control, I took a pregnancy test. It was POSITIVE!? We bought 5 more tests. All of them were positive!’
“I was having vivid, strange dreams. A neighbor said, ‘Are you pregnant?’ I said ‘no’ and cried. A switch flipped in me. I became crazy emotional. I was having day dreams about drilling a hole in my head or cutting it off. I went to doctor after doctor. They all said that it was because of my weight.”
