“Today, my mother-in-law delivered this pan to our doorstep with a hot meal tucked inside, before getting back into her car to drive home and finally eat her own dinner. If only Hollywood knew.”

‘She bends over backwards. She texts, just to check on me. She determines to make my life easier, even if it makes her life a little harder.’: Woman pens appreciation letter to mother-in-law

‘You will be excluded. Friends will come and go. No matter how good you are, people are going to talk about you. Don’t take it personal, those people will never get you.’: Woman urges ‘don’t let anyone dull your shine’
“You’re going to be too much for some people. Too loud. Too opinionated. Those people will never get you. Find the ones who do… and love them hard! You never know who may be looking to you for a little bit of joy.”

‘He is too big to be carried around.’ The world thinks I’m babying him. Yet I’m afraid it’ll be the last time.’: Mom says she’ll be grateful for every ‘YES,’ despite what others may say
“I know judging gazes find us in the grocery store parking lot, as his head rests on my shoulder and his legs dangle well below my waist. ‘Will this be the last time?’ I will throw out my back if that’s what it takes.”

‘Want me to hook you up with him?’ Feeling repulsed, I said, ‘Um, no. Why would I want to do that?’ Talk about a mic drop.’: Friend’s advice helps woman leave unhappy relationship, ‘Guard your heart’
“He lied to me more than once. He talked about his ex-wife regularly, and he attacked and criticized my feelings. But at that point, we were already in love. My friend then told me, ‘I just described your boyfriend.’ Talk about a mic drop.”

‘I dated a guy who said, ‘You look so good when you lose weight. Otherwise, I feel like cheating.’: Woman urges us to love our bodies. ‘Kick him to the curb and embrace your curves’
“I had an ex who held me from behind and said, ‘You look so thin!’ Like it was an amazing compliment. This guy was not a fitness fanatic. He never worked out, was extremely unhealthy, and triple my size.”

‘Should we intubate her?’ She went into anaphylactic shock. As she got better, COVID reared its ugly head.’: Husband celebrates nurse wife, ‘She doesn’t wear a cape, but she wears scrubs’
“Coming into contact with anyone who had a common cold would have killed her. She is not 100% healed, yet day in and day out, she is taking care of COVID positive patients. It’s her calling. Although she does not wear a cape, she wears scrubs.”

‘When he is older, how do I explain this?’ We handed over a tiny 3-month-old for his first open-heart surgery.’: Mom of heart warrior thanks those who helped, ‘He lived, and so much of that is due to all of you’
“He shows his scar to everyone. Sometimes he will say, ‘I saved Mommy from a great white shark, look, guys!’ Other times, he just tells people, ‘I had heart surgery!’ The first question immediately is always, ‘Did it hurt, Finn!?’ He just sweetly replies no and then wants to play. He lived. We all did.”

‘Today, reality hit me straight in the face. It hit me by a 6-year-old holding a box of Ziplocs.’: Teacher receives special gift from student, re-examines idea of ‘success’
“Want me to be honest? Today was rough. I don’t cry and I cried 5 times today. I was ready to crawl in a daggum hole.”

‘Only 6 months after our divorce was final, my ex-husband ended his lifelong battle with mental illness.’: Woman’s journey to discover her ‘self-worth’ after ex’s suicide
“I kissed, hugged and squeezed him, laughing and crying, in shock. The crazy thing about it is that even though our marriage was always hard – he was abusive and constantly tormented by his own mind – I loved him. I still do.”

‘He opened his beautiful, dark grey eyes, wise beyond his years. We made him comfortable, and waited.’: Mom vows ‘as long as I live, Daniel’s memory will too’ after losing son to congenital heart defect
“At the end of this long, exhausting appointment, Charity says, ‘Oh, and congratulations on your baby.’ Congratulations on our baby? You mean the one you told me is going to die? I ran out of that room so fast. Despite it all, his broken heart kept beating. I recall a single tear escaping my eye and falling on his face.”