“Our parents cancelled their flights. We debated what to do. With each contraction, I started cursing for my husband. I needed him. In a movie-worthy scene, my husband arrived, breathless, as I dug my fingernails into his hand. Being in the midst of a pandemic while becoming a mother is something I truly never anticipated.”
‘Will my husband stay at home and miss the birth?’ My contractions were 8 minutes apart. I was shrieking in pain.’: Mom births baby during pandemic, ‘We pray we can all embrace again’
‘My student came into my room, put his head down on the desk, and started crying. He was DEVASTATED.’: Teacher surprises student with ‘care package’ after being bullied for making his own shirt
“When I told my students we’d be participating in college colors day, this particular child told me he wanted to wear a University of Tennessee shirt, but he didn’t have one. So, when the day finally arrived, he was SO EXCITED to show me the shirt he made. He took it one step further to make his own label. Unfortunately, some girls at the lunch table next to him made fun of the sign. So, I planned an extra special surprise.”
‘On Labor Day, I lost my 3-year-old, autistic son at the worst place possible: a water park.’: Mom loses toddler in public scare, says it ‘takes a village’ to ‘save a child’
“He went down the slide, ran a few feet ahead, turned a corner, and was gone. The only thing in front of him was a lazy river with a strong current. I dove in and couldn’t find him. I wish I could say I was distracted by my phone, or talking to a friend, but my eyes never left his body. And yet, he is fast, and he was gone. Guilt has kept me awake every night since.”
‘Today was hard. I have a backpack leash for my son. He is adopted, was born drug addicted.’: Mom shamed with ‘snide comments, nasty looks’ for having son on leash
“I’m crying and clouded in shame and embarrassment. The looks and side eye I got from no less than 5 ‘Karen’s’ made me grab my items and leave. I’m glad your little Lucy is perfect and never has meltdowns. I don’t know why women feel the need to judge and mom shame.”
‘My son’s teacher recently friended me on social media. I came upon a picture of her holding a chalkboard sign that read, ‘I said YES!’ She’s already married, so it struck me as odd.’: Mom thanks ‘hero’ teachers
“Until I read the caption. I couldn’t stop crying.”
‘When our daughter was six months old, two black women approached us. One said, ‘Your baby’s hair is dry.’ I was taken aback, offended and embarrassed.’: Woman’s comment in Target forces mom to learn to accept help with her mixed race children
“Around that same time, my husband and I sought a mentor for our daughters, realizing we, as white people, were not qualified to help our kids navigate certain situations.”
‘I hit bottom. Knees to the ground, ugly tears in the shower. My friends stepped in. They didn’t ask what I needed because honestly, I’m in so deep I have no idea what I need.’
“We have three new foster children and the trenches of trauma and grief are deep. My village stepped into the trenches and sat with me. They didn’t ask me what I needed, they just started providing.”
‘I was sitting next to a grandmother of 3 children. ‘Honestly,’ she said, ‘kids these days have no idea what real values are, and they’re certainly not going to learn them from their parents.’
“‘What does that mean?’ I asked her curiously.”
Ten true things about the first year of motherhood
“Postpartum bodies are squashy and wobbly and dimpled and stretched and foreign and embarrassing and difficult and painful and gorgeously imperfect, and they tend to stay that way for quite awhile. You made a human. Now make your peace.”
‘Dear NICU babe, I don’t know who you are’: Stranger pumps 700 hours, donates 8,000 ounces of breast milk
“The 700 hours I have spent pumping and cleaning and packaging this up for you is all worth it.”
