lifestyle

‘This was the last photo I took of Finn in a school. It’s all gone. His body language is an obvious expression that he did NOT want to be pulled away.’: Mom of son with heart disease says ‘you can’t have a lifestyle without LIFE’

“His teacher means the WORLD to him, the world. We had big plans for May 28th. Finn’s graduation from preschool and an adorable spring program that was planned. It’s all gone. He will never get to complete preschool. We had our kids at this school for 6 whole years and with one announcement, gone.”

Edited By LJ Herman

‘You’re lucky,’ someone said. Inside, I was fuming. It’s happened the last 3 times I’ve taken my kids to dinner.’: Mom attributes ‘blood, sweat, and tears’ to children’s good behavior

“One day, my kids were acting especially sassy at dinner (dare I say, like brats). I summoned our server to the table. ‘Can I get you something?’ I went into total mom mode. ‘Well, I just wanted my kids to apologize. Girls, can you tell our server you don’t know why you’re being loud and crazy, but that you really enjoy eating here and hope we can come back?’ I winked. Instant behavior upgrade followed. I’m not ‘lucky.’ I’ve been putting blood, sweat, and tears into this for years.”

Edited By Sophia San Filippo

‘Even if you lose the weight, you’ll just gain it all back. This is too hard for you.’ I felt sloppy and ashamed of my mom pooch.’: Mom of 3 dedicates to a healthy, positive lifestyle through ‘self-acceptance and love’

“I noticed it first in my wedding photos. I didn’t even want to have pictures hanging around my house because I didn’t like the chubby arms and wide face that glared back at me. I have only 2 pictures of my baby bump during my first pregnancy. I was so uncomfortable that I didn’t want any photos of my bare belly those 9 months. There was a dress I found that covered my body well and made me look ‘okay enough,’ so I bought it in 4 colors. I knew something had to change.”

Edited By Emily Richey

‘I thought, ‘How is THIS nothing to worry about?’ The walls were closing in. Everything turned black and I couldn’t move my body. ‘It’s common for college students to be under a lot of stress.’

“I decided to request one specific blood test; one that was much harder to receive than it should have been. I had to basically force my doctor to test me. One week later, I was finally given the answer I had been longing so badly for.”

Edited By Megan Kujawa

‘Realizing I was gay gave me feelings I was trying to numb. I felt like I was doing something wrong and if people found out, I wouldn’t be loved. I spent 15 years in a downward spiral.’

“I hated drugs, but I also couldn’t be away from them. My family had no idea what to do. You name it, they tried it in hopes of getting their son back – but it got a lot worse before it got better.”

Edited By Eliza Murphy

‘I live with my husband, my ex-husband, his girlfriend and our 6 children. We threw our parenting plan out the window.’: Woman says she wouldn’t change their unconventional blended family ‘for the world’

“As weird as this is to most people, we all live together in one house with our 6 kids. If someone would have told me 3 years ago that I’d be living with my husband, ex-husband, his girlfriend and her two children, I’d have laughed at them! I know this sounds crazy, but our children are happy, we are happy.”

Edited By Eliza Murphy

‘I remember thinking ‘I’ll be happy when I get married.’: Woman says ‘sometimes life is simply about appreciating the drive’

“Our trajectory completely changed with the appearance of two little blue lines.”

Edited By LJ Herman

‘I was a victim, but I am a survivor’: Woman’s miraculous journey from scarring physical abuse, to severe PTSD, to ‘hope and happiness’

“15 years after my trauma, I am still learning to love my body for what it is, scars and all. It has taken a long time for me to be comfortable showing them, but they are mine and they remind me how far I have come. Your trials in life will make or break you. I was a victim, but I am a survivor.”

Edited By Eliza Murphy