“Some nights, I’d cry and stare at the ceiling. I didn’t like looking at my chest in the mirror. I hated leaving the house. I felt forced to wear a mask every day. I wanted a world that reflected me, a rainbow world with limitless colors.”
‘I don’t want to be a man. And I don’t want to be a woman.’ I wanted to be free of the binary. Everything CLICKED’: Non-binary person shares self-discovery journey, ‘I’m finally at home in my body’
‘Our journey to become parents was heartbreaking. I seemed to find every pregnant woman on the planet. I had to save my sanity.’: Mom shares healing through meditation, ‘Find what brings you JOY’
“I threw myself into working, scouring the internet for infertility stories, scrolling Instagram mindlessly. I knew I needed help to bring myself out of the fog. But what I actually learned was to let go.”
‘Thank God he’s leaving,’ someone said loudly. I whipped around. ‘He has autism.’ My blood BOILED.’: Mom advocates for son with autism, ‘We’re stepping into his world’
“Suddenly, he lost ALL his words. ‘Have you heard him talk recently?’ He stopped making eye contact and couldn’t sleep through the night. We grieved a life we had imagined for our son.”
‘They told my husband, ‘Our entrees start at $50. You wouldn’t be able to afford that.’ We’d walked into an upscale restaurant for our anniversary dinner.’: Woman in interracial couple urges ‘color exists, and it is beautiful’
“My husband is a loving, friendly, gentle father of 5, but he is not treated the same as everyone else.”
‘He looked at me sadly. ‘But I just want to tell you one more thing!’ I huffed and said, ‘No, go to bed!’: Mom advocates for mental health
“‘Mommy is on empty.’ As I got up, he was standing there, looking at me. I couldn’t speak because I was trying not to cry like a harpooned whale.”
‘My mom called. ‘Your father didn’t come home last night.’ He always comes home. There was a truck lying in someone’s fence.’: Woman starts small business with help from late father’s support
“I took on 3 different jobs to pay tuition. My dad said, ‘Remember to always believe in yourself and you can accomplish it.’ Coming home from work, my husband was hit by a car on the freeway. I was unknowingly 8 weeks pregnant. We knew there was more we needed to accomplish together; our life did not end there.”
‘He arrived on a redeye flight. I snuck my husband into the office. My son quickly locked eyes with his Dad and jumped into his arms.’: Military spouse plans tearful surprise visit for children
“Our oldest is autistic and goodbyes are so difficult for him. He hugged him tightly and with one final kiss, he was gone. Months later, I said, ‘I think it’s time you come for a visit.’ We kept it a secret. There were tears, so many beautiful tears.”
‘I drove 15 hours to see the girl I was ‘talking’ to. ‘Why would you do that? Why would you try so hard and drive so far?’: Husband urges ‘never stop chasing her the way you did before you had her’
“I drove 15 hours to Florida. I stayed for 20 hours. Then I drove 15 hours back. If you want something bad enough, you never get tired of chasing it.”
‘We may never be ’empty-nesters.’ She may never live independently. But I’d be pretty darn happy taking nightly strolls, arm in arm, forever.’: Special needs mom shares sweet moment
“I was at a stop sign. Crossing the street in front of me was a couple in their 80s and their adult daughter, who had Down syndrome. They seemed to be out for an evening stroll and the daughter and mom were arm in arm. Everyone was smiling. It got me thinking.”
‘I caught sight of her coat hanging off the banister, waiting to be picked up and worn again. I couldn’t hold it together. She didn’t know it was the last time.’: Woman urges ‘hold on to each moment before it’s a memory’
“I was composed when I received the message she had passed, and when the doctor came to verify her death. I was composed when I kissed her forehead for the last time. It was only as we were getting ready to leave her house, that the silliest thing got to me.”
