“You promised me forever. When I accepted your engagement ring, I didn’t know ‘forever’ was only 2 more years. You didn’t even say goodbye. All you said was, ‘I hope you join,’ and closed the door. I chased after you, held onto your pant leg. You shook me off. ‘Please, just read the verses.’ The love of my life was swept away by a cult. I spend each day praying he’ll snap out of it.”
‘I’m sorry, I can no longer touch you.’ I cried. I was ‘unholy.’ They brainwashed you.’: Woman loses husband to religious cult, ‘I am mourning someone who is still alive’
‘Hey! I saw you in there.’ I hear a man’s voice shout from behind his steering wheel. ‘I’m so sorry.’: Stranger’s act of kindness helps Mom reach her ‘turning point’
“He must have seen us inside the grocery store. It was the first time we were going in without a stroller. ‘Everybody listen for Momma, okay?’ Six innocent eyes peered back at me. We were here for a mission. ‘Looks like you have your hands full.’ There was every cliché of panic on my face.”
‘Are you excited your soon-to-be mother-in-law is staying for 2 weeks?’ Terrified, I accepted the invite. Was she putting on a show?’: Woman pens letter to mother in law after losing her to cancer
“I wished for was a loyal man that would love me unconditionally and…a nice and loving mother in law. He wanted me to ‘learn’ about you all, not ‘hear’ or ‘read’ about you. As time went on and we grew closer, it was time for that first trip together. Minnesota to meet the ENTIRE family! I held your hand until your last breath.”
‘You signed your rights over. I was so mad you two were laughing, carrying on like it was no big deal.’: Mom pens letter to ex, ‘she’s 8-years-old now’
“You were DAD OF THE YEAR! That’s literally all you gave her, one year. You told everyone I was keeping her from you, but you just didn’t bother to show up to your scheduled visitations. You knew my phone number, you knew my address. Your family did, too. Y’all just didn’t care. You were a stranger to her and, for some reason, you and your fiancé just couldn’t understand why.”
‘We don’t work this hard to put our daughter in used clothes!’ I was MAD. That’s when it clicked. This wasn’t about money.’: Couple learn to stop fighting about money, ‘we’re going to be a solid unit together, for richer or poorer’
“People always told me the number-one thing couples fight about is money. I can’t remember how many times I saw that same old line in relationship articles or advice columns. However, I never really believed it. ‘That’s something unhappy people fight about,’ I thought. Then, we settled into marriage. I was dead wrong.”
‘I flat out asked, ‘Would I be able to take my own photos during my C-section?’ She looked puzzled.’: Woman photographs her own C-section after losing baby in same OR last year, ‘That is empowering as hell’
“Mike shouted, ‘It’s a boy!’ I was clicking away, fighting back tears, trying to see my new babe, focus my camera. This was a surreal experience. Just 371 days before, in the exact same OR, our little Clark was also pulled out at this exact same spot. But there was no crying, no excited cheers, no shouts of ‘it’s a boy!’ He was born still. We knew our Clark sent this little one from heaven to be with us. Teddy’s birth was not only empowering, it was incredibly healing, too.”
‘She slipped her small frame into my son’s skinny jeans. It was cute, but sad. My heart broke.’: Woman details mother-in-law’s journey with Alzheimer’s, ‘her mind and body are slipping away’
“In a matter of months, she began to rapidly decline. Mild confusion turned to disorientation. We witnessed her turn into a shell of who she once was. She no longer recognizes us. It has been gut-wrenching to watch her be so unaware of herself and her surroundings, especially for a woman who, in the past, wouldn’t have even entertained the thought of being seen without her hair properly curled.”
‘I honestly thought this would be easier by now. How in the world am I still this exhausted?’: Mother kept waiting for raising children to get easier, it never came
“Heck, even my own parents made it look effortless. But I’m not raising me. And it’s a different time. And all that….blah, blah, blah. So here I am, still figuring it out day to day just like when I had a newborn.”
‘It’s good to see you’re moving on.’ It’s been 2 years since my husband died. I’ll never ‘get over it.’: Widow candidly shares ‘gut-wrenching’ moments of grief, ‘our memories are fading’
“I found myself in the deoderant section at the grocery store for a really long time. I opened, breathed in every men’s Right Guard stick until I found the sport one. I held it close to my nose. I didn’t cry. I wanted to. But there was a guy behind me, browsing gift cards. I figured he’d find it really odd to see a woman weeping at the smell of antiperspirant in aisle 11. I’m trying not to forget his smell, but it’s fading.”
‘Can I call you mom?’ Nothing prepares you for it. My heart hit my feet.’: Foster mom ‘not expecting’ this to happen so soon, but promises ‘you won’t regret it’
“And then friends, it happened again. 6:24 p.m. loading into the bus, my husband was helping the littles into the back. I was in the driver’s seat when I heard it… ‘Can I call you dad?’ I sunk into the seat with the biggest smile while I held my breath, waiting to hear my husband’s response.”
