“My friend encouraged me to make a dating profile. ‘Find 3 guys you feel a connection with, give 2 your number, and go on a date with 1… ‘ I found myself driving towards Applebee’s, my heart racing. I just wanted to get ‘this’ going or over with, then my phone rings. ‘Ashton – Cute Tinder Guy’ flashes across my phone screen. Time and my breathing stop.”
‘How did we get here?’ After 12 years, we turned into unrecognizable strangers. I was 27, a mom to the sweetest boy, and getting divorced. This wasn’t the plan.’: Single mom takes the risk, meets ‘knight in shining armor’ on Tinder
To The Daughter Waking Up Father’s Day Without Her Daddy
“He will be the last thing on your mind when you go to bed Saturday night, and the very first thing on your mind when you wake up Sunday morning.”
‘I’m so sorry. I can’t do this anymore, Chelsea.’ I didn’t know it would be his last Father’s Day.’: Woman mourning father declares ‘to grieve is to have felt love’
“I waited until I heard my dad come home to sleep. I took off his shoes after he passed out on the couch and put my finger under his nose to check his breathing. I learned to love his scent—grass, sweat, and booze.”
‘Reese was snotty, stuffy, and not her usual self. The following day, we noticed a button battery missing in our home.’: Bereaved mom starts non-profit after losing daughter to ingested battery
“The reality of Reese being gone crashed over me when it was time to call my husband. His words and voice are etched in my mind forever: ‘No, no, no. It can’t be.’ And then came the wailing. I held her, one last time, praying it wasn’t real. If it was possible, I would have held on forever.”
‘They didn’t know if I’d ever wake up. The first thing I said was, ‘I can’t see. Everything is completely black.’: Woman navigates new normal with sight loss
“After my tonsils were removed, my mom woke me up to check on my throat and give me some water. I was completely unresponsive. They didn’t know if I’d be able to breathe, talk, walk, or think ever again.”
Dear Newborn Mother, Please Know This Is What Productivity Looks Like
“It looks like feeding your baby on the couch for an hour and leaving a dent in the cushions when you leave, if you leave. It looks like ignoring the mess around you and somehow always making more. It looks like constantly being poo’d and spewed on. You may not feel alive right now, but you are keeping someone else alive.”
‘2 weeks postpartum, I returned to work. I felt like I had an identity again. I had a purpose other than mom.’: Working mom urges ‘create your own perfect’
“The first few months weren’t always bad, but I felt lost. I was a shell of who I used to be. During all this drama and pain, I failed to get to know our son.”
‘I was getting my son off the bus when he handed me a pink folder and flowers. ‘This is from all the kids, mom!’ I sobbed.’: Mom battling cervical cancer thanks bus driver for act of kindness
“On top of a pandemic, I heard the words I’d hoped to never hear: ‘Your cancer is back.’ It seems my son had been talking about how much he missed me on his school bus each time I went to the hospital. Mrs. Hammonds went above and beyond to make us feel so special and loved.”
‘I woke up to my mom sobbing. ‘Your father passed away from drug abuse.’ A part of me knew it would happen.’: Woman dedicates life to healing others from ‘father wounds’
“I felt cheated from having a good father who’d watch me grow up, dance with me at my wedding. Father’s Day may be extremely hard to get through, but you’re complete with or without. You are enough.”
‘Someone up there really wants you to be a mom. There are THREE heartbeats here.’: Mom welcomes rainbow triplets
“I found myself in the bathroom, peering down at that familiar stick. There it was. That blue line. That crippling fear history will repeat itself. I didn’t know if I could survive this again.”
