“One of my customers had a really bad-tempered Rhode Island Red rooster. He’d attack me every day and claw at my legs. I’d fight him off, but after a few months of delivering papers, the rooster was decidedly ahead and I was starting to get angry. One day he came charging at me. I decided I’d had enough.”
‘My dad called me into the room with a customer. ‘Son, did you kill their rooster?’ I didn’t say a word. I just lifted my pant legs.’: Man shares childhood memories thanks to StoryWorth
‘Grandparents are a sweet blessing in life. They will always hold a special place in my heart.’: Bonny reminisces on growing up with both grandparents thanks to StoryWorth, ‘I am so lucky’
“I would sit on Grandma’s porch as she brushed my long, strawberry blond hair. In the corner of that wonderful porch hung my dad’s Navy hammock where my cousins and I would spend hours swaying on a summer’s day. I am so lucky.”
‘Who are you? I don’t know you and I’m really scared,’ she said, shaking. She was crying now. I was her baby, her best friend.’: Woman shares painful Alzheimer’s journey, ‘Nothing prepares your heart for the day your mom doesn’t know you’
“That morning, I picked up my mom for a routine dental cleaning. As usual, she was happy to see me. Nothing stood out as odd. She joked with the receptionist about me and walked out the door with a smile. As soon as the sunlight hit her face, she turned to me. ‘You never told me.’ ‘Told you what?’ I asked. ‘Who you were.’ All in a couple of seconds, I realized this was very real. She was terrified and begged, ‘Take me home.’ I soon realized ‘home’ was her childhood house. My mind was racing.”
‘I could never punish anyone the way you have punished me,’ my mother texted. You are poison to me.’: Woman recalls toxic relationship with her mother, ‘I am only protecting myself’
“I love you, my long lost almost mother… My love for you IS unconditional, but your presence in my life is not. All I know, is that it hurts less when I am away. I know you hurt, and I hurt too. My plan was never to hurt you, or get revenge. However, I could not keep accepting your rejection.”
‘I feel something.’ Not a single OBGYN had ever touched me above the shoulders. Now I am different.’: Woman diagnosed with thyroid cancer after switching doctors, ‘I panicked’
“My gynecologists had never touched me anywhere except the obvious pink parts. This exam was different. I felt her palpate the right side of neck. She returned to that one spot 3 times. I was frantic. Then, I let go and let life happen.”
‘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 had never seen this picture before yesterday. There is so much I don’t know.’: Adoptive mama shocked by newborn photo of son, ‘his life before us is a mystery’
“The social worker sent me a message. She was cleaning out her office and found one of my son’s baby pictures, taken months before we met him. I had never seen him make that facial expression. I wondered who took it. Where was he? There is so much I don’t know. But I do know, one day this will be so be important to him.”
‘Yes, I post photos of my kids online. As a mom, there’s bigger things to worry about than some hacker using them.’: Mom defends showcasing children on social media, says photos are ‘meant to make people smile’
“‘Is that me? I’m a baby?!,’ my 3-year-old asks as we swipe through a photo album on social media. ‘That’s you when you weren’t even 1 yet!’ He’s intrigued. Growing up, my mom took pictures of us only at special events. Over the years, those photo prints became scarce. The existing ones lived in a box somewhere, lost or damaged. I want something different for my children.”
‘I’m leaving for college soon. I wanted to make my little brother smile while I still can.’: Big brother’s ‘goofy joke’ reminds us to ‘make every moment count’ with our siblings
“I’m starting senior year of high school and my schedule allows me to get home before my little brother Max. One day, I ran to my room and threw together the most embarrassing outfit I could find. When Max got off the bus, he was very confused and embarrassed, which means my plan worked. I decided to do it again the next day, and the next. Soon, people started donating costumes and he began to really enjoy it. As an older brother, it’s all I could’ve hoped for. A smile on his face.”
‘At least he didn’t suffer. You’re young, you’ll get married again.’: Widow recalls ‘useless’ things people told her after loss, no one understands ‘how heavy’ grief is for her
“I watched as another widow buried her husband. My heart ached for her. When I looked at her, I could see a reflection of myself. Unsteady and unsure. Overwhelmed. And so very afraid. It took my breath away. I couldn’t wait for it all to be over. They don’t tell you just how heavy it is.”
