“The choosing of the costumes, so much expense on a tiny budget for just a few hours. And the choices…oh, the choices. More thought went into what these children would trick or treat as than went into us choosing our first house. Saving your costume for trick or treating isn’t even a thing this year.”
‘I used to dread Halloween. The costumes, wigs, the masks. Now it’s almost over. How did this happen?’: Mom with growing kids savors time with youngest this Halloween, ‘He’s still bringing the joy’
‘What the hell is that? Is it POOP? How did it survive the wash cycle?! Wait, can poop be sanitized?’: Mom hilariously recounts ‘heart-stopping’ moment of confusion, ‘Hang in there, y’all’
“A cold wash of panic flooded my chest. I blinked rapidly. ‘Oh my god, how did poop get in the washing machine?!’ I do not want to have to buy a new washer. Nonetheless, I had to address the situation at hand.”
‘I remember being ripped open. ‘Let me tell him I love him. Just once.’ I can hear the final scream.’: New mom battles traumatic labor and postpartum depression, ‘Some stories don’t have happy endings’
“Tears were toppling from my unmoving gaze, the sound of them dripping onto the pillow beneath me was deafening. ‘Please just let me see his face. I can still feel the panic washing over me as my husband left my side. I can still hear the final scream hanging in the sterile air.”
‘They whine because they FEEL SAFE. It’s the silent ones I worry about. They are the ones who don’t feel safe.’: Former social worker says, ‘Imagine all the times you felt too scared to speak up’
“Not the shy ones or the quiet ones. The ones who were too scared to speak up.”
‘I cried every day last week. Some days I have it together. I pat myself on the back. Most days I feel like I’m falling apart.’: Woman urges ‘it’s okay to ask for help’
“Shove a corn dog in the microwave, let my child play for hours on the iPad. At this point, I don’t care…as long as they give me five minutes of silence. I think a lot of us are in the same boat.”
‘To my 2020 baby, you are the brightest spot of this difficult year. You are not cursed, you are not bad luck.’: Mom says newborn is ‘the beauty amidst the chaos’
“Whenever I feel overwhelmed by everything in this ‘unprecedented’ year, I hold you. And for a moment, I’m lost in the wonder which is you. You are not responsible for any of the difficulties of 2020, and you are not tied to them.”
‘I’ve had my accounts hacked. I’ve had my words twisted and changed to reflect me as a horrible person. I feel stronger.’: Woman who was hacked says ‘never give up’
“A boyfriend of years left me for another girl. I grabbed my phone and I wrote while my baby gnawed on my nipples.”
‘I know your story. I know what happened to your daughter.’ I felt sad for him. Ours is not a story of triumph.’: Mom shares emotions on child loss, ‘Everything DOES NOT happen for a reason’
“I ran into an old friend the other day. We caught up for a while and then I saw him look down at my arm. Looking back and forth from my tattoo to my eyes he finally said, ‘I know about Blake.'”
‘They ‘must not enjoy their kids’ if they want to be away from them. We call them ‘attention seeking’ or ‘self-centered.’: Mother urges for ‘less jealously, more camaraderie’
“They are ‘lazy’ and ‘unmotivated.’ We call them ‘attention seeking’ and ‘over-sharers.’ Their insatiable need and desire to socialize is selfish and irresponsible.”
‘I thought, ‘This is how it all ends.’ I was crawling for help. I was alone and sobbing like a baby.’: Woman experiences hospital stay amidst pandemic, ‘He was there, holding me up’
“I was alone, and I couldn’t even see to text anyone I loved. And I couldn’t pray. I had no words. I was obviously dying. I could feel Him in the room. He wasn’t going to let me be alone and He never left me once.”
