“There’s a different side to this world. A world with joy and gratitude like you’ve never seen. It’s never lost on me we could be somewhere else. It really is the little things that matter.”
‘Somewhere there’s a mom tired of picking up toys. Somewhere else, there’s a mom choosing her child’s first wheelchair.’: Special needs mom says ‘I’ll always be grateful for where we are’
‘This isn’t for me. I quit.’ The pressure lifted from my chest. I was free to forge my own path.’: Woman deletes social media on healing journey, ‘I started a clean slate’
“I quit my job. I avoided a possible catastrophic marriage. Everything I’d kept bottled up was starting to surface. I didn’t have much courage under my belt, but I was still brave.”
‘I prayed for perspective because sometimes that’s the only way forward. I’m grateful to have these groceries.’: Woman urges small blessings are ‘something to celebrate’
“At checkout, I realized I’d misplaced my debit card, but no biggie! I also had my husband’s. Well, I used the wrong PIN, so the bank marked it as stolen, and our bank account froze. I cried and said some choice words. And that’s when it decided to storm.”
‘Your voice kept getting louder, your face angry. ‘Why do mornings always go like this?’ I was ready to get in the car…almost.’: Mother writes touching note from daughter’s perspective
“I heard you say my whole name and snap at me. You said you were sorry. ‘Can we EVER get out of this house on time?’ I wasn’t trying to make us late.”
‘I can spend Friday night at a bar with my friends. I can go to mommy and me group. That is what moms do. We do it all.’: Woman reminds other mothers to ‘get to know YOU better’
“Pre-baby, I knew who I was. I had an idea of where I was heading. Imagine the shock I endured when I found out we had a tiny human en route. I was about to meet a completely new version of myself. My name was Mom, not Jess. I ate, slept, and breathed motherhood. I started to become more and more aware of my loss of identity.”
‘We are merely surviving as we fight it. We are going from one doctor’s appointment to a test to another treatment. Let’s be honest, cancer SUCKS.’: Woman’s has realization in cancer journey, ‘Cancer did not take from me. I took from it.’
“We didn’t choose cancer. It chose us. Getting up was a choice.”
‘She didn’t sign any papers. Maybe I wasn’t given up. Perhaps, I was taken, or she was told I died.’: Adoptee searches for biological mother, answers to her past
“We were nationally unwanted children. It is not always the romantic picture of children being ‘saved.’ My only connection to my past is my genes.”
‘Up until that point, I’d lived a charmed life. Then tragedy struck. It was isolating. But they also didn’t throw a ‘pity party’ for me.’: Man credits resilience for getting him through ‘each of those dark days’
“My life was quickly thrown upside down. The love of my life was suddenly killed in a car accident. I handled it with anger and bitterness. The economy began to crumble. I quickly became the best possible cab driver I could be. Shifts were 12 hours long. I pulled my boots up and reinvented myself. Then everything changed again. The ginger ale sat on the kitchen counter, slowly turning into a bomb. At the exact second Shelly passed the sink, the bottle exploded. I was horrified. What a battle it has been.”
‘Stop crying tears over the group that doesn’t want you. Stop pleasing everyone. Stop thinking invitations from cool kids will make you feel complete.’: Woman’s encourages her younger self to ‘know you create your own happiness’
“Stop trying so hard, little girl. Know who you are. Know you are strong. Know you are smart. Know you have a voice, are capable and worthy. Know you’re never ever alone.”
‘We want friends who stick with us through our worst, but we bolt at the first sign of trouble.’: Woman’s candid take on being a ‘disloyal friend’
“We want friends who reach out and invite us, but we aren’t willing to be the one who takes the first step. We want friends who forgive, but we aren’t willing to be forgiving. Someone has one opinion you don’t like? Bye.”
