“Years ago, I would have looked at these dishes and got annoyed. I probably would have sent a text saying, ‘Really? You left these here?’ My mindset has changed, and it’s something I wish I had learned a long time ago.”
‘I woke up to dishes in the sink, left by my husband the night before, and I felt a rush of happiness.’: Mom says ‘I’m so thankful for my husband, and even his dirty dishes’
‘My husband died on a Saturday. Monday, we planned the funeral. Thursday, I started a new job. I thought if I stayed busy, it would fix the brokenness.’: Woman urges self care for fellow widows, ‘It’s a daily battle’
“What no one prepares you for is what happens after the last sympathy card is opened and people have moved on. I stuffed away every bad feeling. I am a broken person trying to piece my life back together.”
‘I took out the trash to ‘investigate’ our new neighbors. We watched the dreaded moving truck from the second-story window.’: Two moms find new friendship during quarantine
“While I was loading my kids into our car, the other kids made eye contact. They stood there, silently staring like it was some sort of old western stare-off. The dreaded moving truck was parked outside. In a matter of a month, our children’s childhood changed for the better.”
‘I could’ve delivered a dead baby. It could’ve been worse.’ STOP. Stop comparing tragedies.’: Woman faces miscarriage, divorce, and adoption scam, ‘I wouldn’t change a thing’
“Staying out till 2 a.m. is what he did. Multiple times a week. Which left me home alone. At first it didn’t really bother me. I would have a glass of wine, watch my favorite crime show or a documentary he’d hate, and head to bed by 10 p.m. But after a while it became lonely. And loneliness in a marriage is a recipe for disaster.”
‘When we finally kissed, I sat sobbing in my car. I hit rock bottom and lost everything. I needed to work on myself.’: Woman finds her happily ever after, ’The love you deserve will come to you when you’re ready’’
“Our paths crossed several more times over the next eight years but we were never ‘available’ at the same time. I hit my ‘rock bottom.’ Then, just before my 30th birthday, we reconnected once more.”
‘That night led to a heated conversation. She finally looked at me and said, ‘What do you need?’: Couple struggling with new normal says ‘we must take care of each other’
“She was fried. She hadn’t slept much. I felt invisible. She looked at me and said, ‘This isn’t you, or the parent you want to be, so you need to tell me what you need or snap out of it.’ We sat in that uncomfortable place for a good 45 minutes.”
‘I got home and literally nothing from the grocery list I gave him was in the bags. Not a damn thing.’: Woman urges ‘show your partner grace through the struggles’
“Marriage isn’t always two people who are on the same team. We are not always on the same page, and we do not always like each other. But we made a vow to make this work, and that is what we are doing.”
‘Ma’am I don’t know if they informed you, but we’re sending detectives now.’ He looked at me and said, ‘Michael did not make it.’: Woman loses partner to active shooter
“I saw them put the shirt over his face. I remember his body just being so cold but somehow, he still had that smirk on his face I fell in love with. I was taken to a cop car where I was held waiting for a homicide investigator. Later that morning, a very tall, dark-headed man walked towards me in a long trench coat. Everything was a blur.”
‘When the toddler had a pee accident during bedtime rush, you didn’t get frustrated. Instead you turned on weird music, and danced to make me laugh.’: Woman pens love letter to husband, ‘You are the light of our lives’
“You danced your way off to get some cleaner and a towel, and danced back in, and danced while you cleaned it up. Not all husbands and fathers bring joy home like that, like you do for us.”
‘I haven’t been able to call you up or vent. I haven’t been able to text you just to say, ‘Hi.’ We haven’t ‘talked’ in what seems years.’: Woman pens emotional letter, ‘I will forever be grateful for everything you’ve taught me’
“I still care you’re hurt from a previous relationship. I probably pushed you into feeling the way you feel about me. We haven’t ‘talked’ in what seems years. This letter isn’t to make you feel bad. I truly apologize if it does. It is definitely not my intention. I still deserve you.”
