“I may not be the primary parent but I do pick-ups, drop-offs, school plays, birthday parties. I go to her sporting events. I do homework. I get her hair cut and her nails done. My resume is impeccable.”
‘She’s just my stepmom.’ I wasn’t on the daycare list. To this day, I’m left off emails because I’m not a ‘primary’ parent.’: Woman navigates blended family life, ‘I’m more than JUST a stepmom’
‘How many kids do you want?’ I wasn’t your ‘typical maternal’ type. I convinced myself I wasn’t cut out for it.’: Mom of 2 admits ‘maternity can be born with your baby’
“As she was placed on my chest for the first time, I felt such purpose. Maternity can be born at the same time as your baby.”
‘What if someone calls you FAT again?’ That word held so much pain. I associated my worth with what my body looked like.’: Woman shares journey healing from eating disorder, ‘It’s worth the messiness’
“At 13, I started dieting and exercising compulsively. It became an obsession. I hung up pictures of bodies I wanted mine to look like in front of our treadmill. It can be gruesome to think of food, something you need to survive, as an enemy.”
‘We’re being secretly recorded for a reality show!’ There was something wrong with me. I was completely paranoid.’: Woman with Bipolar Disorder becomes advocate, ‘It’s a constant battle’
“I was in a shoe store with my mom, talking to strangers in what I thought was Spanish. I’m not bilingual, but in my mind, I thought I knew the language. I’d been off my whole life, but I never knew why.”
‘As a bereaved mother of a medically-fragile, premature twin, I can finally say I’ve met my ‘people.’ And the funny thing is, I’ve never actually met any of them.’: Mom thanks ‘Insta-Village’ for ‘being my source of strength’
“I turned to Instagram. Right before my eyes was a ready-made group of soulmates. Women who advocate with such ferocity for their children, who live on 3 hours of sleep, who know reference numbers and caloric values and fio2 conversions off the top of their heads. My people.”
‘Your chance of getting pregnant is ZERO.’ I’ve always known my life would look different. Miracle upon miracle happened. There it was, a beating heart.’: Mom of 6 says ‘there’s beauty in the scars’
“Her mother’s uterus had ruptured. The paperwork said, ’Severe brain trauma.’ She was a promise fulfilled. 2 years later, I got a call about an abandoned baby boy. We never left his side. Saying ‘yes’ to hard things keeps the world moving.”
‘We think you have depression.’ I felt like a freak. What would people say? I thought no one could ‘fix’ me.’: Woman becomes mental health advocate, ‘This is my purpose’
“I started skipping classes. My family called me, but I ignored them. I didn’t actually know what depression was. All I knew about it were the cheesy commercials advertising anti-depressants. I felt ashamed of myself.”
‘If we’re meant to have a baby, God will make it happen.’ My calling wasn’t to carry the title ‘mom.’: Woman reflects on ‘childfree’ life, ‘This is the path we were called to’
“One morning, we got a surprising phone call. Our IVF date had been moved up, cutting out time in half. Saying no wasn’t easy, but I knew it was the right choice.”
‘You’re a survivor, not a victim.’ BOTH CAN BE TRUE. The mixed messages surrounding this are dizzying.’: Woman advocates for mental health awareness, ‘It took YEARS to rebuild my trust’
“Before Casey left the state with me, before he promised me forever and before we said ‘I do,’ I explained the mental weight I carried. Somehow I knew it would be an added challenge. I wasn’t wrong.”
‘Did you leave your husband for him?’ I needed MORE! I came in so broken.’: Woman finds love after divorce, ‘I found someone who lets me be LOUD’
“‘Why couldn’t he find someone his own age?’ I cried myself to sleep at night wondering if I would ever feel loved.”
