“My son is 3 year-old trapped in a 20 year-old body. I had to care for him myself. Then Victor came to paint my kitchen. We talked for hours on end. Our able-bodied children disowned us. But Victor wanted to take care of me.”
‘Nobody wants a woman with a handicapped child.’ Stories of affairs started. We both chose to hold on tight.’: Single, special needs mom finds true love, ‘He is my best friend’
‘She said, ‘It’s your dad. There’s something wrong. The cops said they found him on the ground.’ We still had so many questions.’: Woman details life with drug-addicted father, ‘I’m not mad at you’
“‘You need to stop what you’re doing or you’ll end up dead.’ I’d see him drive by with another woman. When my mom decided to divorce him, he didn’t show up. We stood at the court house and looked out the window from the top floor. The doctor approached my brother and I. ‘You have to make a decision to let him off the machines.’ We still had so many questions.”
‘He was homeless and I was embarrased by him. Now he’s free, and I’m chained by all the grace I couldn’t bear to give.’: Woman urges forgiveness after losing dad to overdose, ‘My regret is stronger than all the anger I felt for years’
“I got mad when his food stamp card was denied and I had to cover groceries. It wasn’t about the money. He’d comment on my ‘new haircut’ and I was enraged because he’d already seen it many times. It wasn’t about my hair. I drove him from doctor to doctor, rehab to rehab, short tempered. My regret is now stronger than all the anger I felt throughout the years.”
‘Is there something wrong with you? How can a little girl not be loved by her own mother? It sucks being judged, walking on eggshells.’: To the woman who doesn’t have a great relationship with her mom, ‘It’s a lonely road, but there is hope’
“This is your reality. Your mother is more like a long distant cousin. Your friends bond with their moms over ‘The Bachelor.’ They could talk for hours about decorating the same way Joanna Gaines does. But you can’t do that. Your mom barely has a maternal bone in her body. She dropped you off at college and barely hugged you goodbye, thankful you were finally out of her house.”
‘Life’s too short. Do yourself a favor and weed your circle. Let’s face it. Friends can break your heart, too.’: Woman explains importance of ‘eliminating toxic friendships’
“Eliminating toxic friendships is one of the hardest things about growing up. The realization that the bond you thought you had with someone is over is a hard one. But it’s not fair to you, or them, to surround yourself with anyone who makes you less than HAPPY. It’s okay to find the strength to let go.”
‘My kids were unplanned and accidental. I never wanted to be a mom. I don’t enjoy playing with my kids. I don’t like being touched or needed.’: Mom recalls struggles of motherhood before finding ‘beautiful love’ in children
“Every single day, I feel resentment, sadness, frustration. I reminisce about my lost freedom. The days I would wake up with energy, pull out my to-do list, and get everything done. The days when I could hop in the car and run a quick errand, take a nap, or shower whenever I wanted. The days I could set BIG goals and actually attain them.”
‘Sex after babies. I thought I’d be making jokes about my vagina looking like an angry old man who ate an onion, or always saying, ‘I have a headache.’ Never did I reflect on my relationship.’
“The exhaustion of parenting is literally ruining my relationship. I have not once thought about putting my relationship first. Why would I? My children are priority. I kill myself every day for them, because I love them.”
‘My husband waited up for me. He told me he wanted a divorce. ‘I’m tired of doing what everyone expects me to do.’ He had enough.’: Woman stunned by husband’s request for divorce
“Surprised, I sat down on the couch. He somberly turned off the TV and leaned forward in his seat. Hands folded, and eyes down, he told me he had something he needed to tell me. I’d never seen him so serious.”
‘Dear Dad: From the prime age of nine, the words ‘I hate our f*cking kids, I wish they were dead.’ curved and shaped my memory’
“My addiction is despising you, making excuses for you, thanking you, wanting to hurt you, forgiving you, fearing you, my addiction is loving you when all I want to do is forget you.”
