“When your friend’s husband dies unexpectedly, when she has a baby, when she is going through a divorce, she doesn’t care if you baked the cookies from scratch and perfectly placed them in a platter. Show up in your socks with pizza. I held her, loaded her dishwasher, read her kids a story and tucked them in.”
‘I got the call at 6 p.m., left my kids with my husband and drove to her house with my socks crammed into my Birkenstocks.’: Mom urges others to ‘just show up’ when friends need you, ‘She didn’t need Pinterest, she needed me’
‘I love your lips! Your lips are so full and sexy. I love bigger girls. Let’s have some ‘fun.’: Sexual innuendos woman recieves in her inbox make her want to ‘throw up’
“I block user after user after user. I never thought I’d be tired of the words ‘pretty’ and ‘beautiful’ and being told how ‘desirable’ I am (in the most vulgar ways). I’m not trying to sound conceited. If only they knew me. Really knew me. My lips mean more to men than anything else about me.”
‘Here we go again. Feel happy with the 2 you have here.’ I read it several times. I will not be silenced.’: Mom of triplet child loss responds to ‘internet troll’ after hurtful social media comment
“It may make people uncomfortable. It may even make you cringe. But I will never stop talking about my children who died. I usually take the high road with ‘internet trolls,’ but for some reason, I responded. I will not be silenced.”
‘The dad she always dreamed of. He not only read vows to his wife, but also to his new stepdaughter.’: 9-year-old brought to tears by new dad’s surprise emotional vows during wedding ceremony
“We hadn’t spoken in 10 plus years. I noticed Jimmy liking things on my Facebook, so I messaged him. A week later we had our first date, and that was it! I knew he was the one. Everyone was in tears. It was a surprise for Olivia.”
‘Get my makeup bag!’ I was almost fully dilated. My husband looked back, confused.’: Woman shamed for giving birth in ‘full glam makeup,’ claims ‘it’s your labor, do what makes you happy’
“The epidural was making me faint and blackout. ‘Bring her back!’ The nurses kept rushing in to put an oxygen mask on my face. I wanted to yell, cry. I couldn’t focus. ‘What can I do to pass the time?!’ My husband rushed back with my makeup bag. I started concealing away! When I posted my labor pictures, I was met with, ‘She’s so vain.’ ‘She doesn’t deserve to be a mother.’ Through all the pushing, sweat, and tears, my makeup stayed in place.”
‘Why are you home early?’ my husband asks. I haven’t showered in 6 days. He didn’t know. People with depression are great at hiding it.’: Woman candidly shares the reality of mental illness
“I’m smelly. There’s oil and debris gunked on my face. I have knotted hair, armpit hair. Other hair. I’m disgusting right now. There’s no other way of saying it. Mental illness sounds cute when you put it on a post with a person staring in the distance saying they’re ‘depressed.’ But depression is more than just sadness. It’s raw. It’s not showering for 6 days, then collapsing in your bed, exhausted, when you finally do.”
‘Social media was NOT designed for children. I can’t imagine a worse time to access it than middle school.’: Mom urges us to restrict social media access, ‘don’t give that smartphone power in your home’
“Middle school kids. Your daily parenting may include statements like, ‘If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all!’ ‘How many times do I have to tell you not the use that word?’ ‘What were you thinking?!’ Then, it happens. We cave. We give them our old phone. Something we haven’t thought about. We aren’t prepared for it.”
‘Nicole, I had NO IDEA.’ I almost took my own life. I hid it so well. No one knew.’: Woman reminds us to ‘always be kind’ after battling suicide, ‘you never know the battles someone is facing’
“If it weren’t for my sister calling me right before, I wouldn’t be here. She had no idea I’d just written a letter saying ‘goodbye.’ No one knew I was suffering. No one asked if I was okay. I shared only the good parts of my life, never the struggles. My family thought my life was beautiful and amazing.”
‘Hand them over.’ I asked her why. ‘You-guys-are-on-them-too-much.’ Say what? Us guys? Us?’: Mom stunned when 16-year-old ‘budding Instagram model’ daughter insists on no screen time at dinner
“My 16-year-old daughter pointed to each of us. She put out her hand, palm up. No lie, I was confused. Why did she have her hand out? Did she want a high-five? Was she looking for money? There had to be something wrong. She placed them on the table, screen down, and then made eye contact with us. I mean, ACTUAL eye contact. I stared at her, hanging onto every-single-word.”
‘You’re not getting breast implants for me? After all I’ve done?!’ Just like that, my marriage was dead.’: Woman divorces husband after pressure for plastic surgery, ‘never alter yourself for a man’
“He was the perfect husband, until my 27th birthday. He took me into the storage closet of our tiny apartment. ‘Surprise!’ he said, pulling out a white envelope. I thought it would be a cute card. Inside I found cold, hard cash. Literally hundreds of dollars. ‘I saved it. For your new boobs!’ I felt rage overtake my body.”
