“This woman in the supermarket was me 5 years ago. I had it all together. When I saw kids misbehaving, I assumed bad parenting. Then life did a 180. I’m not the supermom I used to be. I’m the mom figuring out how to cope.”
‘The dad handed a chocolate donut to his kicking, screaming child. He let her win. ‘My child will never act like that,’ I naively thought.’: Parent urges for grace, ‘We are all trying our best’
‘What’s wrong now? You’ve got nothing to be sad about!’ I felt like I was the only one going through this. I blamed myself.’: Woman shares mental health journey, urges ‘fight for what you need’
“I was alone. No-one liked me, and I had no sense of belonging at all. I was a very lost teenager in a very big world. It was a difficult place to be in. I didn’t understand I was anxious or depressed.”
‘I have a loving husband. My life is a fairytale. I should be smiling. I have no sob story to garner support.’: Mom suffering from depression gets real about mental health stigmas
“At 36 years old, my life is on the upswing. Who would have thought? I have no reason to cry.”
‘You ghosted me when my husband died. You told me I was thinking too much about myself.’: Widow hurt by friends who abandoned her and broke promises
“I don’t know why you made promises and didn’t follow through. I needed my friend… but you were gone.”
‘Please, all the restaurants are closed. I have nowhere to quarantine. I just need something to eat.’ This man didn’t want a mask or hand sanitizer. He just wanted food.’: Woman urges ‘don’t forget about our homeless brothers and sisters’
“Today I broke quarantine for the first time to go to the ATM. From first glance, I could tell he did not have a home. His clothes were tattered and soaked. This man didn’t want hand sanitizer. He didn’t want toilet paper, gloves, or even a mask. He just wanted food. Something we’ve all stocked up on ourselves. My heart broke for him.”
‘He was homeless and I was embarrassed 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.”
‘To the woman who cannot afford to stock up on essentials for her baby right now, you are still a good mother.’: Woman pens note to mothers struggling through coronavirus pandemic
“To the woman who has to wait until pay day to pick up six bottles of hand sanitizer. To the woman who is full of fear for her children’s school being cancelled because there is no Plan B for childcare. To the woman who is crippled with anxiety because she doesn’t have the mental capacity to homeschool right now, you are still a good mother. And a virus cannot (and will not) change that.”
‘Today I sat in my car, in last night’s pajamas, and cried. Like, junior high first breakup kinda’ cry.’: Mom reminds us it’s okay to have a rough season, ‘Sometimes life can be a lot’
“Sometimes motherhood can be a lot. Sometimes marriage can be a lot. Sometimes a career can be a lot. And sometimes? Sometimes it just feels like a lot all at once.”
‘I LOVE those, are they Lulu? I just got 3 new pairs! Aren’t they great?!’ I’m a poor mom living in a rich-mom world.’: Mom learns to stops judging the rich after holiday act of kindness, ‘the size of our bank accounts doesn’t define us’
“I used to stand on the sidelines of my kids’ games and listen closely to the rich moms. My stomach dropped, my defenses rose every time: Must be nice to live that way. Do they have any idea what it’s like to have $40 left 10 days before payday? I was righteous. It made me feel better to put them down. A simple request from my teen daughter one morning put me on a journey of changing my reverse-pride.”
‘Ma’am, you dropped something.’ She couldn’t afford to buy a SLICE of cake for her son’s birthday. ‘Take this. It’s yours.’: Woman shares touching act of compassion for stranger, ‘kindness is putting others before yourself’
“I saw a young mom buying a slice of cake and candles for her little boy. It came to $5.57. She started looking around and pulled out 2 dollars. ‘It’s okay, mom. I don’t need a birthday cake. We just need gas so I can get to school.’ I could tell she felt defeated. She put back the candles. Everyone in line clearly heard and saw what was going on, but no one said anything.”
