“I was single, had no mom to help me, and was staying with complete strangers. We had 6 kids between us at the house, one husband, and a baby at the NICU. I needed a PLAN.”
‘She chose US for her baby!’ He had to stay in NICU indefinitely. We were dumped at a stranger’s doorstep.’: Single mom taken in by strangers after adopting baby with Down syndrome
‘I married a man who knows how to love a mother. He prayed over me and our babes even before we knew our first child’s name.’: Woman tells husband ‘thank you for loving us so well’
“He’s coached me through my hardest days. He’s cheered me on through labor pains. For all the shared chores, for all the date nights we keep. For all the kids’ giggles, being my best friend, and supporting me every day. My life is so much better.”
‘If I had a do-over, I would have reminded him, ‘I love you,’ just in case he didn’t know. I pray I will see him again.’: Mom urges ‘addiction is a disease, not a disgrace’ after losing son to 10-year battle
“A year ago yesterday, this box was an empty Amazon delivery box waiting to be recycled. You were loved by all that knew you, but somehow didn’t love yourself. I pray I will see you again.”
‘To the mom who sits alone because the world is moving on without her, and no one realizes the truth of her reality…’: Woman asks other struggling moms, ‘Can we sit alone together?’
“You watch ball games from vehicle windows, listen to distant conversations and laughter from inside, and send your family off on outdoor adventures with a smile, but one that aches. You view the world from hospital rooms, and the walls of your home become barriers that detain you from the life you once lived.”
‘You should just go have a one-night stand and get pregnant.’ I had never felt so dirty.’: Woman becomes single mom with support from loved ones, ‘I never felt alone’
“‘If I have no prospects by the time I’m thirty, I’ll have a baby on my own.’ I was stagnant. I hated the person staring back at me in the mirror. All I had to say was, ‘I was wrong.’”
‘But it doesn’t run in our family!’ I’m too young for this. Is it really happening twice?’: Brother with Down syndrome helps parents accept son’s diagnosis, ‘We had so much hope because of him’
“The phone call came early afternoon. I should have known something was wrong. ‘Excuse me? I’m not even supposed to be at risk.’”
‘You don’t fit in. Old friends move on without you. They go to theme parks. You go to hospital rooms.’: Special needs mom pens ode to ‘the parents who feel like they don’t belong’
“When the people you used to be close with stop checking in. When it all starts to feel too heavy for you to carry. When you feel like you don’t belong. Take a step back and look at your life. You’re exactly where you need to be. No one could do it better or love them harder than you.”
‘The guilt strikes me. I think about the long list of things I have to do. And then, I wonder, ‘What is wrong with me?’: Tired mama vents to a friend and is reminded it’s OK to need rest
“I vented to a friend. I asked her, ‘What is wrong with me?’ She wrote back. There is only so much one can take.”
‘This is getting old. We’re done here. Goodbye.’ I suddenly felt a moment of empowerment.’: Woman shares moment she ‘woke up’ and decided ‘enough was enough’
“Somehow, the conversation led to relationships. We were just having a typical, texting conversation. I’m not entirely sure where this intense, urgent feeling of freedom came from. We were just having a typical, texting conversation. I was acting SO ridiculous and I suddenly felt a moment of empowerment.”
‘You have one brother, Andrew,’ she said. ‘Is he healthy?’ I didn’t know him at all anymore. We WERE normal.’: Woman shares grief journey for brother with opiate addiction, ‘Allow yourself to feel’
“My brother and I were blessed with a picture-perfect childhood. Every moment was a Kodak moment. As we got older, our lives changed. After 6 months of studying abroad in Spain, I came home to a new reality, an opiate-infused reality.”
