“I got a phone call from my mom. ‘Nana is in the hospital.’ I needed to spend her last few days by her side, just like she spent my whole life by mine. She didn’t know how little time she had left, and we wanted to keep it that way. I boarded a plane right away to go home.”
‘Nana is in the hospital.’ She had a tear in her heart and only had three more days to live. It was unreal.’: Woman raised by grandma says ‘it is truly a miracle she is still here with us’
‘This virus will spread and turn awful.’ I didn’t want him to see me cry. He pulled me to him. I covered his shirt with tears.’: Covid-19 forces college student to leave school, boyfriend, ‘The two things I craved most were taken from me’
“We both confessed our love for each other. It was so cute. Every time I think about it, it just makes me happy. Then, boom! Coronavirus shows up and changes everything. I felt as though I had started loving someone for no reason. I was emotionally drained. It hurts me daily.”
‘We think he’s been hit by a car.’ I wrapped the dog up in a blanket, and waited for the police.’: Woman’s act of kindness saves epileptic dog, ‘It brings happy tears to my eyes’
“I saw a dog galloping down the center of the opposite lane of travel. It was below freezing, snowing, windy, and rapidly getting dark. I’m a dog owner and lover. My heart ached. 15 minutes later a black SUV came SCREAMING toward the small group of people around me so fast.”
‘Be grateful all of them are in one house alive and healthy, because mine aren’t. The fighting used to annoy me. Now, I’m glad they’re even here to fight.’: Mom says ‘they will remember what you do during this quarantine’
“People should be ashamed. First, we lost our healthy, incredible daughter on Valentine’s Day from illness and now this pandemic is taking over the world as I am writing this. Families like mine, with six butts to wipe, can’t get any toilet paper when they just need it for everyday living.”
‘You shouldn’t own a nice truck like that if you’re asking for help with medical funds.’ They don’t know about the 8 appointments a week.’: Mom to two medically complex children says ‘we are not going to stop our lives’
“Sophia often passes out. Her lips turn pure white and she vomits for 30 minutes. She injures herself, others, and pets. Her brother performs injurious behaviors too. It is a daily struggle with feelings being hurt and many tears shed. Everyone always says, ‘I don’t know how you do it.’ It’s simple. I do it because it’s what is best for Sophia and Grason. We are not going to stop our lives.”
‘You’re running out of time.’ I was 16, infertile and robbed of my childhood.’: After 17 years of endometriosis, infertility, couple adopts two children from China, ‘at that moment, I became a mom’
“‘She called, ‘He’s here!’ I hung up the phone and went to the bathroom. I looked down to see nothing but blood. My nephew entered the world as our IVF failed. I’d never carry a child. I’d never experience pregnancy or give birth. How could this happen at this moment? The pain was immeasurable.”
‘You’re the girl who cries on her way to work but walks in with a smile on her face. The girl who never asks for help.’: Woman reminds us ‘there is no shame in being vulnerable’
“I never reached out to anyone for help in any way — whether it be a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, or just some advice, support, and borrowed strength. I know many reading this have been there as well. We are not so different.”
‘His face lit up. ‘There’s my friend, Max!’ You didn’t hear your son say that. But I did. I looked at my son. He was still crying.’: Mom to special needs son thanks woman in parking lot ‘for answering my prayers’
“As you both passed the side of my car, your son, still trying to catch up with your pace, made contact with mine. My son threw his cup and flung his head back in frustration. He couldn’t tell me what he needed; he is non-verbal. He didn’t know someone had noticed him, someone called him his friend.”
‘The woman’s eyes instantly widened with amazement. ‘Your house must be chaotic, all those children!’ I’m a hot mess mom and I know it.’: Woman says she loves the ‘glorious chaos’ of mom life
“I didn’t contradict her. Some days, I really miss having a quiet meal with easily flowing adult conversation. Some nights, I fantasize about sleeping without interruption or a foot in my face. But this chaos that is my life brings me joy.”
‘What happens to my girl when society realizes it’s not ‘cute’ anymore? How do I make people see the beauty I see?’: Mom to daughter with autism urges us to challenge our idea of beauty
“When she was 2, she didn’t talk. She said one word, ‘Hi,’ over and over. I was worried, but most agreed it was so cute. At 4, she stuffed food in her mouth messily. Gosh, it was cute. At 6, she was diagnosed. Everyone agreed she was still cute, but followed with smiles of pity. Now, she’s 11. She picks her nose, sits with her legs wide open. She has body odor, speech delays, and drools. What happens to my girl when society decides it’s not ‘cute’ anymore?”
