“It was our first excursion. I tried to hush him, rock him, to no avail. I was close to tears. ‘Calm your nervous hands!’ In the changing rooms of Target, I learned my first lesson in parenting. ”

‘A first-time mom, I didn’t know what to do. An old woman spoke out, ‘Oh honey, give him to me!’: Woman recalls stranger’s kindness, ‘Be someone’s silver lining’

‘She’s the kind of girl I would marry.’ We were strangers in Vegas. He turned out to be my best gamble ever.’: Military spouse urges ‘let yourself fall in love’ after long-distance relationship
“After parting ways, I sobbed as I walked back to my room. The morning after we met, I awoke to a voicemail. ‘I changed my flight. I want to see you again.’ Our love carried us while thousands of miles, bodies of water, and continents apart. When you know, you know.”

‘She’s not asleep yet,’ I heard on the operating table. A needle dug into my arm with urgency as an oxygen mask was placed over my mouth.’: Woman survives life-threatening child birth, ‘Life is too short not to show love’
“The nurses wheeled me into the cold, brightly lit operating room. Two days later, I awoke in the ICU surrounded by wires, beeping machines, and a picture of my baby I hadn’t even met. The birth of our first child was also the day I almost lost my life.”

‘I met Dave in a pretty shady teen chat room. After 14 long years, I had my once in a lifetime experience.’: Woman shares roller-coaster, transatlantic, fairy tale online relationship
“After 10 lovely days together, I cried through the entire hour-long train ride from his flat to Heathrow Airport.”

‘I thought he had a cold. His eyes were watery. That Sunday when I got home, he was sicker than ever. It was time, we both knew.’: Woman adopts injured cat after losing childhood pet, ‘I learned how to open my heart’
“Ginger’s decline was quick but painful. I had to go away the weekend before he died, and I didn’t feel right about it. I convinced myself it was okay to go. He would bounce back like he always did. I was wrong. My cat of 17 years died on Valentine’s Day a few short months after I officially adopted him.”

‘Valentine’s Day is living out of a laundry basket. It’s no cuddly bears, late dinner, and wondering, ‘Who left the milk on the counter?’: Woman shares candid reality of Valentine’s Day as a mom and wife, ‘There’s no place I’d rather be’
“He’d get home late from work with jewelry and a stuffed teddy bear. We’d spend hours getting dressed at our parents’ homes and act like we just ‘threw something on.’ We’d eat at a nice restaurant. It was cute. Today, he’ll work 9 hours, I’ll work 12. It’s a series of crazy, chaotic moments. It’s not eating dinner until 7 p.m. No cuddly bears or shiny jewelry. It’s living out of a laundry basket for days, and figuring out who’s going to the birthday party.”

‘I left a toxic relationship, loaded up whatever I could fit in my 2-door coupe, and moved to a state where I knew no one.’: Mom says ‘the true fairytale on Valentine’s Day is that I found myself’
“Pretty soon social media will be overflowing with hearts, flowers, and all sorts of mushy feelings. Bless us, we love a good commercialized holiday. But my heart is with the ones who are single, unsettled, and still searching. To the wife who sent her spouse to work today without a kiss, because there’s so much distance between them right now it’s insufferable.”

‘Our waitress says, ‘Your bill is already covered.’ Who would pay for a family with a whining baby? She points to a couple inches away.’: Mom ‘astounded’ by strangers’ Valentine’s Day act of kindness, ‘Thank you for restoring my faith in humanity’
“This was our first Valentine’s Day as a family. Our 10-month-old instantly starts whining. He begins throwing rice everywhere. Sitting next to us is a young couple. They look so in love and my anxiety quickly sets in. I sense a meltdown coming on. The last thing I want to do is ruin this nice couple’s dinner.”

‘Now, you can have a portable corgi butt to stare at all day long and it gives your phone a nice cushion in case you drop it.’: Here are our top picks for everyone on your Valentine’s Day list
“We’ve gone ahead and taken the guesswork out gift buying this year. Here are some of our favorites for every man, woman, and child in your lives that deserve a little love this Valentine’s Day.”

This Valentine’s Day Burger King Will Give You A Free Whopper In Exchange For A Pic Of Your Ex
“All you have to do is dig up a printed photo of your ex (preferably where the head isn’t cut off and there are no hand-drawn devil horns), stuff it inside one of the breakup boxes, and you’ll receive a free Whopper.”