“I was in line for the fitting room when the lady in front of me commented she really liked the pants I was holding. ‘Thanks, I’ve really been needing to buy some post-pregnancy work pants,’ I said. ‘Oh, where is your baby while you work?,’ she asked. Nonchalantly, I replied, ‘He goes to daycare and really loves it.’ As she walked away, she mumbled it. When she said it, I knew she just didn’t know.”
‘Must be nice to have a vacation from your baby every day.’ Tears welled up in my eyes. I know she didn’t see it.’: Mom’s emotional encounter with woman after son endures open heart surgery
‘But how will they function in the REAL world?!’ People judge us for homeschooling our kids. Truth is, they already are.’: Mom places children in homeschool after relentless bullying, claims they went from ‘depressed shells of humans’ to ‘thriving’
“After a long year of our kids feeling burnt out, bullied, and unsupported at their private school, we made the difficult choice to bring them home. I wish I could say it was an easy transition or that it immediately felt like the right choice. If I’m being honest, it felt like the only choice. They struggled to go to school each day and their passion for learning dwindled. We knew we had to act fast. So, we dove right in, grieving the life we were leaving behind.”
‘Mom, can we play a board game?’ It was 7:11 a.m. ‘Right now?!’ I was groggy, drinking coffee.’: Busy mom slows down, realizes play time is ‘just what she needed’
“After I said, ‘right now?’ he gave me the look of nevermind. I saw it. He knew my question meant ‘not right now’ or ‘we’ll see’ or any of the other things I say when I don’t want to do something. ‘You’re always so busy.’ And he was right. Not in the guilt me way, but in the truth way. His words stuck with me so much as I was sitting there, I decided this morning I’d be busy in a different way. My coffee is colder. But my heart is warmer.”
‘That’s stupid! EVERYONE in my class has that.’ She threw it in the trash and slammed the door.’: Mom teaches daughter ‘tough love lesson’ on being grateful
“WHAT. COME AGAIN? I went to 3 different stores to get that popular L.O.L. Surprise! pencil box. I thought I taught her to be grateful, but apparently sis needed a small wake up call. Before going completely Madea mad on my child, I checked myself. ‘Okay, that’s fine. Let me get the pencil box you’re going to use.’ I came back with a good ol’ Ziploc bag. She lost her mind.”
‘I’m that bad mom at the playground looking at her phone. You assume I’m on social media. Nope, I’m working!’: Mom’s immense guilt over being a ‘stay-at-home-working-mom’ despite others thinking it’s a ‘perfect situation’
“The best time of day is coming. Nap time! Except this doesn’t mean relax, shower, or nap. It means a precious 2-3 hours of work! This is when my time clock actually starts. I race to my computer to pick up where I left off, hoping the toddler won’t take a short nap and completely ruin the day.”
‘He asked me, very plainly, ‘What do you like to do outside of work?’ I awkwardly tried to explain things that didn’t start with being a Mom. Later he asked, ‘Do you want to get your MBA?’ Mother of 3 goes back to school in her 30s
“I asked her, ‘How did you do it all with 4 children?’ I will never forget her answer. ‘You find a way to make it work.’ That next month, I got pregnant with our third son! My first class began the exact day I was in the hospital delivering Wyatt.”
‘I keep telling myself, ‘Today is the day.’ The day I get it together. Workout more, eat healthier. Serve less frozen foods. Then, week after week, I don’t.’ Woman explains self-care is more than a ‘bubble bath’ or ‘weekend out with the girls’
“We’d never want our children to run on empty. Put themselves last. So, what are YOU doing? Life isn’t meant to be a series of checklists and drive-bys. Stop trying to fill up everyone’s cup and take a look at your own. It’s empty, isn’t it? That’s not living, sister – that’s just going through the motions.”
‘Me at 19: ‘I’m pregnant.’ Him: ‘Get an abortion!,’ he exclaimed. My life was over. ‘Why would you do this to me?’ I felt a wave of fog fall over me.’
“I was working 80 hours a week. All the while, my baby daddy was partying and sleeping with other girls. I remember crying and feeling so close to death. Yet, this life was forming inside of me. I wanted to give my unborn child a chance.”
‘His daughter didn’t get home until after 9 p.m. each night, then she still had to do her homework and shower before bed. Hearing this child’s schedule was exhausting. Then I had an epiphany.’
“I was at the courthouse when he told me his wife was busy hauling their 8 year-old daughter, who is a few years older than my daughters, to after school activities. Let me see if I remember this correctly. His daughter partook in ten activities. You didn’t read it wrong. TEN.”
‘I received a message that stopped me in my tracks and brought me to tears. Big, waterfall, sobbing tears. Scarlett would never want this for me. She was love and joy personified.’
“Hello, we were gifted a gift card in memory of Scarlett. I came across your family’s story. The date matches what the man mentioned. I was very stressed, adding numbers in my head trying to get my daughter what she needed for school when this happened. I sat in my car afterwards and cried.”
