“‘Initially I found a babysitter for you, but I realized you needed stability, so I brought you home – and filed for adoption,’ he said. He was my first love, my first teacher, my first protector. He encouraged me to believe in myself.”
‘Your mom left you with me to babysit and never returned.’ He was a young Marine, just back from the Vietnan war. He made the ultimate sacrifice.’: Adoptee shares journey to self-acceptance, motherhood
‘I hid behind my mom the 1st day of kindergarten, afraid to walk into a room of kids who did not yet know I was different.’: Woman with alopecia shares self-love journey, ‘I show up for myself’
“A close friend asked, ‘Can you be a bridesmaid at my wedding?’ I realized I couldn’t do it with my usual head coverings. The whole time at the wig shop, I cried. With each one I tried on, I felt like I was giving up, forced to resign, like I was surrendering to a new life with no hope.”
‘He said they were ‘non-symptomatic.’ I was sent off feeling relieved it wasn’t worse—if only I knew.’: Woman shares journey with Tarlov Cyst Disease to raise awareness
“When I woke up, I had lost sensation completely in my left leg, and I lost control of my bladder. The pain was excruciating.”
‘We shoot 1000 pictures of the same instant, but we often forget to live it.’: College student urges ‘capture the moment’ rather than the picture
“‘The quality of the pictures suck.’ I wasn’t worried if my smile was too big, or if my hair was messy, or if my makeup was smeared, and it truly made all the difference.”
‘In ONE week, I’ve heard: ‘What’s wrong with her?’ ‘That’s so sad she has no arm.’ ‘She’s scary, I don’t like her.’: Special needs mom shares important reminder to teach inclusivity
“As you buy the backpack, and the crayons, and do all the school preparation things, please do the most important thing.”
‘The adoption lawyer said, ‘See you soon!’ We both said, ‘This is it!’ Our family of 6 was complete, or so we thought.’: Couple adopt daughter’s sister from foster care, ‘She’s the piece we didn’t know we were missing’
“We received a call from our little girl’s bio grandma. CPS had a baby girl in foster care a few hours away. ‘I was hoping you’d be able to take her.’ Siblings are meant to be together. And as much as they needed each other, we needed her too.”
‘He’s ANNOYING.’ The mom side of me wants to reply to every situation with what he ‘should’ or ‘shouldn’t’ do.’: Mom of teenager urges ‘HONESTY is the key’
“‘I get it.’ The high school years terrified me, but I decided to not play only the mom role.”
‘A huge hole in my heart was finally fulfilled. I burst into tears, looking her mother in the eyes, telling her how grateful I was.’: Mom reunites with daughter she had at 17 after self-help journey
“I received a text, ‘Just wanted to say I LOVE YOU!!! And I’m SO incredibly proud of you and who you are.’ She came home when I fulfilled my promise to accomplish my dreams.”
There Were No Princesses With Limb Differences, So I Decided To Change That
“I cosplay in the hope that one simple picture might make a child somewhere dream a little bigger, for they are also beautiful and clever and strong indeed—exactly as they already are.”
I Wasn’t Married By 30, So I Became A Single Mom By Choice
“I remember telling my friends and family that if I wasn’t married or in a serious relationship bound for marriage by the age of 30, I was going to have a baby on my own. They laughed and told me I was crazy. Little did they know, I was completely serious.”