“I didn’t quite look like the other girls. I was curvy and had a big chest. I stood in front of the mirror in my grandparents’ bathroom, analyzing the shape of my body. I was peeling off an old layer of me and discovering the depth of my true identity.”
‘I started binge eating. ‘Do you want to be a boy?’ I was so ashamed of being the ‘fat friend’ of the group.’: Transgender man struggles through eating disorder on road to self-acceptance
‘Baine woke up crying about stomach pain. He was making whining noises, his eyes not tracking me. I hurried as fast as I could to the car.’: Mom raises awareness about OTC Deficiency in honor of late son, ‘He was the answer to other prayers’
“I made him toast and got him a coke. He seemed better. We talked for a minute and he fell back asleep. His eyes were no longer tracking me. I hurried as fast as I could to the car, carrying Baine in my arms. Within 5 minutes, he was losing consciousness. He was making horrible noises in his seat. He was scared, but he couldn’t communicate. His brain was being slowly poisoned.”
‘Pocket the money you would have spent. Spend it on wine instead. Being a single parent takes an emotional toll.’: Temporary single mom says ‘there’s no magic number that makes a family whole’
“There’s no time for self-care. I have difficulty finding time to even shower. Being a temporary single parent comes with its fair share of difficulties, but it has some pretty amazing perks.”
‘I need all you who lay awake at 2 a.m. to listen up. You’re honest ‘YOUness’ comes out in all the ways. That honesty is a gift.’: Woman says being ‘honestly you’ is needed in our world
“I felt like I had a connection with an elderly couple walking their dog on the side of the road. So, of course, I yelled. ‘Who was that?’ the kids asked. ‘I have no idea.’ They were both mortified. I realize I’ve said something weird, but they can’t see my flaming cheeks while I’m wearing a mask.”
‘I used to read him story books, now he studies textbooks. I wondered if he’d ever sleep through the night. Now, I pray he’ll get home safely at night.’: Mom talks parenting all-grown-up child
“I used to sit on the floor and play with him. Now, I sit court side while he plays. I used to plan play dates. Now, I watch him go out on dates. I used to pray for his health, his happiness, and that I could somehow be the mother he needed… and I still do.”
‘He swiped a tiny nibble from his brother’s peanut butter sandwich. That day, our lives changed forever.’: Mom shares hard-won lessons from experience and allergy community
“People will comment, ‘We don’t have allergies but…’ Honestly? We were given instructions to ‘avoid peanuts!’ Epi doesn’t solve the reaction. It’s a stopwatch giving you time to get to a hospital.”
‘My 2-year-old became lethargic overnight. His balance was off and his features started to droop. I wanted to take back every decision.’: Mom details hearing impaired son’s journey with cochlear implant
“’Everything went perfectly! He’s done.’ If that sounds too good to be true, it’s because it was. His balance was off and his features drooped. Nothing could have prepared me. Our story was not the one I’d hoped for, but it was incredible to watch.”
‘Ethan screamed, ‘NO! How am I supposed to live without her?’ He hit the wall and ran out of the room. She’d gone too long without oxygen.’: Girl loses life to influenza, ‘We miss and love her so much’
“The doctor reassured, ‘Today is the sickest she’ll be. Once the anti-virals kick in, she’ll be on the mend.’ Around 3:00 a.m. I awoke and thought, ‘Finally! The medicine is working.’ I lay there a moment longer and got a sick gut feeling. I said her name and heard nothing. In the police car, there were no sirens. There was no rush to the hospital. ‘This is where I give you the if-this-was-my daughter speech. It’s time to let go.'”
‘One day, you’ll realize you’re serving whole chicken nuggets instead of cutting them into pieces.’: Mom urges ‘you never know when the last day of a precious phase will be’
“One day they’ll want a shower instead of a bath. One day you’ll realize their car seat is no longer facing backward, and you don’t need that little rearview mirror on the headrest anymore. One day you’ll miss brushing their teeth because now they can do it themselves. Before you even know it, that precious phase will be gone.”
‘I have 7 children. They do not give me purpose and meaning. My world does not revolve around them.’: Mom finds meaning beyond her children, ‘I will not burden them with being my universe’
“I didn’t want to be a mother. I knew I couldn’t do this. Parenting involves sacrifice. I have a purpose outside of them, passions and interests that aren’t dependent on them.”