“I watched as Bradley Cooper’s character glanced at the camera and pulled down the garage door. I couldn’t breathe. I knew what he was going to do. I knew what he was feeling. I glanced at my husband, who was now sound asleep. I started to cry. I knew those feelings intimately. It has been 4 years for me.”
‘That should do it.’ I grabbed the Xanax I’d talked my friend into giving me, grabbed a beer, swallowed.’: Woman survives suicide attempt overdosing on pills, ‘My husband saved me, those grandbabies. It scares me to think I almost missed all of this’
‘THERE’S A HEARTBEAT!’ she screamed. Next, we found ‘the bump.’ All I could feel was shock.’: Baby survives twice despite all odds, ‘he was worth every step of the way’
“My doctor saw blood and wouldn’t even attempt to check if my baby was alive. ‘WHAT?! You’re not doing an ultrasound? Blood work? Doppler?’ He shook his head no. ‘There is no use. You’re losing your baby.’ He dismissed us without emotion and left. The next day, we went to the OB to confirm the miscarriage. WHOMP WHOMP WHOMP. The nurse burst in, full-on sobbing. We were urged to terminate the pregnancy.”
‘Do we know each other?’ I remembered the mystery guy’s friend request. I was SO nervous.’: Single mom meets man of her dreams, he adopts daughter after ‘blossoming’ relationship, ‘He hasn’t left’
“I pulled up his profile, scrolled through his pictures, and hit the add button. I waited for at least 3 days. No message, no anything. I went back to assuming he just added ’random blondes.’ I finally decided I would make the first move. I didn’t want my daughter to wind up even more heartbroken.”
‘UM, IAN. Cough. IAN!’ I expected a box of pizza on the floor. I found foot-tall flames.’: Mom recalls dangerous fire pet dog accidentally caused before 6 a.m.
“I hear the sound of a huge dog clambering down the wood floor hallway. If toddler silence is a dangerous sound, this is the doggy equivalent. I chased her around the house trying to dislodge a slice of Meat Lovers. Then I saw the flames. The kids come running in. ‘FIRE! FIRE! WHAT’S OUR ESCAPE PLAN?’ We don’t have one, but bet we do by this afternoon.”
My Daughter Was Born With Uncombable Hair Syndrome (Yes, It’s A Real Thing)
“Complete strangers would peer into her stroller and make comments about her everywhere we went. ‘Looks like she stuck her finger in the power socket,’ was a frequent comment.”
‘I was awful to her. I totaled the friendship. I’ll never know why she accepted my apology.’: Woman thankful for ‘second chance’ with BFF, admits ‘not all friendships should be resuscitated’
“When I eff things up, I do it spectacularly. The same is true with friendships. Eventually, I’m going to say or do the WRONG thing. My mistakes haunt me. I was awful to my life-long BFF. When what I’d done hit me, I was crushed. She chose to love me when I deserved nothing. I am still in awe. Forgiveness separates my gal pals from ‘ride or die’ besties.”
‘I had to drop out of high school. My identity was being ripped from me.’: Young woman devastated after dropping out of school due to mental health problems, later graduates in adult education
“The one thing I was ‘known for’ was being taken from me. I vividly remember I’d have to hide in the bathroom before school started, practically unable to function, dragging myself to my classroom at the last minute. I felt entirely numb. I felt absolutely nothing. How could I not be graduating? It was my senior year!”
‘Social media was NOT designed for children. I can’t imagine a worse time to access it than middle school.’: Mom urges us to restrict social media access, ‘don’t give that smartphone power in your home’
“Middle school kids. Your daily parenting may include statements like, ‘If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all!’ ‘How many times do I have to tell you not the use that word?’ ‘What were you thinking?!’ Then, it happens. We cave. We give them our old phone. Something we haven’t thought about. We aren’t prepared for it.”
‘I’ve never seen him do that.’ I watched as he scratched his face in his sleep. It was a Hail Mary.’: Mom shocked by Celiac disease diagnosis after noticing ‘moody, volatile’ behavior in son
“I started seeing a shift. He was moody, had bouts of rage. He was volatile. Every moment felt like walking on eggshells. I felt constantly on edge, waiting on the next blow up. He was always tired. I mentioned all this to the pediatrician. Nothing fit. I was losing my sweetheart of a boy. Finally, I said, ‘What about Celiac?’”
‘Where did you get these?’ I knew. ‘Ren’s nursery.’ He didn’t realize how serious I was. ‘Put them back.’: Wife unexpectedly triggered by husband’s attempt at act of kindness, ‘It was all downhill from there’
“We ran out of toilet paper and Tommy was supposed to go to the store. Irritated, I asked him to get me something to use. Maybe a paper towel? He finally walks in holding a pack of wipes. They were a very specific kind, Huggies all-natural wipes. I started tearing up. ‘Put them back, please.’ He laughed and insisted I used them. He didn’t realize how serious I was until I started bawling. Something in his room was now out of place.”