“James called to tell me he would be a while longer, it was already getting dark. He said, ‘I love you kitty, I’ll be home late.’ I can see myself standing in the kitchen on the phone with him, I can feel the emotion like it’s happening now. When the phone rang around 11 p.m., I knew he was dead. It was happening all over again.”
‘You’ll never have to bury our kid’s father again. You can get through this.’ Little did I know.’: Woman loses 2 lovers to tragic accidents, says ‘becoming a mom’ is the best thing she’s ever done to carry on their legacy
‘I can’t do this,’ I muttered to myself. I was only 22, unmarried. I didn’t want my boyfriend to feel trapped.’: Young mother doesn’t believe she’ll be ‘punished’ for ‘having a baby out of wedlock’
“I was terrified, ashamed. I cared too much about walking around with a large stomach and no ring on my finger. My boyfriend and I had only been dating a little over a year. I’d been indoctrinated with the belief that what was happening to me was a sin that would tarnish me for the rest of my life.”
‘Oh my Gosh! I’m crying in Aldi’s! Please judgy cashier, keep walking past. Screw these bags.’: Mom caught off guard, brought to tears in grocery store after realizing she was ‘missing my partner’
“Clearly, I was not mentally prepared to grocery shop this morning. Something wasn’t right. The drive was short and quiet. I quickly got out of my car with everything I needed. Really, it was an Aldi shopping success…. until I reached the bagging counter. That’s when it struck me, why I was so off. For the first time in 9 years, I was missing my partner.”
‘By the time I was 3 months pregnant, I had enough, and he moved out. I was so mad at him.’: Woman admits she ‘wasn’t prepared for this’ after unexpected pregnancy, but has now ‘fallen more in love’ with her fiancé every day
“A crazy pregnancy monster entered my body and took over my brain. I felt suffocated. I didn’t like the changes that come with having a significant other around all the time. I missed my peace and quiet. I certainly didn’t like all the new ‘friends’ I was supposed to now have. I was having an out of body experience. Saying I didn’t love him, and I couldn’t do this anymore.”
‘I’m not scared to die. I’m scared to be forgotten.’ I had no words, just tears.’: 28-year-old widow gets sign from husband in heaven, ‘I’m okay Mama Bear, I made it, I’m now pain free’
“He was slowly beginning to wake. I couldn’t wait to see his big brown eyes. I wasn’t expecting the first thing out of his mouth to be, ‘So, how did things go?’ I still hadn’t come up with the best way to tell him. I knew I wouldn’t be able to lie. The room once again was silent. ‘Kyle, I love you. We will get through this together.’”
‘I’m a teacher. I’m his mother. How did I not know?’ I saw him crying at his desk.’: Mom shocked to learn her son is ‘profoundly dyslexic,’ urges other parents to ‘trust your instincts’
“I sat in the waiting room hoping a pair of glasses would be my silver bullet fix. Unfortunately, what I was met with is something I’m embarrassed to retell. Aiden wiped away tears. ‘You mean my brain isn’t broken?,’ he asked. ‘No buddy. Far from it.'”
‘I had a hard time clothing her. I was sure I’d break her neck.’: New mom recalls ‘mean, vicious cold days’ in throes of postpartum anxiety
“I had been placed in a small, windowless hospital room that was 80 degrees. I was rotating between sweating because I was warm to shivering from having cold sweats. The medicines from labor were messing with me. I tried to keep it together but whenever a nurse left my room, I burst out crying. There was so much paperwork to fill out. I was alone.”
‘The cancer unit? How’d this go from ‘Hawaii 5-0’ to ‘Fighting-4-Life’ in 24 hours? This can’t be right.’: Dad insists he’ll be ‘taking my family to the top, whatever it takes’ despite infant daughter’s Down syndrome diagnosis, then cancer battle
“‘I will not be leaving her side,’ I responded in the clearest daddy-bear tone I had. Dad’s on guard. It was the look in the new doctor’s eyes that told me, I needed to go. I kissed my perfect baby girl goodbye. I’m the bug being drawn into the glowing light of the bug-zapper. Like a true ‘lamb-to-the-slaughter’ walk.”
‘Prepare to say goodbye to at least 1 of your children.’ It’s inconceivable.’: Twin mom feels both ‘joy’ and ‘pain’ after 1 twin dies and the other survives
“It was the only time we had with her. We were able to hold her and see her sweet face, it was beautiful. ‘Everything happens for a reason. At least you have one.’ They are poking the wound. The gravity of what happened to us is too hard for people to imagine.”
‘You know mom, teachers should never be mean like that. It’s so bad.’: Mom shocked by young son’s ‘super tender heart’ after revealing her teacher bullied her
“I said, ‘You’re so lucky to have such a nice teacher. When I was in third grade my teacher didn’t like me. When my desk would get really messy, she would take my desk in front of the whole room and dump it upside down and make me clean it all back up.’ I thought he’d be shocked or mad on my behalf, but nope. ‘That’s just so sad mom.'”