“‘I’m sending you to the ICU right now,’ the doctor told my parents. ‘I want a second opinion,’ my father replied. ‘Frank, you don’t have time for a second opinion…’ It was like any typical Thursday in my world. I found it odd no one was there when I arrived, but hoped Mom had taken Daddy to the doctor for the headaches he’d been having. The phone rang. I could hear my aunt saying, ‘calm down, you’ve got to be strong for him.’ He had an aneurysm at the base of his brain. It could rupture at any time.”
‘Promise me, whatever happens, take care of Momma.’ The intercom blared. Mom wailed. He was alive, barely.’: Daughter fulfills promise to her beloved daddy after his death ‘no matter what’
‘Yeah right, that’s not a real service dog.’: Mom suffering from PTSD confronts ‘rude person’ who judged her ‘without even knowing me’
“Don’t I look fine? My hair is perfectly curled, my makeup is flawless, and I’m cute as a button in my favorite Disney attire. You wouldn’t think anything could be wrong with me. But not all disabilities are visible. I have PTSD from watching my 6-year-old son die right before my eyes in a car accident on our way to Disney World for his 7th birthday.”
‘I want to adopt them all.’ I’d just come home from a breast cancer scare, and thought it was the Valium talking.’: Couple adopts teen daughter, wife ‘floored’ when husband declares he wants to adopt her younger brothers too, now living happily with 7 kids
“I quickly realized I wasn’t in a drug-induced haze. We then had 7 children inside a 3-bedroom house with 2.5 bathrooms. Showering required a schedule, and toilet usage was always something to fight for. We were cramped, we were on top of each other, BUT we were having a freaking blast! Ya’ll, it gets better. Two weeks later, my husband tells me he wants to quit his job. Sure, Nathan. Let’s adopt of bunch of kids, and use my stay-at-home mom salary to feed them. Genius plan.”
‘I have the perfect body.’: Mom shamelessly celebrates ‘thick, swollen’ body after multiple pregnancies
“It may not have been your first thought when you looked at this picture of me, 39 weeks and 2 days pregnant, playing with my children in our backyard. But it’s true.”
‘My daughter dressed herself. Tall polka-dotted socks, bike shorts and a glittery snowman long-sleeved shirt. It’s 85 degrees.’: Insecure mom tells daughter she looks ‘awesome’ despite being disappointed in herself
“I was proud of her, but disappointed in myself. I took her to preschool drop-off in her trendy threads, but I packed a change of clothes for afterwards because we have a PTO meeting at our son’s private school this evening.”
‘We lost our precious Amie. We knew surgery was coming. She was in the best hands. Try as he might, we lost her.’: Mom’s emotional journey to adopting their ‘fierce, spunky’ daughter, only to lose her 2 months ago
“Then that fateful phone call. Oh, how that phone call would change our lives. We were contemplating what empty nesting would look like. And then Amie happened. She had a way of wrapping everyone around her little finger. Quickly, we realized Amie wasn’t like our other babies. She already had two open heart surgeries, and there were more in the future. Amie was feisty, and had a personality as big as the sky.”
‘When can I see the baby?’ New moms hear over and over, before she’s even left the hospital.’: Mom reminds us to ‘nurture the mother’ post-delivery
“Before she’s had a chance to sleep. Before she’s showered off the blood. ‘When can I come see the baby?’ Her estrogen and progesterone levels are plummeting. She’s shaky. Hot, cold, sweaty, and weak. Her crotch is swollen, puffy. She has stretch marks, hair loss, acne, blurry vision, and dry eyes. When you walk into her house, look at HER. Admire the baby, sure. But don’t forget to nurture the mother.”
How My ‘Goofy Joke’ Connected Me To My Little Brother Before Going To College
One day, I decided I wanted to do something to mess with him. So, I ran to my room and threw together the most embarrassing outfit I could find. I wanted to make my little brother smile while I still can.”
‘I was scared of losing my mom. I was 12. I didn’t want anyone to think I was trying to get attention.’: Daughter suffers in silence after mom’s cancer, Alzheimer’s diagnoses, says ‘your struggle doesn’t make you weak’
“I heard her whispering on the phone. It sounded like something was going on, but she was trying to hide it. I was completely caught off guard. She had found a lump in her breast. I immediately asked her if she was going to die. I never told anyone about any of it.”
‘Please Mom, I don’t want to leave. I promise I’ll be good. I don’t like myself very much.’: Sister’s heartbreaking tribute to her late big brother who society deemed ‘the bad kid’
“I’d watched life treat my brother Glen so unfairly. I wanted so badly for something to go right for him. One night, he was extremely upset. My father picked my mom and I up. Glen called us to see where we were, and I still remember her last words to him. ‘We’re giving you space for the night, but we want to help you, Glen.’ The next morning, we were greeted by my dog at the front door. She was crying.”