Posts by: Colin Balfe

Colin Balfe is the Founder and Chief Content Officer of Love What Matters. Colin was inspired to start Love What Matters after his mother passed from Ovarian cancer. Through his grieving process, he saw the need to connect a like minded community around a deeply personal storytelling platform. He's proudest of the communities within LWM, strangers united by powerful and impactful experiences, underserved people connecting around mutual challenges, hopes and dreams. These communities include Adoption, Mental Health, Infertility, Addiction, Grief, Special Needs Parenting, LGBTQ+ and many more.

‘Here I was, a 3-month-old in hand, her father leaving because he couldn’t handle my postpartum depression.’: Young mom overcomes suicide, ‘Bliss lies on the other side of pain’

“On Christmas night, I sat on my empty floor, no tree, no presents, just silence. I saw a kitchen with hardly any food. The only items I had to my name were a bag of clothes and a computer. I looked at my daughter sleeping so sweetly, and something deep inside me broke. I told my daughter that night would be the last night. She didn’t deserve any of this.”

Colin Balfe - Apr 18, 2019

‘I would spend sleepless nights worrying about my missing brother. Is he dead? Two years of searching led me right to him, shocked by a reality I wasn’t ready for.’

“I can only imagine how he felt and what he went through, even though he did nothing to deserve such treatment.”

Colin Balfe - Apr 17, 2019

‘She is literally an angel from heaven. But We. Were. Terrified. Instead of leaving the doctor smiling, we were scared. ‘There’s something wrong with the baby!,’ we sobbed.

“I was a first-grade teacher. My students didn’t know anything was wrong with the baby. It was difficult. They didn’t understand why I was out so often, why I wasn’t myself. I felt isolated. Alone. Misunderstood.”

Colin Balfe - Apr 16, 2019

‘She knew she was going to die. I was ashamed. It was embarrassing to say, ‘this is my sister and she is a heroin addict.’

“I lived by the, ‘it doesn’t happen to normal middle class families.’ I was wrong. CPS was involved and Ryder was placed in their custody. After a long conversation with my husband we knew we had to get involved for Ryder.”

Colin Balfe - Apr 12, 2019

‘After visiting our daughter in the hospital I came home to find all his stuff gone. The cat was out of the bag. Our daughter was born at 28 weeks and that’s when the real problems set in.’

”There were times I would say to him ‘Is that how you speak to the mother of your child?’ He threatened to get someone to ‘shoot me in my face.”

Colin Balfe - Apr 11, 2019

‘This is a FINAL decision. Once I sign off, you cannot change your mind.’ They’re a sibling group of 3. 2 of them had special needs.’: Single mom adopts siblings out of foster care, ‘Mama’ is my most cherished role in life’

“‘Morning mama. It’s adoption day.’ Butterflies filled my stomach. The girls and I dolled ourselves up to reflect what was on the inside. Joy and beauty. We went to the courthouse. Then, my lawyer pulled me aside. There had been a miscommunication. My heart dropped.”

Colin Balfe - Apr 10, 2019

‘My boyfriend woke me. ‘He is in the house.’ I checked the doors, all locked. I climbed back into bed. ‘I just saw him in the hall!’ I got up again. He was there. We heard a loud BOOM!’

“We started arguing and it woke my son up. Excited to see his dad, he ran to him. He picked him up, turned and walked out. He just took my son! I was in shock. She knew. She told me to pack a small bag and get the hell outta there.”

Colin Balfe - Apr 09, 2019

‘I was not enough. I called that hotel room and heard HER voice in the background. I was a fool.’: Woman works to overcome husband’s affair

“When I saw the credit card charges to a hotel in a town 1,000 miles from where he was supposed to be, that was when I felt the knife in my gut – but somehow I still thought, maybe it was a mistake. Did someone open a card under his name?”

Colin Balfe - Apr 08, 2019

‘I cornered her. How was it possible someone so inexperienced could walk into a hospital and leave with another person’s baby? The little booklet read, ‘Your New Baby: An Instruction Manual.’

“He’d made so much progress that school year, and I knew being forced to leave his school would make things even more difficult for him if he was removed from his home.”

Colin Balfe - Apr 05, 2019

‘I married a wealthy man at the age of 19. He was already divorced and 15 years older. I ran away and broke all ties with my parents. I was vulnerable.’

“I remember someone from another relationship telling me, ‘You should be happy, at least I am taking off one major thing in your to-do list by marrying you!’ I made the decision that my son and I will never meet him again. People often remind me I am a single mother. I tell them, ‘I was a single mother even when I was married.’”

Colin Balfe - Apr 05, 2019