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.

‘When our daughter was six months old, two black women approached us. One said, ‘Your baby’s hair is dry.’ I was taken aback, offended and embarrassed.’: Woman’s comment in Target helps mom provide for mixed-race children

“Around that same time, my husband and I sought a mentor for our daughters, realizing we, as white people, were not qualified to help our kids navigate certain situations.”

Colin Balfe - Mar 25, 2019

‘Oh my God! Why did you slap me?’ He got out of the car. As I was crying I saw a big rock behind him. He told me he would give me all the money in our savings account if I told the cops to leave.’

“This was the start of me planning my escape. Shortly after that, the fights worsened.”

Colin Balfe - Mar 22, 2019

‘He wasn’t so sure this was for him. Late in the pregnancy, they told her there was a chance the baby girl could have it. Deep in my heart, I already knew.’

“While at the game, an older gentleman came up to me and was hitting on me, creeping me out. Then I saw him. We chatted and he let me sit with him and his friends, ‘saving’ me from the creepy man.”

Colin Balfe - Mar 21, 2019

‘He is our wild child. Our rowdy, free spirited, change the world child who I contemplated co-sleeping with well into Jr. High. What would you think of him?’

“First I want to tell you, I didn’t always love you the way I do now.”

Colin Balfe - Mar 19, 2019

‘Your eyes were swollen to slits. Your lips looked like they had too much Botox. Your hands were squishy from fluid. I was the silent watcher.’

“‘Were you in a car accident?’ Every single day I get asked how I hurt myself. I usually try to laugh it off by saying, ‘Don’t I wish I got hurt playing sports.’ Sometimes people are okay with this answer. What happens though, when people are a bit more interested, and sincerely want to know what happened to you?”

Colin Balfe - Mar 19, 2019

‘Okay, so which of you is the mother? There can only be one.’ She made a face when we gave both names.’: LGBT couple urge ‘love is what makes a family’

“The minute we met the daycare director, she asked if we were sisters. I dreaded saying we weren’t. We had our hearts set on this place. It checked all our boxes. After I clarified we were married, she just said, ‘Oh.’ There wasn’t a ‘spot’ for us. Our friends went in later that day and were offered a spot. The only difference? We were gay and they were straight.”

Colin Balfe - Mar 19, 2019

‘After 15 years, the phone rang on a Friday morning. It was the case worker saying she had not one, but TWO babies. 6-week-old twins. ‘Would you take two babies instead of one?’

“An even bigger surprise was in store, a few years after we were put up for adoption, our birth parents, who were not together at the time of our birth, had reunited and later married.”

Colin Balfe - Mar 18, 2019

‘How could this be? My ultrasound nurse told me the baby DID NOT have Down syndrome. The nurse looked at me and asked, ‘Are you going to keep her?’

“I wanted to do the whole thing by myself. No doctor, no ultrasound, no hospital, no midwife. So I did. My close friends and family were definitely not fans. My husband went along with it knowing when I make up my mind to do something, that’s it. It’s done.”

Colin Balfe - Mar 18, 2019

‘I found out my marriage was a lie. He was unfaithful. I had been lied to for months. I spewed venomous hate towards him. I was numb. Then, I found out I was having a miscarriage.’

“We got married! I was so happy, I truly thought we were going to be okay. I had two amazing daughters, a rocking career, a husband who wasn’t perfect, but he tried. Then my world fell apart.”

Colin Balfe - Mar 18, 2019

‘He slipped something in my drink. He had a razor blade. He ‘accidentally’ sliced my thigh. I took photos of the blood dripping down my leg. When I woke up, the photos were deleted.’Woman’s powerful story of overcoming sexual assault

“I met someone new. Someone who made me feel alive again. Six months later, I found out I was pregnant. Then I received devastating news.”

Colin Balfe - Mar 18, 2019