As a Digital Editor of Love What Matters, I'm here to pull on your heartstrings and make you smile. After spending nearly six years as a Digital Reporter for ABC News' "Good Morning America," I'm thrilled to continue sharing touching and inspiring stories that the world is so craving. We can all use more love in our lives -- now you've found the perfect place to get it.
“I was shocked. My heart was beating out of my chest. I hadn’t seen these faces since I was 16, leaving the hospital.”
“She thought we should meet. Would it be awkward? Texting a stranger? I knew what I needed to do first. Look her up on Facebook. I immediately found her page and was instantly intimidated by her photo. Her profile picture was of her on their wedding day. She was beautiful, thin, gorgeous. There were no photos of her daughter’s face. Everything was vague. Did she think she was Blue Ivy? What’s the deal with that? I am a chronic over-sharer. Surely we wouldn’t have anything in common. Oh how wrong I was.”
“I was leaving work to go to the liquor store, buying fifths of whiskey and drinking them in the parking lot. Taking shots by myself. In my drunken rage I drove off wildly. With no regard for anyone else’s safety. I don’t remember it. Hell, I don’t want to. I stayed in my room for 3 days and cried. I couldn’t look at anyone. I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t even move. I was done.”
“He found his old journal. ‘I threw it away. It made me sad to see who I was when I came to you.’ Both our eyes filled with tears. ‘It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know how to trust me.’ He slayed my heart, thanking me for dinner on a random Tuesday night. ‘I’m just so thankful I will have a meal each night,’ he said. I couldn’t even lift my head to look him in the eyes. He became worried he’d said something wrong.”
“As my wife looked at his little face, she asked me to hand her a wet washcloth. Confused, I then watched as she began to softly dab his little dried up lips. She nurtured and cared for our little boy’s fragile body. I have so much gratitude to this woman. How strong she is. Not only did she say hello to our son for the first time, but soon, she was going to be forced to say goodbye. The thought haunted me.”
“‘Hi, my name is Teresa and I’m mom of six,’ I want to say like we’re in a support group. I still laugh at the whole concept of me being responsible for all these wonderfully, crazy children. Kids were not the plan. But as my husband and I stood before the photograph of a little boy praying, it was like blinders fell from our eyes.”
“She had just bit me. And screamed at me. She wanted to be in control. So did I. But here I am, on the bathroom floor, engulfed in her embrace. I’m not innocent in all this. I was ignoring her. She lost it on me. ‘Do you need a hug?’ I sure did.”
“I was home alone. 2 plumbers came over unannounced. Looking back, I probably should’ve asked them to come back another day, but I trusted the situation and let them in. I had my phone in my hand, texting my girlfriend to come over. I felt so uncomfortable. Both of their voices were very deep, in control. One of the men walked to the truck to grab something. He said he would be ‘right back.’ I was now left alone with the other.”
“It was a Friday night, the first football game of the year. I was a freshman. One of my friends talked me into going to the game and dance afterwards. Little did I know, that dance would change my life. I ran into my neighbor and his friend, Chad. We talked, laughed, had a great time. By the end of the night, I put my number in Chad’s phone. Months later, I was asking my friend to buy me a pregnancy test. I was 15.”
“I remember sitting in the doctor’s office at age 17, wondering if having my own kids was ever a possibility for me. I’d been diagnosed with PCOS at a young age. He put me on birth control and it hardly affected my life. Until I started seriously dating. I felt like dating me came with a warning label – a precursor: ‘Watch out, no guarantee I can have kids.’ And what if someone didn’t want to marry me because of it?”
