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.
“When I was 8 years old, I vividly remember pulling out an eyelash as I sat in my mom’s car in the drive-thru. And you know what? I LIKED the feeling from it. It was oddly satisfying. I kept pulling them out until my eyelashes were bald. Then, my parents began to notice. They couldn’t accept I was doing this to myself.”
“As an insecure 18-year-old, it felt great that this older, successful man liked me. When he asked me to be his girlfriend only two weeks later, I was all in. I was so charmed by him. When I went upstairs to gather my things, he followed, blocking the front door. ‘You’re not going anywhere.’ He wouldn’t move. He wouldn’t let me leave.”
“We went out. I had too much to drink. I went to the bathroom and thought my current boyfriend was going to wait for me, but instead, I couldn’t find him after. Then all of a sudden, I saw a guy from my past. I was a victim of his, and I had a panic attack. I found my boyfriend. ‘We need to leave.’”
“In addition to planning two funerals, my husband and I were left with a room full of baby items. Three boppy pillows, three bouncers, enough diapers for three little babies. I waited in line to return it all. The grief took a hold of me.”
“I didn’t plan on eavesdropping on their conversation, but there I was, not able to walk away. One of the women said to the other, ‘know anything we can gossip about?’ Ok, this is getting GOOD.”
“I remember sitting there with my head against the closet thinking my Christmas Eve was already ruined without him there. I remember the tears started streaming down my face even though I tried to keep it together for him and the girls. My older daughter came over and wrapped her arms around my neck because she could tell I was upset.”
“My husband got a new job so we could see each other more. Things were going well until one day I randomly got extremely depressed. My husband left for work and I started thinking, ‘You’re fat. You’re ugly. No one loves you, and you aren’t going anywhere in life.’ I grabbed my keys, hugged my cat, got in my car, and started driving down the highway. This was it. This was the day I was going to commit suicide.”
“By the time she was 4, her tomboy phase became something different. I remember getting her ready for school. ‘Mom, I want to dress like a girl today!,’ she said. I went out to the living room and told my husband to ‘not make a big deal about what she was wearing.’ He was her protector.”
“I always worried about her. I had to be a ‘big brother.’ I protected her. We planned an outdoor wedding. This barn had a lovely garden, and a beautiful path to a place I imagine heaven looks like. It was there, we saw my sister again.”
“Little Fitz, oh how I wish we could bring you home. It pains me knowing we won’t be able to see you take your first steps or spit out mushed-up peas. I won’t be able to see a brace-faced boy awkwardly place a corsage on a girl’s wrist before a high school dance, freak out in a parking lot when teaching you to drive, or help you move into your college dorm. I wonder what you would’ve been like, what you would’ve done, and how you’d change the world.”
