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 understand my options.’ I felt Malachi twist inside my belly. From that point on, I knew. ‘Tell them we sent you.’ My mind raced. My palms were sweating. ‘It’s time,’ I wrote. ‘I’m checking in now.’
“Through tears, I asked: ‘Will I ever hear his little voice again?’ But, what can you do when your baby can’t breathe? We knew it was the right decision. Something had to be done for him. ‘Okay,’ I said. ‘Let’s do it.’”
‘I can’t believe I’m sharing this photo. An in-the-moment meltdown. Raw, vulnerable and unattractive. I accidentally snapped this pic of me in tears.’
“My anxiety was at an all-time high. I was embarrassed and ashamed of my kid’s behavior. I needed a mental break. I needed to be alone. The very next day, the triplets’ Pre-school teacher recommended therapy for my boys. I was devastated. Defeated. How has it come to this? Is it really that bad?”
‘When I was a little girl, we knew if mom came home with chocolate cake, we better shut up. Something had not gone right, and Momma was NOT happy.’: Woman recalls how late husband always knew how to fix her ‘bad day’
“My brother would do the recon. Sneak down the hall, hide behind the china hutch, peek around the kitchen door until he had an unobstructed view. No cake? Life went on. Yes cake? He’d army crawl back to my room with fear and panic on his face, and squeak out the word, ‘caaaakkkkeeee!'”
‘It’s just cramps. All girls have cramps.’ ‘You went home from school for that?’ Doctors told me it was all in my head. I felt embarrassed and ashamed.’
“If this piercing pain that brought me to my knees in tears and sent me home from school was so normal for so many women, then how come I never saw other girls on the floor gasping for air? I couldn’t understand how this was normal.”
‘Well, if you ever need a kidney, I have two good ones.’: Woman ‘surprises’ best friend by becoming his kidney donor
“I chug my Bud Light and point finger guns at him. Oh, but how serious I would be. My best friend decides, after SEVERAL drinks, it’s time to tell me he was diagnosed with kidney disease.”
‘I woke up expecting it to be my last day on earth. I bought a bottle of pills and razors. Then I bought a rope. I had 3 different plans and figured one of them had to work.’
“I walked for miles to find an area with a good tree, and no people. I finally found a place. I tied the rope around the tree, and took what I thought would be my last breath. I stepped off the branch. Then, someone called. My phone rang and rang. I finally answered.”
‘He went out on the lake. But something happened. He was gone. My Andy was missing for 3 weeks. He wasn’t found until an ice fisherman dropped his camera onto my husband’s foot.’
“To my dismay, I was selected as the Designated Driver. I also had to play the role of containing my husband from leaving me – to join the band. My Andy was an introvert to most, but not on this night in question. He had consumed several adult beverages.”
‘My wife is now carrying our 8th child, our 8th loss. Everything inside me is twisted with pain.’: Husband mourns as ‘strong, courageous’ wife suffers 8th miscarriage
“I can’t think about the gravity of this situation. Don’t cry in front of all these strangers. Our parents will arrive soon, then the doctor will tell me to come back and see my wife as she wakes up. I’ll look at her and have that tangled up emotion of grief and gratitude. She’ll show her strength like she always does, even though she’s hopped up on meds and just went through one of the most traumatic things ever.”
‘My mother aggressively combed my curls with a plastic fine-toothed comb. It was painful. If I protested or uttered a sound, Mother would punch me on the head and rake the comb harder.’: Young woman survives narcissistic abusive mom
“The comb would make a dry, raking noise. Clumps of hair were ripped off my scalp. I tried not to react. If I winced of moved, Mother would just do it harder. She was careful to only do it behind closed doors.”
‘His peaceful face let me know, ‘I’m free, I am OKAY Mom, like you said I would be.’: Mom receives message in dream from son that died of cancer
“I have received over 50 vivid dream visits from Logan since his passing, where he is solid, warm and as real as you and I. Some dreams he tells me things, others we just hug, hold hands, laugh together, or spend time together saying nothing at all. One of the most unforgettable things he has told me are, ‘Heaven is just another place. I’m not gone!”