LJ Herman is a former editor at Love What Matters and lives in Colorado. LJ is a concert, ticket and technology enthusiast. He has seen the Dave Mathews Band over one hundred times and counting.
‘Hey, Daddy. Come here. You’ve got to see this!’ I called out. She burst into tears, embarrassed.’: Mom learns valuable lesson on ‘parenting’ from husband
“We often describe our 10-year-old as ‘oblivious.’ We don’t mean it in a cruel way, she’s just often so blissfully unaware of what’s going on. Today, her shirt was on backwards. Again. Before Dad got to her room, she burst into tears, sad because her mother was laughing at her. He calls out, ‘Wait! I’m coming! Hold on one second.'”
‘Hey! I saw you in there.’ I hear a man’s voice shout from behind his steering wheel. ‘I’m so sorry.’: Stranger’s act of kindness helps Mom reach her ‘turning point’
“He must have seen us inside the grocery store. It was the first time we were going in without a stroller. ‘Everybody listen for Momma, okay?’ Six innocent eyes peered back at me. We were here for a mission. ‘Looks like you have your hands full.’ There was every cliché of panic on my face.”
‘Are you excited your soon-to-be mother-in-law is staying for 2 weeks?’ Terrified, I accepted the invite. Was she putting on a show?’: Woman pens letter to mother in law after losing her to cancer
“I wished for a loyal man that would love me unconditionally and…a nice and loving mother in law. He wanted me to ‘learn’ about you all, not ‘hear’ or ‘read’ about you. As time went on and we grew closer, it was time for that first trip together. Minnesota to meet the ENTIRE family! I held your hand until your last breath.”
‘You signed your rights over. I was so mad you two were laughing, carrying on like it was no big deal.’: Mom pens emotional letter to ex, ‘She’s 8-years-old now’
“You were DAD OF THE YEAR! That’s literally all you gave her, one year. You told everyone I was keeping her from you, but you just didn’t bother to show up to your scheduled visitations. You knew my phone number, you knew my address. Your family did, too. Y’all just didn’t care. You were a stranger to her and, for some reason, you and your fiancé just couldn’t understand why.”
‘I honestly thought this would be easier by now. How in the world am I still this exhausted?’: Mother kept waiting for raising children to get easier, it never came
“Heck, even my own parents made it look effortless. But I’m not raising me. And it’s a different time. And all that….blah, blah, blah. So here I am, still figuring it out day to day just like when I had a newborn.”
‘Can I call you mom?’ Nothing prepares you for it. My heart hit my feet.’: Foster mom ‘not expecting’ this to happen so soon, but promises ‘you won’t regret it’
“And then friends, it happened again. 6:24 p.m. loading into the bus, my husband was helping the littles into the back. I was in the driver’s seat when I heard it… ‘Can I call you dad?’ I sunk into the seat with the biggest smile while I held my breath, waiting to hear my husband’s response.”
‘The dad she always dreamed of.’: 9-year-old brought to tears by new dad’s surprise emotional vows during wedding
“We hadn’t spoken in 10 plus years. I noticed Jimmy liking things on my Facebook, so I messaged him. A week later we had our first date, and that was it! I knew he was the one.”
‘Can we talk?’ I want to give you a big hug. I’m a motherless daughter, too.’: Woman says she’s ‘here for you’ through heavy grief, ‘I will understand your silence’
“Tell me about your mom, I’d love to hear all about her. I will sit right here with you. I understand you are hiding behind that smile. You miss them so much. It’s hard to breathe. Your heart feels like it could actually burst at the seams.”
‘You know, short hair, glasses, chubby.’ I was literally jarred. I asked my daughter to repeat what she said.’: Mom ‘angry’ after daughter was called ‘chubby’ by classmate, ‘everyone giggled’
“I will never forget the shame and fear in her eyes as she looked up at me and asked, ‘Am I?’ Those kind brown eyes searched my face for the truth. Kind of chubby… Those words reached down into my body, grabbed my heart with a fierce grip and punched me in the stomach.”
‘Why would she do this?! She’s such a pretty girl.’: Woman recounts suicide attempt after devastating breakup by swallowing bottle of Tylenol
“I’d been dating this guy. He was respectful to me. The kind of guy any mom would be thrilled to see their daughter dating. Then he broke up with me. I had to make the pain go away. I swallowed the entire bottle. I didn’t count, I just took. I called my mom to tell her what I’d just done. By the time she arrived, I was slowly drifting in and out.”