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.
‘I had a friend who seemed irritated by my grief. ‘Why don’t you just have the D&C? Save yourself the pain. Just do it.’: Woman explains it is no one’s place to ‘judge how you miscarry’
“I took my first dose of the medication to help my body miscarry. It didn’t work. Don’t get me wrong, there was nothing ceremonial about miscarrying on the toilet compared to in an operating room. It was just what I felt was right for me.”
‘I witnessed adults rolling their eyes at the kids, pointing at their outfits, judging, disapproving. ‘Their parents must be so proud.’: Millennial mom argues she doesn’t see entitlement in this ‘younger generation’
“I’ve heard it so much, ‘Entitled.’ I went to a party. ‘Who is raising kids like this these days? iPhones and miniskirts,’ I heard them say. With this younger generation, I didn’t see entitlement. Not an ounce.”
‘Olivia nearly died. She went to chew a grape, it shot to the back of her throat and got wedged.’: Mom’s warning for other parents to learn from her ‘carelessness’
“It was the first time since hearing about that poor child who died choking on a grape that I didn’t cut them in half. It was my fault. I figured, she’s almost 5, she isn’t the kind of kid to shovel food and choke, and I was rushing to finish cleaning the house.”
‘I called our cable company. He couldn’t believe we were canceling. ‘It was my mom’s, she died 8 hours ago.’: Daughter realizes how many lives her ‘hero’ mother touched only after her death
“A neighbor in the apartments behind my house asked if my mom was okay. I slowly shook my head, I was confused… how does this stranger know my mom…? Turns out he watched my mom sometimes, but not in a creepy way. He could tell she was disabled and wanted to make sure that if she fell, he would see and be able to help.”
‘So uh, yeah, it turns out you’re my sister.’ He never knew his mom was pregnant with me.’: Adopted woman finally finds biological family, realizes she’s walked the same halls with them at church
“I told him I was a long-lost family member. He told me to give him a call so he could help me. I thought he knew what I was going to talk to him about. He did not. He said he grew up in Glendora, she moved away when she was around 40 years old, and he had 2 sisters. I knew it was him.”
‘I never thought I’d need relationship counseling.’: Wife admits marriage after kids is hard, requires marrying the man who will put ‘you, family’ first
“After children, text messages aren’t butterfly provoking; date nights are few. Stolen kisses become less. When people told me they wanted to get married, I’d say, ‘Why? Everything changes, don’t do it. You lose love.’ I was so wrong.”
‘She’s so beautiful’. ‘Yeah, but she has cancer.’: Newborn daughter diagnosed with Neuroblastoma 9 days after she was born
“June 26 was the day the doctors told me my second daughter has cancer. 2 days after my second wedding anniversary. 5 days after my 30th birthday. I begged for my 7-year-old to understand why she couldn’t hold baby sister. ‘She’s very sick’ I would say, and my heart ached with guilt.”
‘I gave up. I couldn’t do it any longer. I freaking quit.’: Mother of 3 divorces husband after coming to terms with his ‘addictions’
“Spoiler alert. I left my husband. We are divorced. The relationship is over. Our marriage failed. I had to admit that my husband was an addict. My ability to hide it from everyone was over in the most public of ways. I had to tell a police officer that my husband was an addict after he finished taking pictures of the handprints, cuts, grass stains and rug burns that were all over my body.”
‘He looked at me and said, ‘You’re pregnant.’ I chuckled and said, ‘That’s not part of the plan.’: Mom overcomes ‘guilt’ about not enjoying pregnancy to embrace the joy of Motherhood
“A few weeks after our honeymoon I started feeling ill. I couldn’t place my symptoms and chalked it up to some sort of virus. This was the beginning of our first ‘plot twist.’ A little advice never take your first pregnancy test when your home alone. I’ve never cried like that in my whole life. Those two lines showed up before the minute was even up. I took another. Yup, still pregnant.”
‘I hope they’ll see a mother who spoke up. I hope they see a woman who got married but still maintained her identity.’: Mom reflects on what she hopes her children ‘see’ in her as they get older
“I hope they see a woman who just shows up—even if it’s with a messy bun and overstretched yoga pants. A woman who stood, flopped, failed, fell, then rose again when she was ready. She didn’t fake it until she made it, she just came in and was honest about who she was.”