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.
‘Some of us thrive under pressure, but some of us collapse. Everyone has their reasons. They aren’t in your life to be like you.’: Woman discusses the importance of diverse friendships, ‘Don’t let yourself be the reason one fails’
“They aren’t in your life to be more like you. They are in your life to be them and to serve the purpose on your path they are intended to. Not a single part of friendship is about control.”
‘I could never give them back! It would be too hard.’ It’s not about the ending, it’s about the middle.’: Mom who lost infant daughter shares thoughts on foster care, ‘Loss is part of life’
“Honestly, I’ve asked myself the very same thing. Now I understand. As a family, we have to have boundaries. We had to make the difficult decision to have him moved.”
‘After watching the Disney movie, our 8-year-old daughter couldn’t sleep. My heart ached for her.’: Parents encourage daughter’s empathy, ‘We will not toughen her up’
“At 2 a.m. this morning, as my daughter snuggled into me, I told her stories about bunnies, fields of flowers… Nothing worked. We are protective about what our tender-hearted children see. We are cautious. When I was 9, I watched a movie that traumatized me around the same age. We will not toughen her up.”
‘I have a loving husband. My life is a fairytale. I should be smiling. I have no sob story to garner support.’: Mom suffering from depression gets real about mental health stigmas
“At 36 years old, my life is on the upswing. Who would have thought? I have no reason to cry.”
‘No human needs to walk around trying their absolute best all the time. Sometimes trying your best is just too tall of an order.’: Mom urges compassion for everyone
“We take in a million messages putting us into good old-fashioned fight or flight. It’s legitimately exhausting. I do not have a drop of ‘trying my best’ left in me.”
‘The first time I heard ‘rainbow baby,’ I was pissed. This storm doesn’t end.’: Mom details acceptance of term ‘rainbow baby’
“I thought it was one more way to say, ‘I know your baby died, but look, you get a NEW one!’ I could not handle anything that conveyed a replacement. This storm doesn’t end, there can’t be a rainbow.”
‘I wanted to give them a message in Heaven.’ I unfolded the paper and read the note through a cloud of tears.’: Surviving triplet writes message to deceased siblings
“I was shamed for talking about my children who died. I was told to concentrate on the living child I have, not the two no longer physically in my arms. My 7-year-old sat next to me as I wiped away tears. I asked her about that special note, handwritten with so much love.”
‘Jack asked to wear his sister’s pants. He had his eye on them since they appeared. We both paused.’: Mom worries about son’s self expression, ‘Will they chalk it up to us, his two mom’s?’
“I mentioned his choice to my wife. Jack loves all things that sparkle. I wondered what his teachers and other adults might think. We paused immediately.”
‘Do they know you have a wife?’ She said, ‘H*ll no. She knows I have kids, though.’: Wife accidentally outs spouse, worries for the judgment to come, ‘I hope one day it won’t matter who we love’
“I outed her without realizing I did it. She has a long list of clients who she has worked hard to impress. And then I lied to her about it.”
‘To my baby, you are the brightest spot of this difficult year. You are not cursed, you are not bad luck.’: Mom says newborn is ‘the beauty amidst the chaos’
“Whenever I feel overwhelmed by everything in this ‘unprecedented’ year, I hold you. And for a moment, I’m lost in the wonder which is you. You are not responsible for any of the difficulties of 2020, and you are not tied to them.”