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.
‘She was in the hotel pool. The water looked murky. I noticed a red line running down her calf.’: Girl contracts Necrotizing Fasciitis, flesh-eating bacteria during vacation swim
“We were only allowed in the water to our ankles. We tried to make the best of our beach day. Monday morning, my daughter woke up with pain in her calf. I can’t help but feel sick to my stomach. We were on vacation, enjoying the warm weather and waves. Now, here we are, fighting to save her life.”
‘I kept my baby. Even though I was 16, when everyone told me ‘kids shouldn’t have kids’ or that I’d ‘ruin my life,’ I kept my baby.’: Teen mom explains why she ‘kept her baby’ at 16-years-old
“I knew some would think I slept around, that I was promiscuous. I knew that girls would talk. I knew there was a pill that could ‘take it all away.’ But I knew that was a lie anyway.”
‘Where does Nana live?’ You’ll think of her when a stranger walks by and you have to do a double take because for a minute, you could have sworn it was her.’
“You’ll think about the sound of her voice and the way her hugs felt. You’ll think about the ways she cared about every little detail of your day. You’ll think of her until one day, you realize thinking of her no longer hurts.”
‘My dad hates me,’ the girl whispered in my ear with a sullen look on her face. It was one of the first hugs I gave.’: Man gives out ‘free dad hugs’ at pride event, ‘If your dad isn’t there for you, I will be’
“An hour later, a girl pointed to my shirt. ‘Hey, free dad hugs!’ The look on her face said everything I needed to know. She hugged me as if she hadn’t seen me in years. She walked away in tears, without ever saying a word. I’m nobody special. I’m just a regular dad.”
‘I was standing 3 feet away from my son, close enough to him to ‘hear’ any struggling. Whatever you’ve seen on TV, just forget. Drowning is silent.’: Bereaved mother shares water safety PSA, ‘I can only hope his story will save others’
“Nothing angers me more than generic water safety messages for parents. As if we don’t already care enough to get them swim lessons. Water safety is NOT that simple. So, this won’t be one of those messages. This one is real, and it is raw I checked ALL the boxes a ‘good mom’ before going to the pool.”
‘No one sits next to a letterboard with wine all the time. They’d be too drunk to operate social media. For real.’
“These moms must have better jobs, better houses, better lives because everything looks perfect. They also all must be alcoholics, because everyone is always drinking all the time. Seriously, how are you not dead? One drink for me. Then one day I got a comment saying how awesome my life must be. My heart sunk.”
‘He’s just a tomboy. He’s going through a phase.’ At the age of 2, my son began showing a fierce rejection of all things female. It didn’t enter my mind that my child could be trans.’
“She said something along the lines of, ‘Please be careful with waiting to allow your child to transition. That can be dangerous.’ And then she proceeded to tell me why.”
‘I didn’t want to cry at Cracker Barrel. I could feel the tears welling. I could feel my nose starting to burn. I didn’t want to be the crazy lady crying at breakfast.’
“I was frustrated. But I held him. I snuggled him in my arms. And that’s when it happened. As I half-smiled, she stopped beside me.”
‘An ex-boyfriend said I was hotter because I was ‘smaller.’ People would give me compliments like, ‘You’re so thin. You look amazing!’ I was miserable.’: Young woman grateful for health after overcoming eating disorder
“Peers I saw on campus or at bars would point out, as if it was the best compliment one could give, how tiny I had suddenly become.”
‘We left with a box. Not a baby. Not our child. But with a box.’
“I resented that box. I wanted nothing to do with that box. It felt all wrong in my hands, but still I couldn’t put it down.”