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’m going to play outside!’ I called for him but he didn’t answer. I saw him by a tree. Then I saw the rope.’: Mom loses son to deadly internet trend, ‘No child is immune to this’
“It resembles suicide, but it’s not. His bullies DARED him to do this the day before he died.”
‘Mom, it’s funny to think when I’m a dad, I’ll have to wrap presents at night.’ I gave him a puzzled look. What was he talking about? ‘You know, mom. When you and dad go into your bedroom and close the door.’ OH.’: Mom shares amusing encounter with son
“‘Dad says y’all are going to wrap presents.’ Huh? The LAST thing his dad and I are doing back there is wrapping—oh, wait.”
‘Dear Snowflake, I hope you can come this year. I haven’t seen you in two years. Love, Quinn.’ I BROKE. This was HIS thing—he had a childlike enthusiasm for Christmas. How can I do it without him?’: Widowed mom shares hope for ‘a little Christmas magic’
“I swear I packed Snowflake and all of her accessories Matt bought over the years to make her laugh. When I unpacked, she was nowhere to be found. I thought maybe she would forget. She did not.”
‘You never leave. You ruin EVERYTHING. To some people, you’re just ‘a feeling.’ But I KNOW you’re the d*mn devil.’: ‘Husband with wife suffering from anxiety says ‘I’ll be there to remind her she ISN’T alone’
“I can’t simply say to my wife, who’s curled up in the fetal position, shaking and crying, trying to dodge your incoming blows, ‘There’s nothing to worry about.’ She knows that. But I love her harder than you’ll EVER hit her.”
‘I saw something shiny and turned into Sméagol. ‘My precious!’: Wife hilariously recounts lost engagement ring, ‘This ring will come with one heck of a story’
“It was around 8 p.m. when I found myself crying and crawling, mostly crying, on my hands and knees in the middle of a Publix parking lot. I imagined the ring traveling the streets of Miami stuck on a tire thread.”
‘Can I go camping with my friend?’ Where did this fear come from? Mother Bear instincts? I HAVE to give her the chance to spread her wings.’: Mom details struggles with anxiety, ‘The fear never truly goes away’
“I see a narrow spot on the road and suddenly I see myself losing control and our vehicle rolling over and over. I wonder if we would survive or if I would have to live with causing an accident that took my children’s lives. It keeps me up at night, makes me a wreck all day.”
‘I heard her voice and knew our lives would change forever. ‘Nic, you need someone to drive you to the hospital.’ I looked at my daughter and saw her eyes well with fear. ‘Momma, what happened to Daddy?’: Mom recounts near-loss of husband, stresses importance of ‘telling kids the truth’
“He said, ‘Ma’am, we have an unidentified man with head trauma coming in, I’m sure it is your husband.’ At that moment, I was escorted by a solemn social worker to a small, littered room. A room meant to allow family members to react to what they would tell me in private. I went downstairs to hold our daughter when she woke up. I told her in an age-appropriate manner what had happened to Daddy, and what our next step would be. She held me and calmly said, ‘I know Daddy will be okay.’ Your kids DESERVE the TRUTH.”
‘Curvy women welcome, but ONLY if the curves are in the bust or butt.’ I would wear t-shirts over bathing suits out of fear someone would see my stomach and die of disgust on the spot.’: Mother advocates for body positivity, ‘You are perfectly imperfect’
“I didn’t even let my now-husband look at my stomach for a YEAR. I closed my eyes and waited to hear his groan in disgust. I felt his big hand rub across my stomach.”
‘We made eye contact and I immediately knew something was wrong. ‘Let me get the doctor.’ The doctor said six words no parent EVER wants to hear.’: Mom grievously recounts miscarriage, ‘We find comfort in knowing she’s with Jesus’
“‘I’m sorry, but there’s no heartbeat.’ She told me I had to deliver her, but I didn’t want to. I thought if I could keep her inside of me, if I could just keep carrying her, then maybe she’d be okay. Part of me thought they got it wrong, she’d come out crying. But she didn’t.”
‘Sometimes people won’t change their minds.’ Why? We just want everyone to be equal.’: Woman activist urges ‘we CAN make a difference’
“This is what it looks like coming up on my sister’s 5-year anniversary of her passing in the middle of a pandemic and cultural warfare. You see friends, this isn’t fun for us. It isn’t fun pointing out privilege and systemic racism when you see it. People hate us when we do it.”