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 wonder what she would have thought of all the hoarding. That’s not how they did it back then. She made reusing aluminum foil fun.’: Woman worries about her generation, ‘We have a bold task ahead’
“I can remember my grandmother’s engaging and sometimes horrific stories of sacrifice. She could cook big feed the masses until all of our buttons burst. And she did this with a very limited fixed income. No part of a chicken roast was ever wasted.”
‘We’ve had two children go through some form of gender identity struggle. ‘How can you deal with that?’ It’s a life or death question.’: Mom says ‘be affirming and accepting of your kids, however they identify’
“Both have settled at this time on their assigned gender at birth but for both, there was a time when that wasn’t what they felt was true for them.”
‘You might want to think about having only one child.’ I knew the risks. The OB kept tapping my face, screaming, ‘Get the doctor, hurry!’: Woman with HELLP syndrome says, ‘I’m happy with the choices I made’
“My husband called his family to say, ‘Mom and baby are okay.’ When he stepped out of the room, my blood pressure dropped. It was my worst nightmare all over again. I don’t know if others would make the same choices I did.”
‘What are you gonna do to earn money for it?’ Mama and Daddy don’t do handouts.’: Mom says ‘working for things gives greater appreciation’
“As I type this out, my son is outside earning money by cleaning out part of the garage and cleaning up the flower beds. Guess he wants that video game pretty bad! Allow them to earn money through good ole work.”
‘I said, ‘Ask me anything!’ My 7-year-old niece was quiet and hesitant. ‘Is he going to be like this forever?’: Mom of autistic child offers support,’ Know there are so many of us with you’
“My sweet boy wasn’t talking, and he was growing increasingly frustrated. His sensory sensitivities were unpredictable. I do know I avoided saying ‘yes.’ But I couldn’t say ‘no.’”
‘I knew the test was positive before they even called. I’m FaceTiming him from the other side of the house, just to tell him I love him.’: Woman asks for prayers after healthcare worker husband’s COVID-19 diagnosis
“My husband is suffering. He’s about as sick as I’ve ever seen him. He doesn’t ask those people if they think Covid is fake, or who they voted for. He doesn’t ask whether or not they can pay their bill. He doesn’t care. He just wants to make them well. And in caring for others, Ian contracted COVID-19.”
‘I was the foster kid no one wanted. The feeling of those thin garbage bags felt so heavy in my small hands. I’d close my eyes and dream of a real bedroom all my own.’: Girl lives her ‘fairy tale’ after adopted from foster care
“Suddenly my biological father, who was unfit to care for a child, received custody of me. I got on a plane to go across what felt like the world to live with someone I could barely remember. But my saviors didn’t give up.”
‘I was in Target buying essential items. She drops the bomb. ‘Will you take a newborn baby tomorrow?’: Foster care mom says ‘it’s never simple’
“I told my social worker that we can’t do it this time. We said goodbye to a baby in late November. But that night I cried. I cried for a baby that I’ve never met.”
‘I realized it was Mother’s Day only two days before. It felt extra special to dress up in honor of their mother.’: Dad of 7 who forgot Mother’s Day says ‘you worth celebrating every day of the year’
“I got stuck in the Coronavirus time-warp, realizing it was Mother’s Day only two days before. This year, the kids really wanted to do a fancy night. It felt extra special to dress up in honor of their mother. You are worth celebrating today.”
‘She almost died, then I was diagnosed. I made the commitment to change immediately. I needed to be there for her long-term.’: During quarantine man says ‘I am blessed I had a wake-up call to focus on my health’
“It took my wife Shelly’s freak accident for that to change. I need to be here for the long-term. I am blessed I had a wake-up call to focus on my health.”