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 remember telling my therapist trips with my husband felt a little lack luster. We went to a private bungalow over the Rivera and he dozed off.’: Woman says there is no rule book for relationships
“I told her it would have been more fun with a friend in tow. I thought she’d tell me to stop outsourcing my needs to other people and start spending more time with the man I married.”
‘All I could muster at the party was, ‘Are you serious?’ over and over, as if my husband would use such heavy words to joke. ‘Yes, they found him in his room.’: Woman recalls complicated relationship with incarcerated father
“‘I have to get naked and bend over. They want to make sure I’m not sneaking anything in my butt cheeks.’ After a revolving door of drugs and women, and a lifetime of waiting for you to change, I gave up. It felt like a knife on your exposed flesh. I could see it in your eyes but that wasn’t enough to make me say ‘Dad.’ I’d be damned before I let you in again.”
‘The woman’s eyes instantly widened with amazement. ‘Your house must be chaotic, all those children!’ I’m a hot mess mom and I know it.’: Woman says she loves the ‘glorious chaos’ of mom life
“I didn’t contradict her. Some days, I really miss having a quiet meal with easily flowing adult conversation. Some nights, I fantasize about sleeping without interruption or a foot in my face. But this chaos that is my life brings me joy.”
‘She’d text us, ‘I need more money.’ She saw me not as a woman to love her unborn child, but as a target. Our hearts and wallets were drained.’: Couple suffers adoption scam, ‘She broke us’
“She would make comments about finding a new family for her son if we didn’t give her the extra money, dangling her baby boy in front of us like a carrot. I truly lost my faith in humanity. She pretended to be a lot of things, but a decent human being was, by far, her greatest act. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison.”
‘It took an overdose to come to the conclusion I was not the young woman I was raised to be. Suddenly, everything began to click.’: Transgender man advocates for support in the ‘addicted trans community’
“I threw heavy flower pots through the glass front door and begged the police officer to shoot me. Sadly, the beast that is addiction took over. As terrifying as it was to unearth such a deep truth about myself, suddenly everything began to click. I began to recognize why I couldn’t stay sober for even an hour. I was not the woman I was raised to be.”
‘Her eyes looked up at me in panic. ‘Mommy, it’s blood.’ We were just in the ER and everything said she was fine. My stomach about hit the floor.’: Family says goodbye to their ‘forever Valentine’ after battle with flu
“Around 6 a.m., I heard her crying by my bed. ‘Mommy, my head hurts, my throat hurts, and my chest hurts really bad.’ This child never cried. She was breathing weird and for a bit, I thought she was being dramatic. Then in her weak, sweet, little voice, she asked, ‘Mommy, am I going to die?’ Something wasn’t sitting right. Every few seconds, she would say, ‘Mommy’ or ‘Hello,’ just so I knew she was doing okay.”
‘After 9 years of teaching, I decided to leave the classroom. No, I’m not talking about summer break.’: Woman leaves the classroom after 9 years, ‘I was slowly losing my spark’
“No matter how hard I worked, how dedicated I was, or how much effort I put into my classroom, I was still considered ‘just a teacher.’ My parents did not raise a quitter.”
‘I calmly asked my son, ‘Do you feel safe?’ When he said he didn’t, I pulled the car over and held him.’: After meltdown mom says ‘we hope parents will know they aren’t alone’
“Nothing readies you for when your 8 year old has completely lost control; for when his behavior disorders become so powerful his brain is no longer acting as a part of his body but has now waged war on it. But today–thank God, today–I kept it together.”
‘I hopped in the driver’s seat instead of letting him drive. I gently pressed the gas pedal, no one in sight. Then everything went…silent.’: After car accident with son, mom says ‘don’t let the ‘wrappers’ in life get in the way’
“We jumped in the car to run some evening errands. ‘Stay there. We are sending help,’ she said urgently. The thing that defined our relationship was snack wrappers. It’s embarrassing to admit how much of our daily interaction revolved around me telling him to, ‘pick them up!’ It is always the unimportant decisions that change lives.”
‘HE STILL NEEDS ME to listen to his stories about school, friends, or some ridiculous meme. No matter how old he grows, I will ALWAYS be his mom.’: Mom says teen son ‘still needs me to love him, no matter what’
“Sometimes my teenager’s 6ft-tall stature and deep voice and shadow of a mustache and size 13 shoes trick me into thinking he might not need me so much anymore. Everything seems to be changing, but there is one thing that will never change…I will ALWAYS be his mom.”