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.
‘Because of you, I have to make chocolate chip muffins hidden with vegetables and mixed in with fairy tears.’: Mom begs other parents to ‘lower the standards. You’re only hurting yourself’
“I have spent 3 hours looking up bento boxes, protein to carbohydrate to sugar ratios for those little compartments, and how to make the food look like a happy koala in a tree. Who started this stuff? Who sets the standard like this? Stop it.”
‘Hudson’s brain told him to swallow a lot of pills. We are thanking God our boy is here with us still.’: Family advocates for open discussion around mental health after son’s suicidal thoughts, ‘Do not be afraid of this.’
“Our child is not physically sick… he is mentally sick. We see no difference. He needed a hospital. He needs prayers and support. When he returns to school, please treat him like any other friend who just got out of the hospital. High fives full of welcome backs and ‘I’m glad you’re okay.’ Please don’t be afraid to talk.”
‘Forget ‘tribes.’ These men and women will be much more. They will be your teachers.’: Woman learns to find people who say ‘I get it’ after children’s autism diagnosis
“My child just received an autism diagnosis. Where do I go from here? You read gossip magazines and watch reality TV so your brain can recoup from too many foreign medical words learned in therapy. You clean out a junk drawer in order to control what we still can. But now it’s done. No more limbo.”
‘We were babies when we said our vows. Or, at least, that’s what everyone said. Nobody told us things would feel broken beyond repair.’: Woman realizes ‘nothing precious is ever truly broken’
“What absolutely nobody told us was at some point, no matter how much we loved each other, there would come a time when things felt broken beyond repair. We had seen couples split. Even couples we admired. But we figured that kind of brokenness was for people who didn’t love one another as much as we did. Like I said, we were young.”
‘I’m ‘too attached’ to my child.’ That was the biggest criticism I received. My relationship with my child is none of your business.’: Mom insists children can’t be ‘too attached’
“It started when he was a newborn. Family and friends saying I held him too much and I was going to spoil him.”
‘He scoffed at me. ‘Why are you depressed? You have a husband who loves you! Stop that. You’re fine!’: Woman opens up about battle with mental health, postpartum depression
“I was at work. One of my customers said, ‘How are you?’ I wanted to be honest. Test the waters on speaking how I really feel. ‘Ya know, I’m not doing too great. I’m dealing with serious depression. I’m not okay right now, I’m struggling.’ He scoffed at me. I replied, ‘I wish it was THAT easy.'”
‘Mommy, can I sleep with you?’ Sleep was so very important to me. I’d give up food before sleep.’: Mom says when it comes to ‘sleep’ for now, her answer will always be ‘yes’
“I was particularly comfortable, stretched out in my tempur-pedic dream bed. I was mid-dream when I felt a poke. Startled, I looked up to find my son at my bedside. He leaned in and whispered, ‘Mommy, can I sleep with you?’ I looked at the clock. It was 1:18am. It’s been 700+ nights now, and each and every night he comes to my bedside.”
‘I know for sure that life is fleeting. It’s short but always beautiful.’: Widow reminds others that ‘love doesn’t end when a loved one dies’ in wake of Kobe Bryant’s death
“I find myself asking, once again, why bad things happen. When I get to heaven, I have a lot of questions for God. I try to never let people wonder how I feel about them, because what if I don’t get the chance to tell them again? Imagine what a wonderful place this world would be if we all were just born understanding how precious life is.”
‘Worried about the nights in the hospital with your newborn and dad sleeping?’: Mom’s hilarious hack is what all new moms need
“I asked him to get me something from my bag. He said, ‘Ummm why is there a Nerf gun in here?’ Mom hack level 1,000.”
‘She’s very vocal….’ A woman in Walmart made me cry over a comment she made about my toddler. The shame crashed down all over me.’: Mom feels guilt for misjudging stranger after noticing her comment about her daughter
“We get into the store and she continued to be her loud toddler self. I could see a woman glance over at my daughter and I a few times. I practically roll my eyes and make eye contact with the lady that had been glancing at us. ‘Crap!’, my brain screamed.”