“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.”
‘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’
‘You should get up before your kids.’ I’ve tried it your way, but I’m a night owl. My brain functions best around 10 p.m.’: Mom pens ode to night owls, ‘We are just as valuable’
“My house gets cleaned at 10 p.m. That’s when my lists get made. That’s when I have all my ‘bright’ ideas. When I find myself up before the sun, all I want to do is cry and stare at the wall and go back to sleep. I can prepare for the day just as well at midnight.”
‘He hugs his teacher, the only attention and connection he will receive for the day. He eats school lunch, the only meals he has.’: Teacher explains why ‘schools are irreplaceable’
‘When I read the recent comments by influential and powerful people who want to make wholesale changes to education because we have ‘all this access to technology,’ I get upset. Schools are essential.”
‘The executive told me, ‘I’m not here to help another white girl save Africa.’ This was NOT the life I had anticipated.’: Woman creates global movement for non-profit hospitals, ‘This is the life I was meant to lead’
“I saw dozens of smiling infants, cooing and adoring the hospital caregivers they know as ‘mamas.’ I witnessed an orphan, who we found in a diabetic coma, now thriving. The 6-year-old, who was severely emaciated, weighing only 9 pounds, now fully recovered and walking.”
‘She said, ‘It’s your dad. There’s something wrong. The cops said they found him on the ground.’ We still had so many questions.’: Woman details life with drug-addicted father, ‘I’m not mad at you’
“‘You need to stop what you’re doing or you’ll end up dead.’ I’d see him drive by with another woman. When my mom decided to divorce him, he didn’t show up. We stood at the court house and looked out the window from the top floor. The doctor approached my brother and I. ‘You have to make a decision to let him off the machines.’ We still had so many questions.”
‘I started seeing burnt foil and spoons around the house. Money and valuable things went missing.’: Woman married to meth addict for 6 years shares powerful plea for sobriety
“It’s looking for him in the early hours of the morning while the kids sleep in the car, praying I don’t find him dead on the road. It’s being quiet in the house because he claims there are cameras everywhere and people standing outside the window watching our every move. It’s tucking my kids into my arms and saying sorry over and over again. ‘Maybe this is his last one, just maybe.’”
‘The lawyer called, she wanted him back and the papers were already signed. I knew we’d be saying goodbye.’: Couple credits birth mom for saving almost failed adoption, ‘The bond between us made this happen’
“Were we selfish for not wanting him to be taken from us? We couldn’t blame her. She didn’t REALLY know us. She said to us: ‘You asked me to trust you, now I’m asking you to trust me.’ You could hear a pin drop in that room.”
‘When you cry in the night, I head upstairs. I hold you longer than I need to. The last time is coming.’: Mom cherishes the ‘lasts’ as her youngest baby grows up
“I’ve rocked in this rocking chair at least a million times. It is the perfect size for a mama and one little baby. I smile at you a little wider than my worn out face should be able to. I know these days will end.”
I’m A Doula To Hold Mothers, Not Babies
“Mothers so often come last.”
‘I am not sure how you do it.’ More than one child is rushed to the emergency room at once. If I’m being honest, I’m not sure either.’: Special needs mom births 3 children, fosters and adopts 8 more
“After having my own accident that caused a permanent disability, I had to advocate for myself and my kids. 8 of 11 of them are special needs. There are many days I want to pull my hair out, but I never look back and think, ‘Why me?’ I am forever grateful to be their mama.”