‘I look at my kids and tell myself, ‘Their life would be better without me.’ I push away my partner. I feel my life spiral away.’: Mom shares candid reality of manic depression, urges ‘you are not alone’

“I use what little energy I have for my job and my children. By the end of the day, I can’t sleep. I can’t be productive. I want nothing more than to lie in the dark. I give myself a pep talk to finally brush the knots out of my hair. Some days, I look in the mirror and cry. Then comes the mania. Like today, I’ll clean like crazy. Take a nice, long shower. I’ll play extra long with the kids and message all the people my depression kept me from. All while wondering when depression will strike again.”

Sophia San Filippo -

6 Lessons I Learned From My Failed Marriage

“Every time he touched me, I cringed. I was so busy and obsessed with being a first-time mom, my son came first in every situation. We stopped going on dates, sex was non-existent. He sat me down and told me his needs. I brushed it off. After all, I’d just birthed a newborn! The last thing I wanted to do was have sex. Time went on and his needs went unfulfilled. Eventually, we became strangers who lived together.”

Sophia San Filippo -

‘A lot of us don’t got good Christmas memories. My mom couldn’t afford presents, or was too drunk.’: Woman who worked with troubled youth struggles with holiday traditions after hearing their hardships

“I tried to make a big deal out of Christmas in a very middle-American-ignorant-white-girl kind of way. ‘Let’s decorate the tree! Let’s make Christmas cookies! Kids need presents!’ To my WASPY surprise, this wasn’t well received. Confused, I asked him about it. ‘Is this another one of my white girl questions you guys tease me about?’”

LJ Herman -

‘No Jessica, YOU are his mom. I only carried him.’ I became a mom in a courtroom.’: Woman ‘forever grateful’ for bio mom who made her a mother, ‘My son didn’t to my heartbeat from inside my womb, but he’s laid on my chest every day since 3 days old’

“Walking in the courtroom, there were 12 other families waiting with the same excitement. Some with matching shirts, letterboards, signs, all to commemorate their special day. The judge, dressed as Woody from Toy Story, walks in to officially kick off the festivities. ‘You understand this is a permanent proceeding. He would be yours as if he were born to you?,’ he asked. I couldn’t hold back the tears any longer.”

LJ Herman -

‘Jess, call 911,’ he gasped before the phone went dead. I arrived home to discover my husband laid out on a stretcher.’: Woman loses husband to brain cancer, marries again after receiving ‘message from a complete stranger’

“‘Oh God no. Please no…’ I whispered that night, my legs numb from sitting motionless. I stared straight into the eyes of the young doctor, trying to digest the news I’d just heard. Brain cancer. Earlier that evening, within 5 seconds of pulling into the driveway, I received a frantic call from my husband. ‘No, no, no,’ the only coherent thought I was able to form.”

LJ Herman -

‘In a quiet voice, holding back tears, they asked if they could have ‘their’ dance. YES! You will have your dance!’: Daughters share emotional wedding dance with dying father before it’s too late

“Jason has always been the most attentive father. He’s never missed any of their events. We have raised two daddy’s girls and I was about to break their hearts. Their future suddenly looked very different. The dreams they had of their daddy walking them down the aisle had come to a screeching halt.”

LJ Herman -
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