“She told me she lost her husband and that tomorrow would have been their 60th anniversary.”
‘I noticed an elderly woman sitting alone. My exact thoughts were, ‘I’d hate to have to eat alone.’ So I walked over and asked if I could sit with her.’: Man shares sweet encounter with elderly woman, ‘Everyone has a story’
‘Leah, this is your hell, but we’ve got to walk through it.’ Becoming a single mother was an adjustment I never anticipated. Our romantic relationship ended, but it served a mighty purpose.’
“It didn’t work out. He wasn’t mine to keep, but I finally realized what our relationship was meant for. I thank my daughter’s father for giving me the greatest gift I could ever know.”
‘No, not again! I can’t handle another child like this!’ I was angry at people who asked, ‘Are you gonna try again for a ‘normal’ child? I sat in the bathroom, crying.’
‘I was in survivor mode. I wouldn’t let myself feel. I couldn’t be weak; I had to keep going. People asked, ‘When will they grow out of it?’ I remember getting to a point where I thought, ‘This is going to kill me. I need to accept it.'”
‘I spontaneously booked a hotel room and drove 5 hours to meet a stranger. ‘What the hell am I doing here?!,’ I wrote to my friend. I felt absolutely crazy, but I was on top of the WORLD.’
“We went back to his apartment. I was hesitant, because, what would happen next?! It was getting into the early morning hours, so I thought to myself, now or never. What was happening to me?!”
‘There’s not just one healthy baby. There’s TWO!’ My husband fell to the floor in shock. I had a huge pit in the bottom of my stomach. ‘There must be some mistake!’
“She stepped out of the room to give my OB a call. My mind went crazy. She must’ve been calling for backup. I was crying in complete confusion. Two? TWINS? No one gets pregnant and thinks ‘Yay! I’m going to have babies!’ It’s always, ‘Yay! I’m going to have A baby!’ But I had this strange feeling in my chest.”
‘Caleb fell off the couch. Something is wrong,’ my babysitter’s boyfriend told me. My heart stopped! ‘I’ll be right there!’ She was holding my son who was NOT crying. His eyes were closed.’
“I went back to work after maternity leave. I felt pretty good about the babysitter I found. She had a baby of her own whom she stayed at home with. I met her boyfriend (father of her baby). For two weeks, I went over on every lunch to check on him. Then I got the phone call.”
‘You’ve asked me where I’ve been. You said, ‘I seem off.’ You’ve told me through texts that you miss my posts. I can’t play that role in your life right now.’
“You’re thinking: ‘How are we supposed to know if you don’t tell us?’ It doesn’t work like that, at least not for me. I haven’t been there recently. Have you noticed? I don’t have it in me.”
‘Somebody stop that dog!’ I was in the right place at the right time. Cars zoomed by. I dove for the dog on asphalt.’: Retired professional Nike distance runner joins selfless community effort to save lost dog
“I spotted a large white, fluffy dog. There was no owner attached to his leash, and the dog was running frantically down the middle of a busy intersection. We ran in dress shoes, heels, and sneakers until we had blisters. The next 3 miles were a blur. We were shouting, but most of all, determined.”
‘We’re going to stay until the courts tell us we can’t keep her. We have to see it through for her, no matter what.’: Foster mom gains custody of little girl after 2 years raising her, ‘Our family is finally complete’
“The Army told Jason it was time to move, but she wasn’t legally free. With tears in his eyes, he wrapped me in his arms and said, ‘We’re ripping our family to shreds trying to keep it together. But we can’t leave her.’ The boys hadn’t even heard what we decided; they simply rallied to their sister. They humbled me right down to my core.”
‘You don’t understand, they will never help your family.’ I was blown away. He was getting worse by the day. ‘I’ve never had an experience like this before,’ the crisis worker apologized.’
“On my way home I received the phone call. It was totally incoherent from all the screaming. I desperately tried to find out what was happening. It was my daughter. ‘It’s Josh,’ I finally heard through the screams.”