“I felt confident in my body. I ate healthy and worked out all the time. I was skinny. Then, I became a mommy.”
The Time Has Come To Normalize The Mom Bod
‘I heard a gunshot and I don’t know where Michael is. What do I do?!’: Woman starts suicide prevention initiative after losing both brothers to suicide
“I came home from school to find Stephen in the backyard smoking a cigarette and crying. He broke down and told me he had thoughts about wanting to end his life. He said the world would be ‘better off without him.’ After losing him, we did not anticipate Michael would die by suicide as well just nine years later.”
‘God, it’s okay if you want to take me tonight.’ I was so frustrated with myself and my disease.’: Lupus warrior says ‘I will never again lose hope’
“My hand had been squeezed so tightly for so long they were blue. The tips of my fingers on both hands turned white. I knew it was bad.”
‘What’s this?’ We were enjoying dinner when they handed me a card. It was nobody’s birthday, there were no celebrations.’: Expecting woman shares act of kindness for grieving sister-in-law
“I opened it up and immediately started crying. For someone expecting her first child who deserves all the focus, she still found a way to show love to me.”
‘You’re SO inspirational!’ This is NOT a compliment.’: Young woman with Acute Flaccid Myelitis says ‘my life isn’t less worthy’
“It may SEEM like a compliment, but it’s exactly the opposite.”
‘What if she has it?’ My husband answered swiftly, ‘She’s our girl. She’ll be awesome regardless.’: Mom in ‘awe’ of daughter with Down syndrome
“I had a thousand questions, but all I could muster was, ‘How does this increase my chances?’ She replied, ‘From about 1 in 320 to 1 in 6.’ The wind was knocked out of me.”
‘Mom, I know it wasn’t an easy decision to give me up… but I forgive you.’: Adoptee pens open letter to birth mom
“I’m going to continue to fight loneliness as long as I live. While we may never know each other, I wanted you to know.”
‘My heart exploded at the thought I might help them.’: Cancer warrior donates hair to kids in need
“I felt an already enlarged lymph node get larger while we learned to navigate the newborn phase in the midst of biweekly chemotherapy treatments.”
To The Dad Who Chose Drugs Over Me
“Still to this day I ask myself, ‘Why me? Why wasn’t I enough? Why didn’t you fight for me?'”
‘He had inhaled poop into his lungs. The only thing I could do was rub his forehead.’: NICU mom shares breastfeeding journey
“We raced to keep up with the ambulance carrying our child as he fought for his life. I stayed overnight at the hospital, feeding whenever he showed signs of hunger.”
‘I ran my fingers over the bald spots on my head. My eyebrow hairs were falling out, too.’: Lupus warrior says ‘I am so much stronger than I knew I could be’
“He looked over my file and said, ‘I got good news and bad news.’ I spent the next 7 months in and out of the hospital. I’d wake up with a swollen face, legs, hands. The pain was unbearable.”
‘I started getting texts from Mrs. Tina. ‘If you need a nap, just throw Emily over the fence and I will watch her.’: Struggling mom thanks neighbor for standing in the gap during pandemic
“My husband was an essential worker, working 6 days a week an hour away. I held down the fort at home, and did my best to nurture my pregnancy. So, here I was, alone with kids, pregnant, and in new house, in a new area where we didn’t know anyone. Mrs. Tina’s gestures of kindness saved me.”
An Old Friend From 20 Years Ago Told Me He Had Days To Live, So I Took Him On One Last Hurrah
“Life is short. Do what you can for people, now! Before it’s too late.”
‘Just a little while ago, you were my baby. Tiny toes, soft hands, and a little body that nestled so easily in the crook of my arms.’: Mom shares heartfelt advice for son approaching adolescence
“And here you are, becoming a man. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but it’s okay because I know what’s in store for you. You are headed straight for the sweet spot. The best years of your life.”
‘A one in a million chance.’: Woman battling infertility, early menopause conceives miracle triplets via IVF
“‘Ummm there are 3,’ the nurse said. ‘Three what?’ Babies! ‘We do not see this…ever.’”
‘I’m unfit to be a mother.’ I wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for the rest of my life.’: Stay-at-home mom shares mental health journey
“I felt resentment toward everyone who was finding joy in this time at home. Wiping butts and being screamed at to watch Blippi isn’t my idea of joyful and fulfilling days. I felt so alone.”
‘I expected to be tucking kids in, singing lullabies. Instead, I was dancing on speakers in an underground nightclub.’: Mom of 3 shares sobriety journey
“I stumbled around the bathroom, my bra shoved down around my waist, covered in vomit. ‘Get in the bath.’ I sat as my husband sprayed me down, fully clothed, like a zookeeper washing a muddy elephant.”
‘NO ONE would babysit him. ‘I’m not able to care for a child like that.’: Mom to son with cerebral palsy urges special needs parents ‘your sacrifice doesn’t go unnoticed’
“We were told they can’t accommodate us or our situations. I cried and cried a lot. We’re trying to make a living like everyone else.”
‘If you’re willing to adopt a child like THAT, you’ll move to the top of the list.’: Single woman adopts girl with Down Syndrome, Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome
“‘This child is SICK.’ I remember the pain as I said goodbye to her and walked out of her room, tears streaming down my face. I’ve found until you know the deepest pain, you can never really know the deepest joy.”
As I Sit Here, My Stomach Hanging Over My Jeans, I Realize Today Was Supposed To Be The Day I Started Getting It Together
“I’m not where I want to be, but I’m learning to be OK with that.”
I Used To Parent So Everything Looked Perfect On The Outside
“The fruits of our parenting labor are not in their grades or their accomplishments or their sports prowess or their clean rooms or their good looking wardrobes, but inside their hearts.”
‘After quitting, my boss said, ‘You are so egoistic. I’m 50 and I show up every day. You’re young, you should have energy to do more.’: Woman diagnosed with Epstein-Barr Virus after 4 years details healing journey
“It all started with flu-like symptoms. ‘How is it possible to feel so sick at 23?’ In a world that rewards hustling over wellbeing, it is a revolution to say yes to your own body and health.”
‘I feared my children would be taken. If I marked those boxes, I was admitting to the world I was crazy.’: Woman battling postpartum depression details finding control, happiness
“I hear a screaming baby, my own tears and my desperate thoughts on how this was the BIGGEST mistake of my life. Internally, I just wanted to be saved.”
‘I was found passed out in the bathroom, too dehydrated and malnourished for them to get an IV in.’: Chronic illness warrior shares diagnosis journey
“I was terrified I was dying. I started making a plan in case I didn’t wake up. I wrote letters to friends and family members for my husband to pass on when I died.”
Dear Husband, I Haven’t Forgotten About Us
“We come second right now. To them, and to each other. One day, we will again converse in full sentences, wake only to the sounds of each other, and have the other’s hand free to hold.”