“There is nothing sexy about taking SIX kids on a plane or driving a church van, but these are the things that bring us the greatest joy.”
‘We were pregnant, adopting 3 children who didn’t speak our language. We were DOUBLING our family.’: Mom shares ‘crazy, life-changing adventure’ of adoption
‘She walked into the bar alone. My gut told me she was also in the dead husband club. She asked, ‘Does it ever get easier?’: Suicide widow makes ‘lifelong’ friend, ‘Connection keeps us going’
“’She can’t possibly be ready to date, can she?’ Now 3 years in, I’m asked all the time, ‘Why are you still single?’ It hurts so bad you feel it down to your bones.”
‘My husband threw his cuff links across the room and said, ‘I want an annulment.’ I spent the first night as his wife alone on a hard hotel couch.’: Ex-couple join forces to co-parent after divorce
“Weeks from our wedding I was told, ‘You have cancer.’ He arrived at the hospital reeking of perfume. ‘I found someone. I’m in love. She’s pregnant.’ He left our fairytale for the woman I sat next to at his company dinner. She’d just rubbed my pregnant belly.”
‘You know, you can prevent that.’ We conceived another child out of wed-lock. I don’t have a kid-collecting complex.’: Mom of 9 grateful for ‘the gift of motherhood’
“My water broke at 22 weeks. I spent weeks on bedrest at home with 4 kids under 4. We spent 8 weeks separated, me in a hospital bed, begging God to bring my boy into the world healthy.”
‘You must be sad you will never have a normal life.’ This person had pity for my son. It felt like a shot fired and received.’: Mom to son with autism urges ‘there is only joy and gratitude’
“That one shocked me. It snuck in my comments, buried amongst thousands. This person had pity for my son. Pity for our situation. They saw him and saw sadness.”
‘She slipped away. She died with things left unsaid. She isn’t here to answer the questions that pierce my soul. Does she know how much I loved her?’: Woman pens tribute to late mother
“Did she know her smile could light up a room? That I would still remember it like I saw it yesterday. Did she know her greatness, her never-ending legacy that can’t be replaced? That she is missed so fiercely it changes the composition of our hearts. Does she know how much I loved her?”
‘Today I held back tears of frustration while the sweet girl at Chick-fil-A took my order. I forgot my mask, and my antidepressant.’: Woman urges ‘we’ll emerge from this year stronger’
“I’m tired. Worn out. Burned to a crisp. T-O-A-S-T. I think we all are. The last six months have felt like six years, and at the same time I don’t quite understand how the year is almost over.”
‘She’s alive. I should be grateful.’ But I wasn’t. I was angry. I did everything in my power to ‘fix’ her.’: Mom to daughter with Cerebral Palsy shares journey, ‘I focus on what she CAN do’
“I was wheeled next to her incubator and remember seeing her full head of hair. But I didn’t feel happy. I felt helpless. I couldn’t hold her, bond with her, or breastfeed her. I remember thinking, ‘What do I do?’ I went to Dr. Google for answers, and that just led me into a downward spiral of despair. How could I raise a child with special needs? I didn’t even know how to raise a typical child.”
‘Walking into the house, I said to the baby, ‘We are home!’ It felt cruel. These words aren’t true. This is her home now, but it’s only temporary.’: Foster mom urges ‘I am not a superhero, they are’
“I see families torn apart, siblings separated. Children abandoned, biological parents unable to conquer addictions. People say, ‘I couldn’t foster. I’d never be able to let them go!’ It will be sad. We will grieve. In the end, I will be okay. But will they?”
‘I looked at the poop bag and cried. ‘I’d rather die.’ I didn’t want my partner to stop loving me.’: Woman with ulcerative colitis advocates for stomas, ‘Every body is worthy’
“I was toxic. ‘You need emergency surgery.’ The thought of having a bag was the worst thing possible. I refused to discuss it.”
From Broken Bones To Healthy Home: How I Became An Adoptive Mom To Two Precious Sisters
“I got a call one day to take a 5-year-old little girl. Later that day, she walked into my house with a trash bag of clothes. She had head lice, body lice, and pinworms. She’d come from a dirty foster home where she said she was made to lay on the floor.”
‘I yelled across the house, ‘I just found our baby!’ My husband went silent. We both knew we needed to say YES.’: Adoptee turned adoptive mama urges ‘love knows no boundaries’
“‘It typically takes days for an answer, but you don’t need to wait. She chose YOU!’ I broke down in tears. ‘You’re never going to believe it…we’re going to be parents!’ I’m an adoptee with an adopted African American daughter in a racially diverse family, but she is still my daughter. Love knows no boundaries.”
‘I was a teenager, blacking out multiple times a week. I heard voices in my head saying, ‘Just end it.’: Recovering alcoholic details sobriety journey, ‘You are NOT alone’
“I was young, outgoing, had a car, a job, and a boyfriend. But I blacked out often. The truth is, I was barely holding on.”
15 Ways To Discipline Your Child Without Shouting
“We want to raise happy and kind kids who feel loved and appreciated in this world. Yelling makes your voice heard, but your message is silenced.”
‘Have fun,’ I whispered as he leaned in to kiss me. ‘I will.’ He quietly slipped out for a hike, and never came home.’: Widow shares words of wisdom after late husband’s hiking accident
“There was an ache in my chest as I waited for his return. My experienced hiker, my beloved husband, wasn’t answering my calls or texts. All of this life we loved together vanished in a moment.”
‘I’m sorry to intrude. I don’t know you, but I saw you crying and I wanted to buy you flowers.’ Tears streamed down her cheeks.’: Stranger shows ‘priceless’ act of kindness, ‘We will never forget’
“I couldn’t believe my ears. I informed the lady, ‘Juanita has just lost her husband of 55 years.’ This kind stranger immediately wrapped her arms of love and warmth around my precious friend, and hugged her tightly.”
‘You will be excluded. Friends will come and go. No matter how good you are, people are going to talk about you. Don’t take it personal, those people will never get you.’: Woman urges ‘don’t let anyone dull your shine’
“You’re going to be too much for some people. Too loud. Too opinionated. Those people will never get you. Find the ones who do… and love them hard! You never know who may be looking to you for a little bit of joy.”
20 Must Do’s Before You Say ‘I Do’
“Have you talked about your dying wishes? What if one of you becomes paralyzed? Are you taking in parents during old age? Speak on ALL of it.”
‘I slept 4-5 hours. I ate one meal a day. It didn’t get me anywhere. Stop trying to ‘one up’ somebody.’: Woman shares important realizations about not ‘playing victim’
“I victimized myself into a life I absolutely hated, because I thought I HAD to be like everybody else.”
Artist Paints Woman With Alopecia’s Head To Show ‘Bald Is Beautiful’
‘I gathered the courage to ask, ‘Would you let me paint your head?’ She’d hidden her baldness under a wig most of her life.”
Everything I’ve Learned About Life (From A Cystic Fibrosis Warrior With A Few Years Left To Live)
“My life expectancy was between 15 and 19 years old. I’m now 27.”
‘MOM, look!’ Out my window was the N-word. I couldn’t breathe. ‘Mom, why? We love everyone!’: Neighborhood comes together to help family after hate crime
“We taught our kids, ‘Treat EVERYONE with kindness.’ All I wanted to do was hurt the person who hurt my family. But LOVE stepped in. People of all races came to show us love, to cry with us, to give us encouragement.”
‘Can you take in a 9-month-old baby?’ A single twenty-something, I said yes to ‘a few weeks.’ I was prepared for temporary.’: Single woman becomes foster, adoptive mom to siblings
“I was supposed to be the short-term shelter in the storm. I had no intentions of permanency. Dead-set on only taking one kiddo at a time, I got a second call. ‘Can you take in his newborn baby brother? He was born premature.’ Suddenly, all my ‘rules’ went out the window.”
‘You never buy me anything. You’re always like this,’ my daughter said. It was hard to hear, even harder to fight the overwhelming guilt.’: How To Raise Grateful Kids Instead Of Entitled Ones
“My mind raced. ‘Am I not doing enough for her? Am I limiting her desires too much?’ Her words made me realize something: I needed to put more effort into teaching my daughters about gratitude.”
‘The cute boy in the blue shirt was leaving the bar. ‘OMG, what do I do?!’ I pushed my friend out of the booth. ‘MOVE!’ I worked up the nerve to approach him.’: Woman urges ‘you only get one life’
“There I was, standing face-to-face with the guy I had awkwardly stared at for two hours, whom I thought had a girlfriend, and clearly never even SAW me. ‘Do you want my number?’ I was sure I’d never see him again.”