“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.”
‘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’
‘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.”
‘I won’t sugar coat it. Having a baby is like having 15 shots of espresso. Parenthood is the wildest ride you could imagine.’: LGBTQ adoptive dad shares parenting advice
“I used to watch ‘The Price is Right’ every morning. It was my jam. Today, I absolutely laugh at the idea. I barely have enough time to drink my espresso, much less sip on a mug of coffee for an hour.”
‘I was only 16. I brought my stuffed Eeyore for comfort, a child giving birth to another child. I wanted different for her.’: Mom shares open adoption story, ‘Our families are bound together’
“I saw how her life would look: a single mom constantly working, wishing to provide nicer things, and a little girl wondering why her father didn’t want to be around. Then, the veil lifted. Both myself and the birth parents could complete her life’s ‘puzzle.’”
‘You’re embarrassing to be seen with.’ My BMI was too high. He told me, ‘I want to break up, I’m bored.’ I began starving myself for his attention.’: Woman urges ‘never let anyone determine your worth’ after nearly-fatal eating disorder
“‘If I can make my body exactly how it was, he’ll want me again.’ I used Lent as an excuse for my new ‘diet.’ My doctor said, ‘If you catch a cold, your body won’t be able to fight it off.’ Sean immediately took note of my body changes. I was creating a monster.”
‘He’s awake!’ ‘I couldn’t move or open my mouth. The doctors only gave me a 5% chance of survival.’: Man recounts near-fatal accident, ‘Show gratitude every chance you get’
“‘He might not make it through the night.’ They told my mom she could choose to pull the plug or let me go on my own. My mom didn’t give up hope, not even for a second.”
‘Please don’t take this away from me!’ On my wedding day, I was covered in hives. I felt like I was dying.’: Woman receives ‘life-changing’ Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, autism diagnosis at 39
“When the doctors saw I was on several medications, I was sent home and told, ‘Get a hobby.’ Even shampoo and cologne sent me into pain. I felt like I was drowning.”
‘Men are wearing ‘Save the Tatas’ and ‘Help Save Second Base’ shirts. ‘Great boobs are worth fighting for’ slogans are circulating.’: Woman pens PSA on breast cancer
“Women are FIGHTING for their lives, not their boobs.”