“This sweet little 3-year-old also had a 2-year-old sister. They were looking to have them adopted together. ‘How could I adopt just ONE?’ I decided to drown out the noise of others.”
‘How can you waste the best years of your life fostering children?’ People questioned if I’d find a husband.’: Single foster mom says ‘these children are worth it’
‘Breast is better,’ they said. I cried for days, unable to feed you. I heard I could never feel that connection with you because I didn’t nurse you.’: Mom shares emotional breastfeeding struggle
“I don’t know about letdown or leaking when a baby cries. I don’t know about raw or chapped nipples. I don’t have battle scars or badges of honor that are inscribed with, ‘Breastfed my baby until 2.’ None of it. But tell me, my sweet baby, did I love you any less?”
‘Dear husband—I love you, but I don’t like you. Not all the time.’: Woman pens appreciation letter to husband, ‘I love you even in those I-don’t-like-you moments’
“I just hope you know how grateful I am for you even when I’m tired, worn down, and I don’t show it. Most of all, I hope you know I love you big even in those I-don’t-like-you moments.”
‘If I focus on my kids, my work suffers. If I shift my focus to work, my mom-guilt wrenches my stomach.’: 5 Ways To Get The Joy Of Motherhood Back During Pandemic
“My family had a good thing going pre-COVID. Now, our lives have been thrown into a figurative blender and turned on with the lid off. No one can feel stable wiping a kid’s butt when you’re on a conference call while the pasta is boiling over.”
‘The officer said, ‘There’s been an incident at the pool.’ I expected stitches. ‘I’m going to get right to the point, Jason died tonight.’: Woman diagnosed with cancer after husband’s death, ‘I’m choosing to LIVE’
“We sat in a circle on a bedroom floor. ‘Last night daddy went swimming. His body died. He won’t come home ever again.’ One week after the funeral, I received a call: ‘You have cancer, and not the run-of-the-mill kind. It travels distantly and doesn’t always respond to treatments.’ The rubble of my life had just caught fire.”
‘I will never stop kissing your boo-boos. I will never stop wiping your tears and admiring you as you sleep. You will forever be my little boy.’: Mom urges ‘soak up these moments, you are their world right now’
“Even when you stop asking for kisses and cuddles. Even when you don’t want to hold my hand anymore. Even when you don’t want me to sing you to sleep anymore. You will always be my little boy. This bond between mother and son, it’s something special.”
‘WTF just happened?’ I ran to my best friend’s dorm, a complete mess. ‘Oh my God… I think I have a crush on Sumaya!’: Bisexual woman finds soulmate, ‘We’re exactly where we’re meant to be’
“I knew full-well my sexuality wasn’t a phase, but I still assumed I’d end up with a man. Little did I know, the love of my life was waiting for me where I least expected her to be. ‘Will you go on a date with me?’ I’d given up on finding a soulmate. She was miles out of my league 一 the most perfect person alive. I was freaking terrified.”
We Adopted An Abandoned Girl With No Hands, Feet, Or Mouth—Because Everyone Deserves A Forever Family
“Her file labeled ‘harder to adopt’ arrived. It held pages upon pages filled with pictures, details, and medical records. We cried all the way through it.”
‘We’re working like our kids aren’t there, parenting like we don’t work. I knew giving birth was hard, but this is so much harder.’: Mom says ‘we make the impossible happen’
“I am not a working mom or a stay-at-home mom. I am both. Somehow, someway, us moms always make the impossible happen.”
I Overcome My Imposter Syndrome With This Simple But Powerful Tip
“I had major ‘imposter syndrome.’ I was obsessed with telling myself I wasn’t good enough.”
‘He was arching his back and screaming for air. Literally, panting. We were stuck. All we could do was pray and pack.’: Family returns from Guatemala after almost losing son
“I wanted to scream, ‘This baby strapped to my chest almost died last night. Our world is falling apart.’ Our dreams were shattered. We found ourselves back in our hometown looking for purpose.”
‘My mom called. ‘Your father didn’t come home last night.’ He always comes home. There was a truck lying in someone’s fence.’: Woman starts small business with help from late father’s support
“I took on 3 different jobs to pay tuition. My dad said, ‘Remember to always believe in yourself and you can accomplish it.’ Coming home from work, my husband was hit by a car on the freeway. I was unknowingly 8 weeks pregnant. We knew there was more we needed to accomplish together; our life did not end there.”
‘I can’t understand you!’ I wrote it down on my hand. He started speaking slowly, as if I was less intelligent.’: Woman with facial anomaly hopes to ‘normalize all bodies’
“It’s exhausting trying to pump gas or sit in my kids’ karate class and be stared at constantly. When people see my face, they assume my intelligence.”
‘You should be grateful.’ I was shamed for being curious about my birth parents. I shoved my feelings down.’: Transracial adoptee shares journey to ‘help others feel less alone’
“’Where are you from?’ My first response used to be, ‘California,’ before I realized they wanted to know where I was ‘really’ from. I felt lost and alone.”
‘I don’t deserve it.’ That hate you have towards yourself? The harm you directly cause yourself? That’s on you.’: Woman talks ‘world of difference’ gratitude has made
“People will NOT feel sorry for you if you CHOOSE to beat yourself up.”
Self-Care Isn’t As Easy As A Bubble Bath Or Glass Of Wine
“It’s investing in your startup business no one knows about. It’s no longer waiting for a socially distant invite from that popular mom group. It’s declining a dinner invitation because, no, you can’t afford it this month. It’s working hard every day, even when you might not see immediate results.”
‘That looks intolerable. I can’t stand it.’ It looked like I’d been burnt in a fire. I quickly pulled my shirt sleeve down.’: Woman puts career on hold to heal psoriasis, find self-love
“I was oozing and bleeding. My co-worker said, ‘Are you doing something about it?’ I said, ‘Yes, I’m getting it treated once I finish our deadline first.’ She spoke the words I knew in my heart: ‘If I were you, I would go now. Health should be your priority.’ I left my rising career in a prestigious design firm in San Francisco.”
‘We don’t have a dad here.’ I scrambled how to respond. I was by myself, thrown head first into parenting.’: Single mom fosters 18 children, adopts son, ‘Our heartbreak is worth it’
“I went from getting licensed to being a single parent almost immediately. I was in over my head. Together, we are conquering his demons.”
‘I’ll only play if you take your wig off.’ I was shocked and hurt. I let her bully me in my own house.’: Woman advocates for girls with alopecia, ‘Bald is beautiful’
“My wig fell off when I was playing on the monkey bars. My twin brother saw and came over to shield me as I tried to put it back on. I dreaded lice checks at school.”
‘You’re imagining the sensation.’ My right hip snagged. My leg buckled beneath me. Pain shot into my thigh like electricity.’: Woman finally diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, ‘They didn’t believe my pain’
“My doctor asked, ‘Are you having substance abuse issues?’ I was taken aback. I told her no. I was very hesitant to take any medications, much less for pain. ‘Leave a urine sample on the way out.’ She ran a full drug screen without telling me. It came back clean, but it didn’t matter. She didn’t believe me. She didn’t believe my pain. I was heartbroken.”
‘We have 2 caucasian girls, one is 11 months and the other 4.’ She gets 2 multi-racial kids out of the car.’: Mom fosters 11 kids, shares lessons learned about trauma
“I decided I HAD to do one more placement. He was physically violent and verbally abusive. I felt like a failure as a mom. I never even thought about trauma training.”
‘I’m sorry I don’t smell like your mom.’ What the heck were we doing? We had no baby items at home.’: Couple adopts son with special needs, ‘We are finally a family’
‘Can you give me a call?’ There was a 3-week-old who needed a home. He had some medical concerns, but I felt drawn to the situation. I was apprehensive I was the one who pushed Ron into saying yes.”
‘I have something to tell you.’ I vowed to abstain from sex until marriage. I didn’t think he’d accept it.’: Couple vow to hold off on sex until their wedding night, ‘We have a strong foundation’
“I had a secret of my own. I had to spill the beans about sex. I was so nervous!”
‘My heart fluttered as we walked up. I chased him down and pulled him away from his mother. I cried for days.’: Foster mom addresses trauma, tantrums, ‘It’s the best thing I’ve ever done’
“They’d never had a bed or a bedtime, had never seen a vegetable or a toothbrush, and weren’t potty trained. ‘This will be worth it.’”
‘My mommy has a sick boobie.’ The technician looked confused. I was mortified. ‘You don’t have to pay.’: Mom diagnosed with cancer during pandemic thanks community for acts of ‘kindness’
“‘I just want to be here for my boys.’ At barely 30 years old, I was diagnosed in the middle of a pandemic. We immediately started receiving packages in the mail.”