“And then I checked myself. This mystery man on the beach reminded me it all counts, it all matters.”
‘This man, alone and smiling, set up a home office with the tide coming in. ‘Why would he do that? He can’t stay there indefinitely.’: Divorcee thanks ‘mystery man’ for teaching life lesson, ‘It all matters’
‘I noticed an abandoned cart with a giant teddy. I stood, weighing my options. I snatched it out quickly and powerwalked to checkout.’: Mom to son with autism shares advice to younger self, ‘It wasn’t her fault’
“Now, listen, I am not a thief… really, I am not. But you see, I needed that bear. I needed this to be the best gift ever. If you are reading this and you had a teddy bear stolen I am sorry.”
‘If you withdraw care now, it’ll be easier to say goodbye.’ That’s not how love works. The looks of pity deepened.’: Mom births baby with Hypoxic Encephalopathy, ‘We never gave up hope’
“I sped to the house and scooped up her purple lipped, shivering body, then dropped to the floor and set her on top of my chest. We had to be on our top game 24 hours a day because if we slacked, she’d die. Discussions of death were as common as, ‘Hey, I emptied the dishwasher.’”
‘As I closed your bedroom door, I felt a whisper over my heart. ‘It’s not going to be like this for long. This is the most he’ll ever need his mama.’: Mom urges ‘hold on, soon you’ll have to let go’
“Today was hard. You woke up angry. ‘Want my mommy,’ was said more times than I could count. You were attached to my leg, pushing and shoving and prodding. By the end of the day, I had enough. But as I closed your bedroom door, I felt a whisper over my heart. ‘It’s not going to be like this for long.’ Soon, everything will change. Soon, I’m going to have to start letting you go, little by little.”
‘They didn’t want us to ‘infect’ other couples. ‘You aren’t paying attention to directions.’ I fought not to scream.’: Woman endures multiple miscarriages, ‘This body did the best it could’
“It took every fiber of my being not to scream when it started, not to break down. They messed up and didn’t get everything. Other than my husband, no one knew.”
‘Dad, a surprise is coming your way.’ He’d been struggling with cancer. We got the news: ‘You can no longer have chemo treatments.’ I wanted to lift his spirits.’: Strangers show act of kindness for veteran battling cancer
“These men, strangers just a few minutes prior, went above and beyond. I’ll never forget the look on his face.”
‘This won’t change his love for you.’ I was deep in wedding planning. They MUST have the wrong person.’: Woman diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis travels world, ‘Fear doesn’t control me’
“Dizzy and still very much half-deaf, she insisted I see her doctor. ‘That can’t be MY brain.’ No one could agree on what was happening to my body. I felt cheated.”
‘Mommy, I done. I done, I so tired!’ ‘Should we stop compressions?’ I pleaded with them. They wrapped her in a blanket, let us say goodbye.’: Mom loses daughter to flu, ‘This is an unbearable situation no family should face’
“She asked, ‘Where’s my mommy?’ I was standing right beside her. She had a confused look, her pulse was RACING. I took Ayzlee to the ER thinking she was just dehydrated and needed fluids. ‘This will be a quick trip.’ We’d all had our flu shots. Never in a million years did I think my beautiful, healthy 3-year-old would be fighting for her life.”
‘This man worked a 13-hour day in 90-degree weather, walked through the door and said, ‘I’m home. What can I do to help?’: Woman pens love note to husband, ‘I’m raising our boys to be just like him’
“He is not a ‘unicorn.’ Men like these exist. The kind who wash the dishes after you cook. Who do the yard work because they know you hate it. Who work 60+ hour work weeks and still come home and play with their kids. Who gives the kids baths and puts them down for bed.”
‘My head jostled and my neck cracked. Now I was blocking traffic. No one even tried to help.’: Woman details journey with CHILD Syndrome, ‘I turned moping into passion’
“The minute I left, I immediately felt eyes on the back of my head. Trust me, they weren’t admiring my beauty. I felt exposed.”
‘Online learning wasn’t made for families like mine.’: Mom of 6 weighs in on school reopening crisis, ‘I’m so burnt out’
“I have 5 kids across three grade levels, K-2, and a 1-year-old. And yes, I chose to have 6 children. But I didn’t choose a pandemic. Nobody did. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what the better crappy option is. Because they’re all crappy options.”
‘This is hell,’ my husband sobbed. We shouldn’t have googled his potential diagnosis. ‘It can’t be real!’: Son diagnosed with rare Noonan Syndrome, ‘Our feelings for you never changed’
“Your growth would probably be slower than other babies. You might have trouble walking or talking or eating or going to school. We wouldn’t know until we knew. One thing we knew: you are scrappy as hell.”
‘I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE! They yell and hit their siblings. It’s an emotional grenade.’: Mom offers advice on dealing with sibling conflicts, ‘It’s up to US’
“Stay calm and rational. Kids need ‘alone time,’ just like we do. It’s the parents’ job to be in charge. It drives me nuts.”
‘There was a long post shared. It was from the niece — her aunt is in hospice. I truly wish all those prayers would work.’: Woman hurts for those struggling with cancer journey, ‘It feels SO unfair’
“I scrolled her page. My tears kept falling.”
‘As I went through my daughter’s camera roll, I came across a photo of this blanket. I smiled. Suddenly, my problems didn’t seem so big.’: Widow thanks daughter on day of husband’s death, ‘The girl who smiled when it seemed impossible’
“Every year, we go back to try to find it – that peace from this horrible grief. Except this year, they were closed. Just that night. To sanitize.”
Why It’s Important For Your Kids To Make Their Own Decisions
“We are tempted to not only look to others to follow, but we are also tempted to make our own choices okay by judging others.”
‘This poor child’s hair was all matted, her clothes dirty. School is not just an outlet for education, it’s a safe haven.’: Woman urges ‘think about the negelcted child’ during school reopening crisis
“There’s a ton of people complaining about opening the schools too soon, but have you sat and thought about the kid who is being neglected? They’re wishing for an escape, a meal, a friend.”
‘My son may not look at you all the time, but he absolutely sees you.’: Mom shares lessons from autistic son
“Rory, my nonverbal son with autism, doesn’t make eye contact. At times, he approaches other moms with hair like mine. Sometimes, he approaches other dads who are tall and thin like his dad. For a long time, I thought he didn’t really know who we all are.”
‘He had red dots all over his body. ‘He needs to be seen in the ER right away.’ No one would look at us. I was in shock.’: Mom of 9-month-old with Acute Myeloid Leukemia says ‘We’ve been given a second chance’
“You know it isn’t good when the doctor sits down at eye level with you. Josh and I took turns holding Holden and crying. We could feel how they all pitied us. We prepared to fight.”
‘She was sent home with ‘acid reflux.’ She felt like a wet noodle. At 4 months, she was acting like a brand new baby.’: Mom advocates for undiagnosed, medically-complex warrior
“At 6 weeks old, her breathing became worrisome. She had spells of turning blue in the face. She sounded like a baby piglet. The skin around her neck sucked in with every breath. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but she was just different.”
‘The guilt strikes me. I think about the long list of things I have to do. And then, I wonder, ‘What is wrong with me?’: Tired mama vents to a friend and is reminded it’s OK to need rest
“I vented to a friend. I asked her, ‘What is wrong with me?’ She wrote back. There is only so much one can take.”
‘I don’t need the fancy vacations, the fancy dinners, the big diamond rings. I just need you.’: Woman pens sweet letter to husband, ‘I don’t need anything else but you’
“I need you at 2 a.m., when the rest of the world has gone to sleep. I need to fall asleep next to you, with our legs entangled in one another’s. I don’t need a huge fancy house. I just need you to come home to.”
‘Now, honey. BE SWEET.’ In the heart of Alabama, if you hurt someone’s ego with valid criticism, women are fussed at.’: Mom defends daughter’s right to speak her mind
“Really, it’s just a sugary, Southern way to say, ‘Get back in your lane.’ The highest compliment a young lady could receive was to be seen as ‘a sweet girl.’”
‘One night, out of nowhere, I dreamed I met him. I woke up all warm and tingly. I took that as my sign and decided to go for it.’: Couple share amazing international, interracial love story
“My friends and family were very concerned for my safety, but I knew in my heart I could trust him. His friends believed he was being catfished. My heart was pounding in my chest. I walked out and there he was, the man I had known for five years and fallen in love with, was finally standing in front of me.”
‘I came home from camp with the worst sore throat of my life. The horse I’d ridden mysteriously died the night I got sick.’: Woman details chronic illness journey, finds ‘silver lining’ service dog
“At 12 years old, everything shifted. My life as I knew it changed forever. Our family physician called us late one night when he saw the test results. ‘I just don’t know what to make of this.’ Even the lightest touch of a cotton ball could bring me to tears. My foot was drastically changing colors and temperatures.”