“We saw signs everywhere. ‘What if I told you coming home to your boys was only PART of your purpose?’ We knew she was coming. It was a shock, but we were going to move forward.”
‘You’re meant to have a daughter.’ If I heard I’d have another son, I’d move on. We had a decision to make.’: Family fosters to adopt brother/sister pair, ‘They are ours forever’
‘MOM, why did you say no!? We want that kid to come here!’ We fell in love. and it wasn’t hard or forced or even on purpose.’: Mom’s long foster journey leads to adoption, ‘It wasn’t a dream anymore. This was real’
“My jaw dropped when I saw your little face. ‘Why did you give me a baby who seems like my own?’ It didn’t seem fair to have to give you back. This was only supposed to be a seven-day thing.”
‘It was horrendously painful. She would’ve been your friend, too. It’s too much for me to bear alone.’: Struggling through loss of friend, woman realizes ‘she was one of my soulmates’s
“Does it matter whether we called each other soulmates? I was in awe and had dreams about her. Her death was sudden and painful.”
‘They asked, ‘Where’s your real Mom? She didn’t want you? Is there something wrong with you?’ Everywhere I went, I stuck out like a sore thumb.’: Transracial adoptee says ‘it’s okay to grieve the loss of your birth family’
“I wasn’t white enough, but I also wasn’t black enough. I’d be in line checking out with my mom when cashiers would remind me to put down the grocery dividers between us. It was a constant reminder others didn’t see me as belonging to my parents. Every birthday, I wondered if my birth mother thought about me. Every holiday, I wondered if she missed me.”
‘A friend broke up with him after he was outed to her as trans.’: Mom of 11-year-old trans son shares ‘frightening’ story
“The child’s parent who dropped her off chastised me (out of earshot of the kids) for having a pride flag outside my house and asked me to ‘not talk about inappropriate matters with his daughter.’ My heart literally couldn’t handle it.”
‘An older woman came up to me in Publix. ‘Wow, those boys are lucky to have been chosen by a white woman.’ I was shocked into silence.’: Foster mom to twins urges ‘we need to do better’
“I didn’t know how to respond. I just looked at her, shocked into silence. The night I got my foster twins, I knew our life would look different to others. I knew there would be stares. But I wasn’t fully prepared for the comments that would unfold.”
‘I don’t know how to tell you.’ He looked fearfully at her twin. My body turned into a science experiment.’: Preemie twin diagnosed with Down syndrome, ‘We truly are the lucky few’
“The nurse said, ‘Ariel is perfect too.’ I looked at her tiny 3-pound body covered in wires. She was starving.”
‘We take the backseat. Our job never ends. We give every bit of who we are and stare at reflections, searching for a small part of who we once were.’: Mom urges ‘you’re motherf**king superwoman’
“We live repetitive groundhog days. We argue with tiny people who think they know better. We cook meals that aren’t up to their satisfaction, and bend over backwards until we collapse. We may not get ‘paid’ for our job, but it’s 24/7. Our lives consist of putting everyone else first.”
‘I can pull her arm out of the socket. I can put my finger in.’ He examined me, muttering, ‘Oh wow.’: Student diagnosed with Hypermobility Syndrome, ‘I’m proud of my invisible illness’
“My hips started hurting, which I’d never felt before. I used painkillers and energy drinks to get through. The pain was unmatched. ‘It’s finally happening.’ I knew this was going to change my life.”
‘A woman on the bus kept pointing at Meriton and touching me on the back. ‘Is he sick?’ She was loud and kept repeating herself.’: Woman urges ‘there is no cure for human being’
“The whole time I was trying to show Meriton we are equal, something was missing. I got a tattoo of a chromosome and said, ‘This will make us equally different, forever.’ The only sickness in life is the bad attitude towards people with special needs, and I’m not going to stop working to show society different.”
‘She started with, ‘So the good news is…’ My heart sunk. When they took her away we were a mess.’: Baby with Down syndrome diagnosed with congenital heart failure, ‘She is a miracle’
“I sat in my car crying in the parking lot. ‘She’s going to need surgery.’ I mourned the loss of the child I thought I was carrying.”
‘You look great now, but you’d look even better at 102 lbs.’ I’m terrified of my sweet, innocent little girl hearing the lies I’ve heard.’: Woman reinvents 10-year challenge, ‘Your body is a gift’
“I sent a message to the friend who had to deal with my food and weight issues up close and personal for years. ‘Thank you for all you did for me, and stickking with me.’ She simply responded, ‘Your weight has always been the least interesting thing about you.'”
‘Get to the hospital now.’ I had a front-row seat to her pain. We opened the nursery door cautiously.’: Couple finally adopts their ‘tiny fighter,’ ‘My heart grew bigger’
“She decided to parent. We closed the nursery door again. My heart was broken and we were exhausted. The baby is not yours until papers are signed.”
‘I feel it deep in my bones. I don’t know who I’ll be on the other side. I hope she’s someone I can live with.’: Woman feels change in times of protests and Covid-19, ‘It’s scary but full of hope’
“These hands know when it’s time to write a new page. I am learning to listen to my body. I am me, but I’m not me.”
No One Would Take In This Foster Boy With A Homeless Mother, Now He Has TWO Loving Moms
“‘We have a 3-year-old boy. His mother is homeless. No one will take him.’ Our jaws fell open.”
‘There’s nothing left we can do.’ My knees went weak when I saw them. Their skin was almost see-through.’: Young mom gives birth to twin micro preemies, ‘They are thriving’
“My blood pressure was so high, they were surprised I hadn’t had a stroke. It was time for them to come out. As a single mother watching both kids fight for their lives, I was lost.”
‘I came out basically dead. The doctor broke my spine. ‘She won’t be able to do ANYTHING.’: Woman paralyzed at birth finds soulmate, ‘EVERYONE deserves love ’
“I was paralyzed, all due to a doctor who cared more about the college football game than delivering a baby. They said I wouldn’t be able to use the bathroom by myself, move, talk, or go to school.”
‘Your kids gaze up, ever so confused. ‘Who was that, mama?’ ‘Oh, just someone I used to know very well, baby.’ I will never take this place for granted.’: Woman urges ‘home is still waiting for you’
“Your friends, the ones you bump into unexpectedly then can’t wait to tell your mom about. ‘You won’t believe who I saw today…’ You forgot how much old friends meant. How much they still mean. Home. A place where we spend our youth running from it and our adulthood trying to recreate it. It’s still there, you know. Waiting for you and waiting for your children, too.”
‘Her skin was gone. I can still hear her scream while gasping for air. What exactly happened that day?’: Sister of burn survivor takes confidence-boosting photo shoot, ‘Her flaws don’t define her’
“He grabbed a toy cup, went over to the full pot of coffee, and pulled it down to pour into his toy cup. My baby sister’s seat was just below. You may or may not notice her scars when you see her.”
‘You called hematology?!’ I decided to Google ‘red spots on a baby’s skin.’ My body went limp.’: After son is diagnosed with leukemia, Mom urges caution, ‘All the warning signs were there’
“I sat on the couch, clutching Lukas. I noticed strange marks on his body. They were not there the night before. At that moment, I knew my baby’s fate. I was just trying to stall the inevitable.”
‘Try to have your own children first.’ But we wanted to adopt. Our son pushed us away. We cried with guilt.’: After infertility journey, parents adopt from Korea, ‘He brings us laughter’
“Adoption isn’t really a topic or a concept in Taiwan. We traveled back to visit our parents and announced we would be starting the adoption process. They thought we were joking.”
‘I’m so happy we were able to get these photos today.’ My heart broke for him. He hugged back with tears in his eyes. ‘I know it’s time.’: Photographer offers beautiful moment to family of woman with Alzheimer’s
“She showed up with a smile. She was happy and talkative and playful with all the kids and dogs who showed up. She sweetly asked me and Bill, ‘What are we doing here?’”
‘My divorce was finalized. And my ex brought me coffee in bed. There are just no words.’: After divorce, mom expresses ‘gratitude’ for her ex
“I stood side by side, laughing and crying through three decades of this life. Of building a home together. Of bringing children into the world and raising them. Of building two businesses. Nobody needs to understand it.”
‘Lie down.’ She held a suction straw to her weak mother’s lips. Mama had been living in the hospital for nearly two weeks.’: Daughter thanks kind and devoted mom, ‘Someone loves her, too’
“During the night of her vigil, I saw my mother illuminated by a crack in the door and holding a suction straw to her weak mother’s lips. Mama patiently reassured Maw Maw time after time that she was fine, that she was safe.”
‘I was holding my 4th pregnancy test. I know, birth control is a thing. I had to consider another adoption.’: Single mom pursues open adoption twice, ‘I was scared this would define me’
“I felt free. I felt like I was following my inner warrior as she told me how to do the right thing for this child. I had no job, no savings, and was in no place to raise a baby alone. I wanted more for this sweet child.”