‘I no want it.’ I was getting her ready for Grandparent’s Day and pulled out a precious dress to wear.’: Mom comes to terms with daughter’s preferences, ‘Who am I to say what’s right?’

“Audrey grabbed the hem of the dress and was shaking her head, ‘I no want it.’ Shocked, I questioned, ‘What do you mean you don’t want it? Of course you want this! It’s adorable!’ It was a corduroy dress with a collar and hot pink trim, what’s not to love? I am Southern, after all. ‘I no want it.’ I took a deep breath, and a step back.”

My Son Got Suspended For Beating Up His Bully, But It’s Not Him I’m Upset With

“When this kid constantly threatened to beat Drew up, the school did nothing. When this kid followed Drew down the hall making fun of him on video, the school did nothing. When other kids told teachers and administrators he was harassing Drew, the school did nothing. Drew decided he would quit relying on the adults to protect him. He decided HE would do something.”

‘I fell pregnant. I was livid I wasn’t able to drink those 9 months. ‘I can’t wait to get drunk again.’: Young mom credits newborn son for sobriety despite drinking on maternity leave, ‘He’s the greatest thing that ever happened to me’

“‘You’re boring. Stop trying to change me.’ I broke up with him. Then I found out I was pregnant. Baby was born by emergency c-section. I thought I was going to die. As soon as I got home, I couldn’t wait to get drunk again. My son was 10 weeks old, it was my birthday, I celebrated HARD. I couldn’t move the next day, couldn’t even change his diaper, so sick. Maternity leave became wine o’clock. I’d count down the hours to 5 p.m. I was now a grown-up drinker, a mom. Wine to relax with my baby, that’s normal, right?”

‘A silly mistake. I should have brushed it off, laughed. But I didn’t. I almost let it ruin the night.’: Woman claims ‘grace’ is the key to marriage, ‘bring it every day, even when you don’t want to’

“I wanted to be mad at my husband and stay mad. I made sure he knew it. I ignored apologies, rolled my eyes as dramatic as possible, and threw some of my best hateful looks. When he outstretched his open hand on the table, our eyes met. We instantly turned into middle school girls who couldn’t contain our giggles. I tried to hold my poker face, but it was no match for the man across from me. He knows me all too well.”

‘We need to make her soup so she feels better!’ I had to explain to my 5-year-old his sister was going to heaven.’: Mom loses daughter to Neuroblastoma, ‘We will never forget our brave, beautiful warrior’

“I watched her breathe so slowly. ‘It’s okay to go now. You won’t be in pain anymore.’ At 9:14 p.m. she took her last breath. Her brothers cuddled her one last time and said their final goodbyes. There’s something about seeing your 5-year-old carrying a tiny little casket that will break your heart and make you so proud all at the same time. He was always holding his little sister, even in death.”

‘Are you sure it’s just a birthmark? Is it contagious? That’s gross.’ I was nicknamed ‘Two-Face.’: Man with Port-Wine Stain overcomes harsh bullying, urges ‘it’s helped me change lives’

“As a child, we moved a lot. There were always rude comments. ‘What is that red thing on your face?’ Because of my birthmark, I never had a girlfriend in high school, never went to the prom. When my dad asked me if I wanted to get treatments, I refused. ‘The only thing worse than a giant birthmark on my face would be a giant swollen, burnt and scabbed birthmark on my face.’ I had no idea it could get progressively worse.”

‘Ugh, you can have my kids. Just relax and it’ll happen.’ My journey ended with a hysterectomy.’: Woman diagnosed with Endometriosis after years of infertility, finally finds peace in a ‘beautiful, unexpectedly child-free life’

“The doctor actually laughed and told me I was ‘just dehydrated.’ One asked, ‘Have you been sexually abused?’ He thought the pain was in my head. I decided it was time to walk away from my dream of being a mother. ‘It’s okay to put yourself and your health first. It’s okay to stop.’ She lovingly placed her hands on my shoulders, looked directly into my eyes and said, ‘You’re going to be okay.'”

‘Can we put a nightlight in our bedroom?’ I asked my husband at 26. I felt like a burden.’: Woman suffers severe anxiety, mental illness convinces her ‘someone is standing in a dark corner of our room’

“It’s not normal to be 26 years old and be terrified to stay in your house alone. My husband was out of state for work. I worried about it for 2 months. I kept telling myself over and over, ‘You are going to be fine.’ I was fine until 9:30 p.m. when all of a sudden, it hit me. If someone broke in, I couldn’t hear it. I snapped into panic. I’ve asked my husband countless times, ‘Do you still love me? Why do you want to be with me?’”

‘Is he saying he’s going to hurt himself or others? Our waitlist is over a year out.’ My jaw hit the floor. One YEAR?!’: Mom fed up with lacking healthcare coverage for son dealing with grief trauma, ‘The system is so flawed’

“I eagerly dialed the number. ‘My son lost both of his parents when he was 2. He’s grieving. I need guidance, and would appreciate an evaluation.’ I want to start helping him NOW instead of LATER. ‘Okay ma’am, our waitlist is over a year out.’ I was incredibly defeated. I had no idea this would be so hard to find help for my child. No clue at all. I have this inner voice that won’t quiet down. ‘Get help, Molly!’”

‘I’m pregnant dad…’ I was 18. You looked so mad. You two needed each other, even if you didn’t know it yet.’: Teen mom pens appreciation letter to dad, ‘I couldn’t imagine doing life without you’

“I wasn’t scared to tell friends, family, or the internet. Only you. I still remember sitting on my bed with mom. You walked in on me crying. I could barely get out the words before you hung your head in disappointment and stormed off. Six months later, you took me to every doctors appointment. Six years later, you, papa, are my daughter’s world.”

‘My boyfriend didn’t sign up for a sick girl. ‘I’d rather die than have a poop bag attached to me.’: Woman with ulcerative colitis learns to ‘love herself’ despite invisible illness

“How can an athletic, smart, strong young woman who has the entire world ahead of her have an incurable sickness? Even with a doctor’s note, my administration accused me of trying to get out of my contractual duties. ‘It’s ridiculous Jess keeps calling off. Does she expect us to cover her classes all of the time?’”

‘There’s an issue with her hand.’ I was scared. It was inverted backwards, and she only had 3 fingers.’: Mom ‘shocked’ after daughter born with limb difference, ‘I was determined to protect her every way I could’

“The moment I gave birth to her, I noticed the doctor and nurses exchanged glances. They wrapped her up before handing her to me. ‘We want to get her cleaned up first.’ I didn’t understand. I quickly opened her up and checked. I was shocked. I told my husband, ‘God created her like that.’ The doctors were accusing me I ‘must’ve taken drugs’ while I was pregnant. ‘Her deformity is the reaction the drugs had on the baby,’ they said. Babies ‘like these’ come with ‘a lot of baggage.’ She is different, not less.”

‘I ‘killed’ my son, long before he went missing 5 years ago.’: Mother encourages shift in ‘black parenting,’ claims ‘we can change the world with love’

“Growing up, my son loved me more than life, but feared me worse than death. I screamed in his face, threatened him for disturbing me, and dared him to cry when he was hurting. Sometimes, I denied him hugs and loving arms. Don’t make the same mistakes I did. Our sons suffer an invisible death when their mother is the first one to call him ‘bad.'”

‘Heaven forbid we decide to play hooky to visit Santa before our holiday break officially begins.’: Witty mom admits parenting isn’t at all what she imagined, ‘We haven’t breached the truancy threshold just yet’

“I imagined sipping Arnold Palmers on the deck, casually thumbed through the newspaper we would obviously be mature enough to have delivered by then. What I did NOT imagine was me at 5:14 a.m., shushing children from my bedroom, shouting, ‘IN THIS FAMILY, CHILDREN DO NOT GET UP BEFORE 6!’ and shoving a small corner of my pillowcase in my ear. I think we can all agree that raising children isn’t exactly how we pictured it.”

‘Is he a drug baby?’ I heard the whispers. ‘You’re making a huge mistake.’: Southern woman adopts African American child in ‘little town known for racial divides,’ aims to break stigmas

“On a holiday weekend, we received a call. ‘A baby boy is in the hospital and needs a home.’ I was scared to say yes. Just 3 hours later, a car pulled in our driveway with a 6-pound, 3-day old, baby boy. Time stood still. She handed him to me with two Walmart bags of random items, some paperwork and wished us well. We had no idea what the future would hold. Everything about this decision looked crazy to most people – even us.”

My Friend Nearly Died From A Vape-Related Lung Injury—Here’s Her Story

“After being diagnosed with pneumonia, she was about to be discharged from the hospital when one of the nurses noticed her oxygen levels dropping rapidly. They immediately put her on a ventilator and discovered her lungs were filled with blood. Her face turned blue. She grasped the bed handles, waiting for it to stop.”

‘A lot of us don’t got good Christmas memories. My mom couldn’t afford presents, or was too drunk.’: Woman who worked with troubled youth struggles with holiday traditions after hearing their hardships

“I tried to make a big deal out of Christmas in a very middle-American-ignorant-white-girl kind of way. ‘Let’s decorate the tree! Let’s make Christmas cookies! Kids need presents!’ To my WASPY surprise, this wasn’t well received. Confused, I asked him about it. ‘Is this another one of my white girl questions you guys tease me about?’”