“The day you came into the world was hellfire, more pain than I ever knew I could handle. I didn’t handle it actually; I think I survived it. I remember thinking I will never forget this, even though they say you do. But then you were warm on my chest and I did. I forgot it. I will never ever forget the gold and magic I see inside you; you can count on that.”
‘I was near tears, about to lose my sanity, certain I’d never forget that moment. But then that night you snuggled up to me.’: Mom insists she’ll always ‘forget’ her children’s wrongdoings
‘I filed for divorce after only 7 months of marriage. I was humiliated. People would talk in our small town.’: Woman made drastic decision to better herself, ‘I knew I had to do something’
“He was my partner in crime and he always took me back. The feelings I SHOULD have for my husband simply were not there. I was not in love… at all. I began to resent him and knew I had to do something.”
‘The last thing I wanted to do was hug her.’: Overwhelmed mom ‘swallows her pride’ to embrace daughter during meltdown, ‘they don’t need you to shame them’
“She had just bit me. And screamed at me. She wanted to be in control. So did I. But here I am, on the bathroom floor, engulfed in her embrace. I’m not innocent in all this. I was ignoring her. She lost it on me. ‘Do you need a hug?’ I sure did.”
‘Hey, Miss Samantha. Where’s your husband?’ I was home alone. ‘My GIRLFRIEND is on her way.’: Lesbian couple urges they don’t ‘need any help’ from a man in their relationship
“I was home alone. 2 plumbers came over unannounced. Looking back, I probably should’ve asked them to come back another day, but I trusted the situation and let them in. I had my phone in my hand, texting my girlfriend to come over. I felt so uncomfortable. Both of their voices were very deep, in control. One of the men walked to the truck to grab something. He said he would be ‘right back.’ I was now left alone with the other.”
‘I went back to work. We needed an income. I’m just going to say it, I don’t feel guilty. I love it.’: Mom enters workforce after 5-year break raising babies, ‘I still wanted my identity’
“Love makes a home, but it doesn’t keep one, and we needed an income. Is there guilt? Well, I listened to the PTA president of my kid’s school talk about how good it is for mothers to be involved. Thanks Betty! Perfect timing. Then there’s missing the baby because he’s asleep when you left, and asleep when you get home. But I’m just going to say it, I don’t feel guilty. I love it.”
‘Mama, can I see a counselor?’ My little is in 2nd grade, requesting therapy. She’s ‘having feelings.’: Widow learns to accept grief as positive, ‘these feelings reminds us it’s all real’
“It’s November 19 again. The ‘Deathaversary.’ The day I lost my husband, my kids their father. Mixed feelings of laughter, despair find me when I see a card my little one left on the junk table: ‘Deer dad, we all wish you could come back. A boy Luke likes me. I wish you could see him.’ I want these feelings to leave us the hell alone. And then again, I don’t. They keep him here with us.”
I Conquered Meth Addiction And Regained Custody Of My Kids
“I was 25, divorced, and living in a cycle of brokenness and addiction. I had 3 other kids and didn’t have custody of any of them. My boyfriend wanted me to have an abortion, but when I chose life, he left. My children’s foster mom saw my hurting heart when all the odds were stacked against me, and fought alongside me. She never gave up on me.”
I Met My Husband Via An Accidental Text, Now We Have 5 Kids
“He had literally just set up the new number and a few minutes later he got my text. If I had sent that text in the morning, he would have never gotten it.”
‘I was 15, terrified. I got my first positive pregnancy test in my high school bathroom.’: Teen mom marries high school sweetheart, 4 kids later she ‘wouldn’t change a thing’
“It was a Friday night, the first football game of the year. I was a freshman. One of my friends talked me into going to the game and dance afterwards. Little did I know, that dance would change my life. I ran into my neighbor and his friend, Chad. We talked, laughed, had a great time. By the end of the night, I put my number in Chad’s phone. Months later, I was asking my friend to buy me a pregnancy test. I was 15.”
‘Am I still a virgin?’ A 13-year-old girl sits on my examination table. ‘Yes.’ She cries tears of relief.’: Child abuse pediatrician pens PSA on virginity, ‘Women need to know the truth about their bodies’
“Her uncle started raping her when she was 7 years old. I tell her she’s going to be okay. I tell her WHY she’s still a virgin. ‘Rape is not the same thing as sex. Having sex WITH someone can only happen with consent. Otherwise, it’s just violence, period.’ She dries her tears, and smiles for a new beginning.”
‘There’s nothing you could have done. It wasn’t your fault,’ my nurse said. I started sobbing on the phone.’: Woman’s finds healing after ‘agonizing’ miscarriage, ‘I promise you, there is LIFE after loss’
“I remember sitting in the doctor’s office at age 17, wondering if having my own kids was ever a possibility for me. I’d been diagnosed with PCOS at a young age. He put me on birth control and it hardly affected my life. Until I started seriously dating. I felt like dating me came with a warning label – a precursor: ‘Watch out, no guarantee I can have kids.’ And what if someone didn’t want to marry me because of it?”
When You Marry A Nurse, You Marry Their Job
“She calls me on her way home in the morning, 5 hours after her shift should have ended, to stay awake. I let her talk, I let her vent, I let her know that she is an amazing mother, nurse, wife. She gives her 100% day in and out. So, I do the same.”
‘You know what? Let’s ruin Allison’s life today.’ I couldn’t breathe. I screamed so deep my toes would curl.’: Mom turns to drinking to cope with grief after losing child to molar pregnancy
“My soul was going to jump out of my body and chase her to Heaven. Every night after my kids went to bed, I opened the bottles of whiskey. I walked in after my surgery with a bottle of Fireball. Jacob asked me, ‘Is this going to be a problem?’ I asked him why he asked me that. ‘Because you never buy alcohol to bring home. You only order drinks, not bottles.’ I’ll have many questions when I get to Heaven, but every one of them will wait until I get my girl in my arms.”
‘I became a crappy friend. My best friend got cancer. Instead of being a rockstar, I went MIA.’: Woman pens sweet letter to best friend who beat cancer after losing her mother
“My best friend showed up at my son’s birthday party and told me she had the same cancer that took my mom a year earlier. I was numb. Heartbroken. Clueless how to maneuver through grief, while also trying to support her. Sure, I sent cards and care packages. But I was MIA. Truth is, I was obsessively thinking about her. It’s taken a year to finally wake up.”
‘My wife knew I was gay since I was 16. ‘You need to come out of the closet.’: Gay man now living his truth after 10-year-long marriage to woman
“I realized I was gay early on. My parents didn’t know what to do. Lolly thought I should marry a prudish Mormon girl who didn’t want sex. I thought it might be better to marry someone like her – an open, communicative girl who DID want sex. For years, she deflected the possibility of BEING the girl I married, but when I dated one of her best friends in college, and she saw me playing the part of a ‘straight boyfriend,’ she began to see me in a different light. She began to fall in love with me.”
‘This holiday season, I belong to me, before I belong to anyone else. There. Is. No. Winning.’: Woman implores self-care over pleasing everyone else, ‘It is NOT your job to run yourself ragged’
“Dear extended family, the proper response to your loved one not being able to be in a dozen places at once is, ‘We’ll miss you, but we understand. Let’s get together another day!’ Anything more or less than that is emotional abuse that we do not deserve.”
This Kind Railway Staff Gave My Autistic Son A Magical Experience After His Meltdown
“We have never experienced a company that cares so much. They said they want ‘everyone to experience something special and magical.'”
‘I can’t believe he left me.’ She looked at me funny. ‘You’d never do that to me.’ I honestly didn’t know what to say.’: Woman explains to daughter why ‘adopted’ father was able to adopt her
“Last week, we were talking about how her little sister could come at any time. She mentioned how she is so excited to be in the delivery room! In the most innocent little voice she asked, ‘Who was in there with you when you had me? Did my other dad stay for that at least?’ I’ve often wondered what Brodeigh remembers about her ‘bio’ dad. The best thing he ever did was allow me to have her.”
Dear Moms: You Are Allowed To Embrace Your Bodies, Too
“The other day, I posted a photo of myself in a bikini and was told to cover up…because I’m a mom. Since when are we no longer allowed to feel sexy? There’s no rule that states you can’t rock a bikini because you pushed a baby out of your vagina at some point in life.”
‘It’s been 5 years since I set foot in church. I have no intention of going back.’: Special needs mom refuses to bring her kids where ‘they’re not fully embraced’
“It comes down to diapers.”
‘To the dad at the bounce park, thank you for teaching your child to interact with someone ‘different.’: Mom to son with Down syndrome shares stranger’s act of kindness, inclusion that made her ‘heart swell’
“Your boy took off with the ball Cedar was playing with. You didn’t do what every other parent has done: give the ball back to the child who is different, apologize, and go. This felt genuine, special. You sat down next to Cedar and taught your son to roll the ball back and forth. You saw my little boy loved this so much. Yours was unsure, but you kept showing him how happy mine was. Cedar giggled and clapped. You did, too. I watched in amazement.”
‘I was an ‘accident.’ My birth mom ‘tried to get rid of me,’ but couldn’t. She didn’t even want to name me.’: Orphan named by stranger in hospital room finally adopted at 26, ‘I longed to belong’
“To this day, I’m still not sure which random stranger named me in that hospital room. I was sent to a hospital for a full screening. They documented all the marks on my body with hours of questioning. I trembled in fear. In a dark hallway, a nurse – who took her job because her husband was also a survivor of child abuse – spoke these words to me. I can still hear her strong yet gentle voice. ‘Annie, the cycle ends with you.’ I finally know now, my parents aren’t going anywhere.”
Why I Allow My Children To Be Kids While On Vacation
“Kids are freaking kids.”
‘Am I really going to be a dad?’ He smiled. ‘You aren’t mad?’ We were too young to have kids.’: Mom suffers PTSD after son is stillborn, ‘they couldn’t find anything wrong’
“He sat on the couch next to me. HE STARTED CRYING! As soon as I stepped on the linoleum, I felt a HUGE gush! A puddle of bright, red blood. His face turned white, his eyes were huge. ‘Has he moved at all today? Could you feel him?!’ I felt my heart shatter. I had one job. All I had to do was keep my baby safe. This can’t be real, it’s a nightmare. ‘Taylor…I’m so sorry.’ We studied him so we wouldn’t forget anything. He was perfect. It actually surprised me.”