‘How dare she take away my unique quality?’ I was the ‘girl with one arm.’ I was MORE popular.’: Young woman with missing arm always embraced her difference, ‘My sparkle is who I am on the inside’

“I was scared boys wouldn’t want to date me because of my arm, and I was scared of going in public because I did not want strangers to ask questions. I remember one time a kid got angry with me and said, ‘You one-armed freak!’ It hurt. People would say, ‘You are so brave! You are so inspiring!’ It was annoying! I wasn’t doing anything different than the other children.”

‘Your son is deaf.’ We were praying it was a huge mistake. They wheeled him out. I lost it.’: Mom shocked by newborn’s severe hearing loss, ‘we had no family history’

“Beckett hadn’t heard for the first 13 months of his life and BAM. He was suddenly hearing. I cried on the way home, if I’m being honest. I received nasty, angry messages. I was ‘playing God’ by wanting to give him the gift of sound. Wanting our son to be able to hear us tell him ‘I love you’ was NOT a selfish thing.”

‘Why are you fat and your parents aren’t?’ It was so hurtful. I didn’t have an answer for her.’: Woman discovers unexplained weight gain due to ‘fat disease’ diagnosis called ‘Lipedema’

“I knew there was something off about my body. During a friend’s wedding, we were getting fitted for dresses. This bridal shop didn’t have mirrors in the dressing rooms, so you can’t see how terrible things look. Well, they didn’t have my size. I was falling out of it. It felt like an episode of ‘Mean Girls.’ My best friend turned to her coworker and said, ‘I wish everyone had a body like you.’ I left and cried in my car.”

‘Who are you and what are you doing in my house???’ She’d get sad. ‘I feel like I’m in prison.’: Caretaker befriends elderly woman with Alzheimer’s, ‘Just love them, they never forget how to love’

“I would re-introduce myself every 5 minutes. ‘I am your new friend. We are going to spend the day together!’ She would smile. ‘Thank you for being here.’ She’d tell me about her first love and all the trips she’s taken. Then all of a sudden, she’d backtrack. ‘All the men I loved were in the war, and none of them came back.’ She’d forgotten so much, but whenever I’d say goodbye, she always thanked me.”

‘He’s never kept secrets from me. Today, in the very back of that last closet, I found something I hadn’t expected.’: Woman works through jealousy of fiance’s past relationships, ‘Do I really want to do this?’

“Everywhere I turned, his ex’s belongings were in all the rooms. Pictures on Facebook showed memories made in what had now become my kitchen and my living room? Every time his ex’s mail came to the house, my body would run hot and cold at the same time. His daughter would start every new conversation with, ‘When she lived here, we did…’ It was eggshells for me.”

‘I felt trapped. I got pregnant at 17. She gently rubbed my hand. ‘Everything will be alright.’: Mother of 10 overcomes suicide attempt, PTSD, trauma to learn to ‘conquer love’ for her children

“While camping, we came across a family with 4 boys. You could tell they weren’t camping – they lived there. I told my husband as we laid in our tent, ‘I have this weird feeling I know them. They are meant to be in my life.’ Later at church, a member asked if we’d take in 4 boys. My husband just got laid off. ‘Absolutely NOT.’ I was exhausted. When I then learned who the 4 boys were, my heart began to beat so fast.”

‘Last night, my son was called ‘HOT.’ He’s 12 years old! I’m having issues with this.’: Mom uncomfortable after son is sexualized for the first time, ‘he is always going to be my little boy’

“I overheard fellow soccer parents talking. My son was called ‘hot.’ I use this word in lusty conversations about Brad Pitt in the 90s. Hot is Ryan Gosling’s abs. HOT is not what I think when I look at my son. He’s always and forever going to be my little boy, no matter how quickly he evolves into the young man people are noticing.”

‘She chanted ‘Peppa’ while holding the stupid thing to her chest. ‘No,’ I said, embarrassed.’: Dad faced with difficult decision learns boundaries with children, ‘It sucked. But I did it.’

“I pried the toy out of her arms, her screaming like I actually removed a limb, me trying not to hurt her, wondering if she was actually Thor because of her freakishly strong grip. I hauled Aspen out of the store underneath my arm, her legs kicking. I looked at her in the backseat, and wondered if I’d done the right thing.”

‘This picture was taken 2 hours before I was bullied in front of my entire school. They made a mockery of me.’: Teen stands up against bullying, ‘I cheered in front of them with a smile’

“Friday afternoon, a group of kids decided to embarrass me. It was my senior year pep rally, my senior cheer night. This was the day they decided to put me down. Even after standing up for myself, they continued on with their foolish comments. I couldn’t stop wondering, ‘Why me?’ Then, I realized I was asking the wrong question. ‘Why do it at all?’ It doesn’t matter that it was done to me, it matters that it happened. It’s unacceptable.”

‘Does your daughter play with many kids?’ I was surprised at my parent-teacher conference.’: Mom shocked my ‘mean girl’ mentality in 6-year-olds after daughter targeted, ‘My daughter views everyone as her friend’

“It turns out, my daughter plays by herself during recess. To hear that shocked me, knowing my daughter is not shy. It’s a certain girl who won’t let others play with her. I’ve seen it firsthand. I’ve overheard that same girl mumble she ‘isn’t friends’ with my daughter. Yet my daughter is oblivious.”

‘I wasn’t playing games. 4 weeks after meeting, he asked me to marry him! I said yes. Then, I tried to break it off.’: Single divorced mom of 2 gets engaged to man she met after 4 weeks, ‘He is worth the risk of another heart break’

“I started to let fear creep into my mind. We came from two totally different worlds. Ryan was an Eagle Scout, never once touched drugs or alcohol, saved himself for his future wife… aka virgin. I was broken, just finished fighting cancer, recently divorced, teen mom, made so many mistakes. He seemed too good to be true. I thought, ‘Surely this will all end.'”

‘You can’t put me in ICU Room 6. My mom just died there last week.’: Young woman miraculously survives pulmonary embolisms just one week after mom dies of ‘broken heart’

“I lost my best friend. ‘What am I supposed to do now?’ All I’d ever known was taking care of my mother. Suddenly, I felt a tightness in my chest. ‘Well here is the panic attack I’ve been waiting for since she died.’ I arrive at the ER. The doctor came in. I remembered her. She was the doctor who admitted my mom. My heart rate shot up in panic. I looked her right in the eyes. ‘You can’t put me in Room 6. My mom just died there last week.’”

‘I REFUSE to buy my kid any toys for Christmas.’: Mom stands by unconventional gift-giving practice, ‘I want to grow her mind and passion’

“Yeah, you read that right. Making the shopping list for this holiday season, I couldn’t help but think what my daughter got for Christmas last year. Her gifts ended up smashed at the bottom of an overstuffed, dusty box. She barely plays with them. I’m avoiding that this year. I emailed, texted relatives with the news. I crossed my fingers and prayed everyone would understand.”

‘Are you kidding?’ I opened the front door. The babysitter was asleep. 8 kids were in the living room, awake.’: Mom says no to in-home daycare, ‘Things are going on behind closed doors’

“I signed my 1-year-old daughter up for a local early children center. My coworker shook her head in disbelief. ‘Your husband must make a lot of money, because I send my kids to an in-home daycare. It’s like, two-thirds of the price!’ My husband and I are teachers, so clearly we’re not in it for the fat paychecks. As the $700 monthly bills continued to roll in, I was tempted.”

‘Someone’s sitting here.’ I froze. ’Mom, it’s ME. Lauren.’ Her cheeks became red with embarrassment.’: Young woman’s emotional journey with mom’s Alzheimer’s, ‘It’s like mourning someone who is still alive’

“I said, ‘I love you,’ and she didn’t say it back. You lose so much of the person along the way that by the end, you are practically begging for them to die. But at the same time, you dread the thought of it. I say, ‘See ya later,’ and she says, ‘Alligator.’ You can’t tell me she’s not still in there.”

‘My mom wants you to hug me for her.’ I held him like my own son, for a long time.’: Stranger’s act of kindness for homeless addict pulls on heartstrings, ‘Tonight you hugged all of our struggling sons’

“‘How long has it been since you talked to your mom?’ He replied, ‘Oh, it’s been a long time.’ ‘Do me a favor. Call your mom to let her know you’re alive – will you do that for me?’ His face lit up. ‘Sure, I’ll call her right now if I can borrow your phone.’ I’ll admit, there was a nano second of hesitation that he might take off with it. She answered right away. My own son was that young man not long ago, on the street, begging for money, unsure if he was dead.”

‘The magnitude of your child being born. No words. She did this for us, TWICE.’: Mother overcome with emotion watching surrogate deliver second daughter, ‘I gained a bond I never even knew existed’

“It was 6 months post my 4th open heart surgery. I was celebrating turning 26, a milestone my mother and doctors never thought I’d reach. That night, I met Ryan. ‘You don’t want to be interested in me. I have a lot of baggage.’ He replied, ‘What do you mean?’ ‘I’m probably going to die soon.’ Within 8 months, we were engaged. Not everyone approved of us looking for a surrogate, you know, because ‘I might die soon.’”

‘Am I adopted?’ I asked, tears down my face. She denied it. I was a teenager when I learned the truth.’: Woman finds biological father after adopted father passes, ‘I was a nervous wreck’

“My results were in. I was shocked at what I found. There was my biological father’s name. It was a parent/child match. I couldn’t believe it was true. ‘How did you find me?,’ he asked. My first question was, ‘Did you know I existed?’ He did not. I never believed this day would come.”

‘He had curly blond hair, a perfect nose, pouty lips. They told me he was beautiful. I didn’t get to see.’: Mother survives ‘worst trauma’ after losing newborn son, insists daughter will grow up knowing big brother is ‘watching over her’

“I made the decision not to see and hold Jensen. It’s one of my biggest regrets I’ll ever have in my life. Honestly, I didn’t know how I could do it. I didn’t realize the permanence of him being really gone. Instead, I asked for a lock of his hair, and for them to take pictures of him. I wish I could go back to that moment, spend time kissing him. I wish I could’ve whispered in his ear, ‘I love you.’”

‘BABY, PLEASE. JUST OPEN YOUR EYES.’ Trapped inside my seatbelt, I blacked out. The car tipped over.’: Mom loses daughter to drunk drivers, sees powerful ‘sign’ she is ‘watching down’

“The light flashed green. I looked both ways and saw a black Jeep heading towards me. I assumed it would slow down. Why wouldn’t it? It did not. Instead, it slammed right into the back-right door. My baby didn’t scream. She didn’t even have time. All I heard was a big, deep gasp. Then, silence. Red and blue lights.”

‘I would have noticed this ‘orb’ around the boys after I took the photo. It wasn’t there.’: Mom shocked by grandmother’s sign from heaven after promising on her death bed, ‘You’ll see things that will remind you of me’

“Something happened today that gave me chills. To be honest, I’m still trying to take it in. As we were walking back to the car, I spotted this area. ‘This would be the perfect spot to take a photo.’ It looked like the secret garden my grandmother loved. This photo was taken in 100% shade, no sun.”