“Life as I knew it ended with the prick of a needle. I was a successful businesswoman, living a normal life. I paid my bills, owned a home, and did the right things. But at the age of 34, I made a choice that changed my life forever. My single lapse in judgement separated me from my son, annihilated my morals, and almost killed me.”
‘I wanted him to love me. I let him put a needle of meth into my arm. Within 6 months, I lost my son.’: Woman’s journey from ‘successful businesswoman’ to ‘dying drug addict’
‘Twelve hours after we were in the water, he woke up with a fever, chills and cramping. His legs started to hurt severely. The nurses had never seen anything like it.’ Daughter warns of flesh eating bacteria that took her father’s life
“They took him back immediately. As they were helping him get changed into his hospital gown, they saw this terribly swollen black spot on his back that was not there before. My mom sent me a picture of it, and it felt like someone sucker punched me. Flesh Eating Bacteria sounds like an urban legend. Let me assure you, it is not.”
‘I’m sorry. The adoption is over.’ He was being placed in foster care. I had this feeling, this wasn’t the end.’: Couple hikes the globe with kids after nearly failed adoption of ‘beautiful little boy’
“‘A lot has happened over the weekend. The birth mom had her baby on Friday night,’ the caseworker said. ‘Do you still want to go through with the adoption since he was born premature?’ That question absolutely baffled me. This baby boy was being placed in the foster care system.”
‘We pulled up to the entrance. I got out of the car. ‘Mom, I’m gay.’ Puzzled, she said, ‘Why are you telling me this now?’ Young man’s harrowing experience coming out to his family
“It felt like I was living a double life. ‘Let’s talk about it more tonight at home, okay?’ I said ‘okay’, and shut the door. Half an hour later, she texted me.”
‘Wow, super Dad. Dad of the year!’ And what did people say to me? Nothing.’: Mom’s candid reflection on husband being praised for simply ‘PARENTING, not babysitting’
“While we were walking through the airport with my husband loaded down with the ‘Littles’ and I cared for the ‘Bigs’ and the bags, he was lauded with praise. People watched him with admiration. ‘You’re doing such a great job,’ they told him. Apparently, I looked like I needed to take on more.”
‘Stop touching my kids, stranger. You don’t know us and it’s creepy.’: Mom stresses importance of respecting children’s consent
“I was in the grocery store, minding my own business. I was anxious, hoping to get in and out before my daughter woke up. Everything was going great until a stranger approached my cart, undid my car seat canopy, and started rubbing my daughter’s cheeks. I felt so uncomfortable. I appreciate how adorable you think my daughter is, but please don’t caress her.”
‘I almost set our house on fire. Not in the trendy ‘my home is ‘lit’’ kind of way. Nope.’ Mom’s eye-opening frozen pizza accident forced her to get out of ‘survival mode’
“I thought that since I followed the instructions to place the pizza directly on the rack, the smoky smell was just the toppings dropping off the pizza and burning. Nope. My husband explained I could have burned the whole house down, and all of us inside of it. He’s right.”
‘I can do this, right?’ I scanned the faces around me, absolutely mortified. ‘Just take your shirt off!’ People waved. Where were the looks of disgust?’: Mom embraces plus-size beach body to set example for daughter
“I spent years trying to sabotage my marriage in hopes he’d leave me for someone skinny. Day after day, I’d tell myself how nasty, disgusting, fat I was. I had no idea my gorgeous daughter was listening. She started saying how fat she was. How ugly. I was HORRIFIED. I knew I needed to make a change.”
‘My father died 3 years ago when I was 25. I have a relationship with my mother, but talk to no other members of my family.’ Mom explains why her family feels like ‘distant strangers’
“Our communication ceased, and nobody batted an eye. We all moved on with our own lives and didn’t take each other with us. It really is sad. But I guess, sometimes, family can be toxic enough to no longer serve us.”
‘We piled on the bed. Mike had his arm wrapped around our Dorothy bear. She’s always in our bedroom, but doesn’t always make it onto the bed with us. Tonight she did.’: Mother’s emotional tribute to stillborn daughter
“I was looking at the picture and thinking about how it’s so comforting when all of us can be represented in a photo. Anyone who knows our story would understand who that bear symbolizes.”
‘I was studying, thinking I was too busy to chat. ‘Your brother is dead. Pick up the phone!’ That was the text my sister sent me.’: Brother loses twin to tragic heroin addiction
“I could see the light slowly start to leave him. Bullies picked on him relentlessly, girls cheated on him. He was crying almost every time I saw him. ‘Nathan, everyone hates me.’ I didn’t know how to help him. I felt a cold, deep fear, like the last bits of innocence leaving forever.”
‘Tex? Somebody’s looking for Tex.’ Nobody ever called him that. Except for ONE person.’: Military dad surprised with war buddy after 58 years
“Ken had called everyone he could find in the Texas phone books with his surname. My dad immediately raced to the door. His voice trembled. ‘I never thought I’d see you again!’ They hadn’t seen each other in decades. We kept it a secret for two weeks.”
‘Well, he LOOKS normal.’ By lunchtime our kiddo has scratched, punched doors, hurt his sibling, thrown toys and spit on us.’ Mom explains tiring struggle raising her ‘extreme child’
“We have been up all night comforting our child’s night terrors and when they finally wake up for the day, they are wild and feral as if they were shot out of a cannon. We find ourselves crying into bathroom towels, fearing this will be the final straw that causes our boss to fire us.”
‘My husband wrote, ‘Cancer is a gift.’ I scowled. Widowed at 35 with 3 adopted boys, I was angry as hell.’: Woman’s journey to new life thanks to 200-year-old haunted house
“BAM! He dies of freaking brain cancer. Yeah, I was pissed. What in the heck was I going to do with the rest of my life? I bought a 200-year-old house on a whim. People in town told me stories of her ghosts. You’re the lady who bought that crazy old house, right?’ Yep, that’s me.”
‘I couldn’t believe it. My brain told me, ‘Get another pregnancy test!’ I caved in. ‘What am I going to do?!’ Woman details shocking reaction from partner after positive pregnancy test
“I remember it like it was yesterday. The test was on my nightstand. The second he saw the papers, his entire perspective shifted. He became finicky. But most of all, he was so cold. ‘Get an abortion or I’ll commit suicide.’ My heart shattered.”
‘Why do my kids not want to talk to me?’ My mom replied, ‘You have nothing to do with them, why would they?’: 18-year-old adopted by uncle’s best friend, the ‘most selfless’ man she knows
“I met my adoptive dad while my bio dad and mom were still together. He was my uncle’s best friend. At 18, I made a board that asked, ‘Will you adopt me?’ He hugged me and cried. ‘Let’s get the paperwork started,’ he said without hesitation.”
Today My Daughter Gave Me An Eye-Opening Lesson On Forgiveness
“‘Mommy,’ my 3-year-old said, staring me down with venom in her tiny voice. ‘I FORGIVE YOU!!!’ The way she said ‘I forgive you’ made it sound like cuss words. I walked over to the bedside and leaned over. ‘Baby girl, do you know what forgiveness means?’”
‘I love my family and friends. I genuinely do. But those dearest can wear me out.’: Woman explains the need for alone time is not a ‘personality flaw’
“My husband and I recently took our daughter on a 5-day road trip. We returned to host family, barbecue with friends. I loved every bit of it. I did. But then I crashed. I wanted nothing more than a nap in a dark, quiet room. I was 100%, without a doubt, suffering from a social hangover. I love people, but peopling requires lots of energy.”
‘Who could I call? To say I was sick? I was dismissed at 1 a.m., my husband and kids asleep. I thought about that in my lonely Uber drive home from the hospital.’ Mother’s realization about ‘isolating, lonely’ life
“I was off to the hospital in an ambulance. Even though I was sick, I was a little bit happy. I was living the hospital fantasy that mothers dream about. Time alone! I was asked how I was doing constantly; I was doted on. ME! But eventually, sadness crept in. This hospital room felt like the four walls were closing in.”
‘Here’s to being 30 and married!’ Everyone lifted their glasses in unison. I drove home in tears, 33 and single.’: Woman faces ‘stigma’ for being ‘unmarried and childless’
“My breakup was fresh. I had 2 weeks to shove all my belongings into trash bags. I noticed some whispering, glances my way. They finished off with a hurried cheers. ‘Lisa! Do you have any funny dating stories?!’ The exchange was, frankly, humiliating. I felt like I was deficient in hitting life’s expected mile markers: Marriage. Children. More children. As innocent as conversation can be, it hurts.”
‘Can you please stop talking about it? Why do you keep talking about it?’ She slammed her cup of milk down.’: Foster mom’s emotional realization that ‘goodbye is coming’
“I was informed today that goodbye is coming. None of us are ready. ‘It is happening for real and it is happening soon.’ I pulled out the calendar. Their eyes got wide as they realized what I was saying. We need more time.”
‘My son tried out for the basketball team. I had a knot in the pit of my stomach. I couldn’t handle breaking the news.’ Mom explains importance of letting kids ‘fall flat on their faces’
“At bedtime, I lay in the lower bunk with my son. ‘Are you disappointed?’ I couldn’t watch.”
‘I walked out of the auditorium, straight to the bathroom, and lost my baby.’: Woman has miscarriage as she walks across graduation stage, gets surprise from brother in heaven 1 year later
“The doctors couldn’t pinpoint exactly when my miscarriage would happen, so we decided I would still walk the stage. As I sat in my seat while the president talked to the crowd, everything started happening. My body finally let go.”
‘Today was hard. I have a backpack leash for my son. He is adopted, was born drug addicted.’: Mom shamed with ‘snide comments, nasty looks’ for having son on leash
“I’m crying and clouded in shame and embarrassment. The looks and side eye I got from no less than 5 ‘Karen’s’ made me grab my items and leave. I’m glad your little Lucy is perfect and never has meltdowns. I don’t know why women feel the need to judge and mom shame.”
‘I just want to stand by dad,’ I told her. This feeling came over me. For a second, I thought it was a joke’: Daughter’s eerie intuition about dad’s untimely death
“We got settled into our seats. I was on one end, my dad on the other. I felt this feeling come over me. I got up, went and stood by my dad. My mom asked me what I was doing. Minutes later, I see his cell phone drop from his hand. His head goes back, and his body is shaking.”