“I had an odd feeling. ‘Hmm, maybe I should do a little detective work of my own.’ I entered the ‘birthmother’s’ phone number and was confused when it came back. I searched this name and found a profile for a girl who looked nothing like the photos we’d been sent. I dialed the phone. He fell silent.”
‘She’s not pregnant. I’m sorry to be the one to tell you.’ She’d been scamming us.’: Lesbian couple catfished during fake adoption, ‘thankful for difficult journey that led us to our son’
‘His sign caught my attention. ‘I don’t care who you are, I love you…’ I stood there reading it, until he finally said, ‘Hi.’ I cocked my head to the side.’
“I sat there and watched as he gripped his pen and began to write. He wrote down one word.”
‘My bully wasn’t a kid on the playground.’: Child abuse survivor shares journey to ‘re-claiming’ her power
“While other girls my age chased butterflies and dreams, I hid in closets from my living nightmares.”
‘At first all I saw was the mess. Their cleaning after dinner was sub-par. There’s still crap everywhere. And for the LOVE, why do the shoes NEVER get put in the bin?!’
Mother of five children shares the importance of taking a break, even when the kitchen looks messy in a hectic household. Read more here.
‘I started using wrinkle cream. I turned up Barbara Streisand and sang along. I asked the pedicure lady to scrub a little harder on the heel. Then it hit me. I have become my MOTHER.’
“As a teenager, I didn’t want to be like my mom. I wanted to be rebellious and wild. I wanted to be a free 80’s kid and wear a skirt shorter than 3 inches above the knee. I wanted to watch MTV all day. And then, on a random Friday night, everything changed.”
‘Me: ‘My brother has Down syndrome.’ Almost everyone: ‘Oh no, I’m so sorry! How long does he have to live?’ EXCUSE YOU?!?!’
“I remember the first time I heard someone ask me how long he has to live, and I played it off. I was like, ‘No, he’s fine!’ But then I quickly googled it as my heart raced, thinking he would die soon. My mother is a quiet one. I’d only get one-worded responses.”
‘I caught myself telling my 2-year-old son today, ‘You’re just like your daddy.’ I wanted him to act and look like me. I hoped he’d possess some of my qualities.’
“It stopped me in my tracks after it rolled off my tongue. All of us want to see a little bit of ourselves in our children. But the older I get, the more I see his daddy in him. I’m raising a daddy’s boy.”
‘You need your husband’s permission.’ I begged. I didn’t feel maternal. I was told I’d ‘change my mind.’: Woman speaks up after refused sterilization procedure multiple times
“Every year during my annual exam, I asked to have my ‘tubes tied.’ My doctor always quickly refused. As I aged, I still didn’t want kids and neither did my partner. This time around, I was about to lose my health insurance. I was told the procedure was ‘reserved for women in their 30s or 40s who had at least 2 children.’ As an adult woman, I needed my husband’s blessing to make decisions about MY body. I was stunned.”
‘This is the last piece of Scarlett we have. A tiny bit of her hair. The nurse snipped this small bit, and gave it to us right before we left.’: Mom thanks nurse for act of kindness during child loss
“The nurses wanted to put a bow on her, but I knew it wouldn’t look natural. Scarlett hated anything on her head. Having a bow on her head would only prove to us how gone she was, no fussing, no swatting or whining. I couldn’t bear the thought of it.”
‘I heard the front doors open. A deep male voice said, ‘I’d like to get a room.’ As I turned the corner, I saw a tall man wearing a mask.’: Hotel worker survives robbery at gunpoint, ‘It showed me I was strong and brave’
“Before my brain could process what was happening, my first instinct was to stay alive. My heart was beating out of my chest and my hands were shaking. My body went into something I can only describe as survival autopilot.”
‘I was standing in line at the grocery store when I heard, ‘Excuse me, could you turn around? I would like to read the front of your shirt.’: Woman loses brother to addiction, reminded ‘you’re not alone’ by kind strangers
“At first, I didn’t think anything of it. I said, ‘Of course!’ When they saw it, they crossed themselves.”
‘I quickly fell in love with the lover behind my screen.’: Woman warns of online predators after childhood catfishing scare
“In a few weeks, we progressed from talking about our likes and dislikes to becoming ‘boyfriend’ and ‘girlfriend.’ He kept asking to come to my house. Finally, that day would come. My heart skipped a beat. I was 11, and he looked about 45.”
‘I’m coming over whether you like it or not.’ We had drinks and told stories about our Kile. Jack slept on my sofa that night. Then the whispers began.’
“Kile and I confessed our love with an intimate wedding ceremony at our house. I sat by his bedside in a white dress and promised to love, honor and cherish him until death do us part. I just didn’t expect it to be 5 days later. I don’t know when Jack’s feelings for me changed. Some say they we there all along. How dare these people judge me?”
‘You’re so lucky, you won’t have to get fat.’ She walked away laughing. Anger ran through my body.’: Woman’s harrowing journey with infertility, 3 failed adoptions
“She had recently given birth and stood there holding her adorable, tiny, perfect baby as the words came out of her mouth. I remember the pain and shock as she said those words to me. I cried into my pillow, ‘I’m not lucky, I am cursed.‘ But it wasn’t the end of our story.”
‘My principal told me, ‘Some kids just like to be bullied.’ She stared squarely at my parents. ‘Unless it involves blood, don’t call me.’ I felt so alone.’
“All of my materials were stolen and vandalized. I would barter with my bullies. ‘If you’ll be nice to me for one lunch hour or recess, I’ll give you my lunch.’ I literally gave them everything I had, but everything wasn’t enough. There wasn’t a single morning I didn’t beg my mother to not make me go.”
‘It’s too soon. No one would approve.’ I met K at the wrong time. At 26, I had already been married 6 years, parented 7 children and miscarried 2 babies.’: Woman gets real about dating after divorce
“My phone vibrates in the middle of my text. It’s an unsaved number. I just stared at my phone. ALL I could think about was the tall handsome dude at the store, whom I didn’t even catch the name of.”
‘I was face to face with a mama sobbing in the driver’s seat. She was crying the cry where your chest shakes, head in hands, and big tears fall heavy. I could tell she was embarrassed.’
“I walked out of my gym. Our eyes locked and she immediately looked panicked. I paused because I didn’t want to interrupt her intimate moment.”
‘I had a stroke at 28. Everyone assumed I was dehydrated. Soon enough, I was signing for my husband to take me off life support.’: Young couple share struggles through miscarriage, stroke, ‘We were given a second chance, we’re not going to waste it’
“We had a beautifully healed daughter. Our marriage was stronger than ever. That’s when everything changed, again. Words cannot describe how scared we were. We were again trying to hide our struggles behind fake smiles. That’s when they heard it.”
I Surprised My Husband With A Weekend Away From The Kids—Here’s Why You Should Too
“I packed up our four kids, wrote a goodbye letter, and drove three hours away to a hotel.”
‘I rushed him to the vet. I never imagined what would happen next’: Pet owner discovers 19 pacifiers lodged in bulldog’s stomach
“He started getting nauseous before meals. Then, he stopped eating altogether. I thought it was acid reflux. Boy, was I wrong.”
‘Unsafe and idiotic,’ is how they described it. I was hurt. I cried heavy tears all night.’: Mom insists ‘evil will not win’ after neighbor confronts her about memorial for her late son
“This neighborhood has been such a safe space for me since my son died. But this is heartbreaking. Each year on the anniversary of my son’s death, we hold a small memorial for him. Last night, I had a confrontation with our neighbors, a husband and a wife, who threatened to ‘report’ us if we do our memorial this year.”
‘You’ve caught an infection. If we don’t remove these babies, you will become sepsis. You can die.’ Tears ran down my face. ‘This is not where I hoped to see you,’ my doctor said. Neither did I.’
“‘You are having twins!’ I looked at my husband. We were in total shock. When we went to the doctor experiencing bleeding, we were sure something else was the issue — not twins. It was a dream come true. Minutes later, I sat on the toilet. I heard a ‘pop.’ I felt this flow of water between my legs.”
‘We broke up. Everything was perfect. Until I missed my period. I was pregnant. There was one mountain to climb: Tell my parents.’: Teen mom knows adoptive parents are ‘the one’ as soon as they ‘walked in the door’
“I was close to starting my second trimester and knew I couldn’t go to the doctors without my parents’ knowledge. My brother came home to help me tell my them. They ragged on him for 4 hours about his life choices before I finally pulled the plug. ‘Mom, Dad. I’m pregnant.’ The next week was a daze of my parents trying figure out what to do while I tried to keep food down.”
‘Parts of our baby’s brain were missing. I spent all my time crying. My husband spent his time avoiding it all. ‘Please don’t plan a baby shower.’ I didn’t want to return things if my baby died.’: Woman’s baby diagnosed with HPE, claims there’s ‘hope after prenatal diagnosis’
“Everyday interactions like strangers asking about my baby in the grocery store felt like ripping open a wound. I tried to prepare my 3-year-old for the chance that his baby sister may not come home from the hospital. As my due date approached, we considered planning for a funeral. But how do you truly prepare for the death of a child? I felt so bitter.”
‘You should’ve just killed yourself and got it over with.’ My gym teacher caught me in the girl’s bathroom. I was the talk of the school.’: Teen mom overcomes bullying, sexual assault, ‘I’m learning to love myself in a way I never have’
“I was so tired of being the ‘fat friend.’ I started getting up at 5 a.m. to do my hair and makeup. I bought ‘promiscuous’ clothing and dropped to a size 0. When I was sent away to rehab for not eating, it took my so-called ‘friends’ over a year and a half to even notice I was gone. I could feel that something was still missing in my life, but I didn’t know what.”