“I didn’t know I was pregnant on the day of the funeral. Clothes were strewn about in a panic as I rummaged through every drawer, hamper and closet 2 hours before I was supposed to meet the photographer. Then I saw it. Hanging quietly in the corner where it had remained for the last 7 months.”
‘I took maternity photos in the dress I wore to my husband’s funeral.’: Mom-to-be didn’t know she was pregnant when husband died, ‘As I kissed his forehead goodbye, I had no idea I was carrying his son’
‘You are a mother. We all are. No matter how different our journeys may be, we all cross paths at some point. We are all in this together.’
“You are part of a special group of women. You are a member of a very select tribe. You are never alone. You are seen. You are heard. You are valued.”
‘My husband called. I knew something was up. ‘She delivered a baby last night.’ I shook. I cried. He wouldn’t be the only brown face in our family.’
“A week later I received an email. I thought, ‘Leave me alone! I have a brand new baby I wasn’t expecting! Just give me a chance!’ When I clicked on the email, it wasn’t them reminding me to do my update. It was their birth mother.”
‘I just can’t do it.’ I was left at the altar. I caught him in a half-run and collapsed to the ground, sobbing.’: Woman left at altar on her wedding day
“Seconds later, the crowd was all standing. There was an eerie silence now. Someone said, ‘Well, someone go after him!’ I saw my mother rise up. ‘I AM GOING TO KILL HIM! Almost instantly, I shouted, ‘NO!’ My sister and my mother ran over, got on their knees, and held me.”
‘I love you. I’m sorry I can’t give you everything you want.’ My daughter sat on the bed, pouting. She was upset I wouldn’t take her to get a new toy. ‘Only because you won’t let me.’
“‘I love you enough to NOT give you everything you want.’ She rolled her eyes, clearly unwilling to accept this truth, and asked to be left alone. So, I walked away and closed the door behind me.”
‘Are you sure you’re pregnant? You hide it so well,’ they said while I was 8 months pregnant.’: Single mom says ‘no one thought my body could handle childbirth’
“‘Guess what? It’s happened!’ I threw the pregnancy test to my 19-year-old boyfriend. During labor, I had no support from my partner. ‘This isn’t how it’s supposed to be. This 100% was not the plan.’ I ended my relationship. ‘Might as well be a single mom, I basically am one anyway.’”
‘Do you remember your name?,’ one nurse asked. My mouth felt like I was chewing cotton balls. ‘What year is it?’I responded with a weak, soft voice as tears roll down my face.’
“‘Bye Mom! See you later!’ I gave her tight hug, and left on dad’s motorcycle. I was in heaven, having the best time of my life. I turned my head for half of a second, and saw a big bus approaching us. That is all I remember.”
‘WHAT IS THAT?’: Expecting couple surprised to find girl-to-be is actually a boy at birth
“We sat there and just LAUGHED. All the pain, weakness, and desperation of the hours leading up to his birth vanished.”
‘He was gasping, pale and sweaty. I held him down so the nurses could get close. They wouldn’t come near him. Something was wrong.’: Woman loses husband to ‘pain attack’ after machinery accident
“He was operating a piece of machinery, like he did every day. But today. September 13. The entire slab of concrete popped out of the ground and caught his toe, pulling his foot and leg under 3,000 pounds of concrete. I remember shouting his name in his face, telling him to look at me. To breath. His head rolled to me. He wasn’t there in his eyes. ‘Can I see him? I just want to know he’s ok.’ The nurse came out and threatened to call security.”
‘At 12 years old, symptoms began to manifest. I had joint pain in my knees and mouth sores on my gums. Food gave me belly aches. Aside from winter colds, I never was sick.’
“My parents were concerned. I had lost weight and they could see changes in me. I was 13 now, in the hospital to stabilize my 80-pound body. My parents were frustrated I followed ‘the rules.’ ‘If I thought the day of my diagnosis was life-shattering, this day would change the whole trajectory of how I lived my life.”
‘A little boy saw you and yelled, ‘You’re brown, you’re not supposed to be brown!’ My heart dropped to the floor. You had the most innocent look on your face.’
“The boy’s mom quickly said, ‘He is brown, but he’s beautiful.’ The little boy yelled again, ‘No, he’s not. He’s NOT beautiful, because he’s brown!’ In the moment, I couldn’t even open my mouth.”
‘At 12, my doctor told me I’d still have children, but never went into details. ‘Your doctors never cleaned out your abdomen in surgery.’ I was betrayed.’: Woman shocked by surprise pregnancy after childhood medical issues
“The receptionist sounded confused. ‘You already have an appointment scheduled for today. It’s your post-operation check. How did the surgery go?’ Chills went down my spine. I asked her to keep the appointment, but change it to ‘pregnancy confirmation.’ I can’t believe this.”
‘As painful as this picture is for me to see, it hurts even more this could become ANY ONE OF YOU. I know I’m a lucky one.’
“Why do I show you my face? Why do I show you my pain? Why do I reveal these heart-breaking scars? I’ll tell you why.”
‘I sleep in my contacts all the time and I’ve never had a problem.’ I hear this daily, as an eye doctor. This bacteria can quickly lead to permanent blindness.’
“It takes seconds to remove your contacts but a potential lifetime of irreversible damage if you choose to leave them in.”
‘I thought you would like to meet your children,’ the nurse said with a smile. She handed me a stack of pictures, my first glimpse of my tiny premature babies.’
“I met my son for the first time, thanks to this picture. A picture that was taken by our nurse. She walked in, making the trek from a different building and several floors away. She knew I was too weak to visit the NICU, and hoped seeing my children would help me heal.”
‘It’s May, the month where it all goes down the tubes. I’m here to give you permission to tell all the CRAP to take an actual hike. Hand them lunch money. There is food, and that’s enough.’
“You will mess up. You will forget it’s Dress Like a Lumberjack Day or you will forget your cherub needs a cold drink to enjoy during the ‘special movie reward.’ You are allowed to feel bad for 10 seconds. Then I require you to move on. Your kid is fine.”
‘He continued to call me, begging. The conversations were so strange, I started to record them. ‘I’m so sorry baby, I love you. I want to work this out.’ I ended up moving for my safety.’
“Yesterday was dentist day for me. I sat in the chair anxiously waiting, nervous as hell and scared. I wasn’t scared to see the dentist, but scared to have to explain what had happened.”
My Daughter Lost Her Leg To Necrotizing Fasciitis, But It Didn’t Stop Her Passion For Dance
“She is determined to show the world that this hiccup in life will not bring her down.”
‘He opened his eyes, and held my hand. ‘I love you too, but this is ridiculous.’ He proceeded to remove his oxygen mask. It was such a Dan thing to do, to choose his time.’: Woman loses her husband to cancer
“‘How did you meet Becca?’ I was sitting with my nose in a book when he plopped himself down. ‘Hi, my name is Dan,’ he said, matter-of-factly. I will never forget that night. Little did I know – he’d become my future husband. He passed away just 16 days after we said ‘I do.'”
‘I’m slowly learning I’m not ever going to be the popular girl. I’m not going to be the prettiest, or the loudest, or the life of the party.’: Woman learns to accept herself as is, ‘I’m okay with it’
“I’m not good at small talk, gossip or anything surface-y. I’m not going to be invited on tons of girls’ trips, or Bunco nights, or whatever, but I AM the kind of girl who will answer her phone at 3 a.m. if you need someone to talk to.”
‘I’ve never had real parents before. I’ve waited my entire life to be treated the way y’all treat me.’: Couple adopts 18-year-old who was ‘abandoned by his birth mother with no name’
“‘So you are the people that want teenagers… are you crazy?’ I said, ‘Something like that.’ She replied, ‘Well, I got a phone call in your driveway for a 16-year-old male who needs a home by tonight.’ I told her, ‘Bring him home.’ My husband looked at me like I was crazy. But he agreed. ‘She’s right, bring him home.’”
‘Her best friend lost her husband in Afghanistan. His friends would all get black coffee. He always got a big pink smoothie with whipped cream on it. Then, something beautiful happened.’
“One of our favorite regulars walked in to order her usual. I noticed it was taking her a little longer to order, so I glanced over and saw she was crying. The employee on the register was choked up as well, and handed me this post card.”
‘Mother’s Day after your Mom dies looks different. Dodging the card aisle because you can’t bring yourself to read them. It’s for those with a Mom who lives here, not in Heaven.’
“It looks like changing the channel when the commercials come on talking about gifts for Mom, because you know not even Amazon Prime can deliver a gift to Heaven. You hope nobody will ask you what your plans are with your Mom for Mother’s Day.”
‘It finally happened. I was introduced as her ‘new Grandma.’ My heart was so full. This is what I’d been missing for so long.’: Woman becomes surrogate grandma through ‘Surrogate Grandparents USA’
“I thought, ‘Well, what the heck.’ A lovely young lady messaged me. Turns out, her girls needed a grandma in their lives just as much as I needed grandbabies to love. She has struggles she is unable to disclose to her own mom, so I have become her confidant. All I ever wanted to be is a good mom, and an even better Grandma.”
‘It’s just so hard sometimes.’ I could feel his tears coming. ‘Sir, I know exactly what you mean. I lost my mom 2 years ago.’ His heart became heavier. He asked if he could give me a hug.’
“I hugged a stranger in Walmart. I was in line waiting to check out. The older gentleman behind me was looking for a nice picture frame to use for his mother’s picture. He had recently lost his mother. They had lived together, and he took care of her.”