“When I found myself unexpectedly widowed at 39, I couldn’t have imagined what my life would look like 5 years later. We met on a dating site. Blending our families and accommodating the needs of 10 children was a complicated task. Then we heard, ‘I’m so sorry,’ which prompted more tears. It was my job as her mother to be strong and brave, but I doubted my ability to do so.”
‘Immediately, I knew there was something different. Her precious little body felt weak and floppy. Looking at her tiny face, I saw it.’: Blended family births 11th baby with Down syndrome
‘I was worried about falling asleep the night before I turned 10. The doctor said I wouldn’t live past 10. I always carried ‘expiration dates’ with me. It wasn’t the last time I was told I had this amount of time to live.’
“Mrs. Chase, I don’t think you need to worry about how many sick days Leah has, or if she is held back because of it because she will not live past 10-years-old.”
‘We have been sick since January. It feels like the cold and flu got together, and were like, ‘hold my wine.’ Our youngest covered our van in projectile vomit. HOW DOES THIS EVEN HAPPEN!?’
“Getting childcare coverage for these two wild hobos is like trying to trade someone the shaggy dog van in Dumb and Dumber – next to impossible. Our small town urgent care needs to adopt a punch card system because we would’ve qualified for a free co-pay or something by now.”
‘Are you ok?,’ I asked. ‘It’s complicated.’ Panicked, I said, ‘We aren’t okay?’ He replied, ‘I don’t want to talk anymore.’ And the conversation ended.’: Woman overcomes divorce after husband cheated, ‘I know I am beautiful, smart, kind’
“I heard him tell the kids, ‘I don’t know how much I will be seeing you guys for the next little while.’ I threw on some clothes and asked the children to leave the room. He told me he simply did not love me anymore. ‘Having sex with you is hard since you’ve started all these diets but never stick to any of them.’ My heart fell to the floor.”
‘Then the rocking started. It began as a gentle sway and turned into him throwing himself so hard into the couch he was putting holes in the wall. We knew something was not right.’
“The doctor stopped what she was doing, scooted back from her desk and looked me dead in the eye. ‘I am confident I know why your son is having so many issues. I also believe he is having a seizure right now.'”
‘We were in the garage when she pulled this from her jacket. My plan was to drive a few, then go to another lot if nothing caught my eye. But not my wife.’
“Let me explain. This list represents HOURS at our dinner table, long after the kids were in bed. I know, gushing over my wife’s car list might seem silly, but the fact is, stuff like this gets overlooked.”
‘When I reached down to pull up my tights, I realized my arms and hands were paralyzed. Scared, I said, ‘Mom, I can’t move my arms.’: Young woman describes life with a rare autoimmune disorder
“I experienced a sudden, excruciating headache in the middle of ballet class. Only 24 hours ago I’d been learning at school like any normal day. How could this have happened?”
‘I can’t go back there; I can’t lose my wife again,’ he told me. ‘I’m not sure I’d survive that.’ We were terrified. Terrified of who I was pregnant.’
“My doctor very clearly advised me I would need to be off my antidepressants if I wanted to get pregnant, so I came off them. The next several months were some of my darkest. My husband was taking care of a wife who, in his words, ‘had disappeared.'”
‘A couple sat in the courtroom, anxious if there was any update to the case of a baby they loved dearly. This crying woman wasn’t just a stranger, she was my soon-to-be-daughter’s foster mother.’
“This baby they loved so much, they’d met in a high school gym. People are often surprised when I talk about my girl’s foster parents, especially that they’re still involved in our lives. I honestly don’t see HOW it could be any other way.”
‘I made eye contact with the nurse, recognition and worry spread across her face. Through shaky tears I said: ‘I think my water broke.’ Dr. stupid then said: ‘Oh no, she just peed her pants.’
“About half way to his work my nose began to tickle and I felt a sneeze coming on. After a couple of large huffy inhale’s of air, it exploded. Absolute horror washed over me. I can’t do this. This…. is…. too…. much.”
‘Her grip on the bed rails quickly moved over to him. Her nails sliced through his shirt, like butter. They were in this fight not just to win, but to grow together.’
“He never stopped watching her face. In the middle of it all, he knew where his priorities were. The scratches, the teeth marks on his shoulder, all became battle scars.”
‘There’s NO WAY I’m pregnant!’ In my mind, having a baby would save my marriage and fix EVERYTHING. I silently made an appointment with my OBGYN.’
“All alone in the bathroom at work, I felt my life was over. I was a failure. I couldn’t make my marriage work. I couldn’t carry a baby. Tie my tubes or just take everything out.”
‘I got a text from him saying, ‘What are you smiling at?’ And I froze. The hair on the back of my neck stood up.’: Woman escapes abusive relationship to find new love
“When I was 14-years-old I met and dated a 22-year-old man. I’ll just let that sink in for a moment. He would come visit me, all the while living another life, leaving his wife and family behind. He was addicted to porn. Then came THAT morning.”
‘Who the f*ck are you sneaking around with?,’ he screamed. Before I could answer, he threw the phone at my head. I had to hide my eyes from my son. ‘I can’t let him see me like this.’
“He bugged my bedroom to be able to hear everything I did, and every conversation I had. Eventually, he convinced me to move in with him. ‘I don’t want to lie to him.’ I would apologize with tears flowing down my face.”
The Moment I Realized My ‘Soul Mate’ Was A Narcissist Incapable Of Love
“Love shouldn’t hurt.”
‘I rushed to the hospital. ‘I’ve never seen anything like this,’ the surgeon said. Our pregnancy checkup had gone well. There was never a reason to believe something was wrong. Our excitement turned to disbelief.’
“Her skin was pulled so tightly that her eyelids had flipped inside out. We were informed her limbs could suddenly detach on their own. Every day, we faced a new challenge.”
‘My friends invited me for a weekend getaway. I got a few itchy bites. ‘Are you pregnant?’ ‘Maybe it’s bacterial?’ This was a disease I had never heard of. There is NO cure for it.’
“I assumed it was the flu. I drank plenty of fluids and stayed in bed. But I wasn’t getting better. I had shooting pains all the way up my spine, as if someone was sawing me open. I went back to the doctor. ‘I think it’s food poisoning.’ ‘Maybe cancer.’ ‘HIV.’ ‘Is it possible you’re pregnant?’ No.”
‘He let out a wail. They received a report of suspicious bruising. Who is going to believe me? I took the boys out to do what we’d always done, now it’s going to cost us.’
“It was midweek when I received a voicemail from the Office of Child Protective Services, obligated to investigate possible abuse. What’s going to happen when a judge has to decide on custody in the divorce?”
‘So how many do you think?,’ I asked him. He thought there was only going to be 1. There were 4. ‘ARE YOU SERIOUS?!’
“I promised my husband I wouldn’t joke when I called him. As I laid on the table, the doctor looked at me and said, ‘Well Britt, we didn’t plan for this. THERE’S FOUR!’ We were going to be parents to quadruplets!!! Now came the fun part – I had to call Ryan.”
‘When our daughter was six months old, two black women approached us. One said, ‘Your baby’s hair is dry.’ I was taken aback, offended and embarrassed.’: Woman’s comment in Target helps mom provide for mixed-race children
“Around that same time, my husband and I sought a mentor for our daughters, realizing we, as white people, were not qualified to help our kids navigate certain situations.”
‘She lost her daddy to suicide a year ago. She watches TV, and then asks why movie characters can die and then be OK again. ‘Can daddy be OK again?’
“She tells anyone who she meets that her daddy died and is a star now. Even strangers. They look afraid to respond; sad for not knowing how to ease this little girl’s pain, and embarrassed how forthcoming she is with such delicate information.”
‘My son was told, ‘You can’t read. Don’t even try.’ Waves of emotion rolled through me. I walked out of the parent-teacher conference in tears.’
“His teacher handed me a big stack of unfinished classwork. ‘He is not working and he daydreams all day.’ After two days of observing our son, the doctor gave us the news.”
‘Nurses told me to, ‘Not be so dramatic.’ I tried to get help from teachers, police officers, neighbors. Nobody listened.’: Woman survives abuse, finally receives proper mental illness treatment at 36
“By 27 years old we had 2 beautiful boys and a baby girl. We were married, living well and happy. I was baking cupcakes and going on field trips – I was exactly who I thought I should be. Then it happened.”
‘It was midnight and everyone was asleep. I texted my friend, ‘Come quick! I need you. Lots of blood.’ I prayed she’d wake to the sound of her phone.’
“On a whim, I decided to download a dating app. I came across a man who was in the Army. I knew he was ‘the one’ the moment I saw his photo. At first sight, I was in love. Something I had never felt before.”
‘You’re going to have to get off Facebook, the sadness is overwhelming and it’s time for you to take a break.’ My heart broke every day. It was way too close to home.’
“‘Bridgette is going to need more than a lemonade stand, we need to do something to make her smile and raise money.’ She pointed to one of the dresses and said ‘Mom these dresses are beautiful, maybe the lady who makes these can make mine?’ I looked up the designers and with a hopeful heart we reached out.”