“The next morning, I tried to sit up, and that’s when I knew something had happened. My husband was sleeping like a baby next to me but his knuckles looked bruised and swollen. I scanned the room for my phone, and noticed it placed neatly on his bedside table… only mine was smashed beyond repair.”
‘I’ll catch you.’ My husband was chasing me. It was 28 degrees outside. I ran 2 miles, barefoot, to the police station, for my life.’: Mother finds courage to leave abusive husband after realizing this is ‘not love’
Young Woman Becomes First Female High School Quarterback
“Someday one of these girls will see me and say ‘because of you I tried, I did something I didn’t think I could do, I am a winner, thank you.’ When that day comes I will be complete.”
‘He looked other worldly, like a magical being. I thought, ‘WOW! Am I the chosen one?’ Everyone was going nuts about his ‘blond’ hair. He was the star of the ward.’
“My OBGYN looked at my husband. ‘WOW, check out the hair!! Does anyone in your family have blond hair??’ Deep in pushing, I yelled back at him, ‘Can we have this conversation later?’”
‘He was named ‘Baby Boy’ since his mother left just hours after birth. Could they have the same mother? Something was different about this one.’: Mom ‘miraculously’ adopts children with same birth mother
“‘Hmmm, that’s funny their moms have the same name,’ I told my roommate. My roommate and I were looking at each other wondering if we were thinking the same thing. Part of me wanted to blab it all in that moment and reveal this huge secret.”
‘Let him move, God,’ I would silently plead over and over. We endured 9 long months of uncertainty. I easily lose patience and become consumed with exhaustion.’
“For me, it was 9 months of living in fear that each kick from within, each twinge, each flutter, would be the last. And for him, it was 9 months of surviving in a womb that had left his two previous siblings without breath, a womb that had seen more death than life.”
This Is What A Diastasis Recti Belly Looks Like After Birthing Twins, And I Will No Longer Be Shamed
“Am I 100% thrilled all the time with how my body looks in every picture? No, but I share it anyways, and I share the way it feels to look different than society thinks you should.”
‘It was only yesterday we were reckless and 18, and now we have an entire world of responsibility. Time is never guaranteed.’
“Since the age of 13 when I began to crave that drivers license, 16 when I began to crave freedom, 18 when I began to crave independence, I’ve been wishing to be further ahead in time. If only we knew how fast the time would actually go.”
‘Babies ruin bodies.’ The body I worked hard for, to eat next to nothing, to exercise any indulgence out of, would all go to waste once I decided to get pregnant.’
“Loose skin, stretched skin, white lines. Abdominal separation, prolapses, third degree tears and cesarean scars. Weight gain and weight loss. Wider hips, bigger breasts. It’s all there. A body that is a far cry from what it was. ‘Babies ruin bodies’”
‘9 years ago, my dad caught a cold virus. 3 years later, my mom was diagnosed with aggressive nasal cancer. Her stomach bloated like she was 7 months pregnant. Was this really happening again?’
“Things were looking up, so we thought.”
‘This year, I did a thing. A great, big, huge, beautiful thing. I put my wedding ring back on.’: Widow wears wedding ring as a physical reminder of the kind of man she deserves
“I will not take this ring off again until I meet the man who recognizes my value and wants to love me completely – just like my husband. I will no longer waste my time trying to convince somebody to pick me.”
‘There are items that are impossible to let go of, even if they are broken. My dad bought them for my children. He died almost 3 years ago.’
“Getting rid of anything he had a hand in giving them seems impossible. It’s like little by little, the things he was a part of die slowly over the years, and I don’t want to aide in that disappearance. Every time I look at it, I think about my dad.”
‘I got on the bus. 3 boys yelled, ‘Hey white boy!’ Mom, I was nervous. I was the only white boy on the bus. They asked if I use the N-word. ‘No, my Stepdad is black. He’s my family.’: Mom of autistic son finds new love
“Austin, my son with autism, asked him, ‘Have you killed anyone in a war?’ I quickly tried to hush him up. He looked at Austin and said, ‘No, but I know bullets can kill.’ Austin looked perplexed. ‘Do you like video games?’ ‘Yes, I love video games.’ Austin smiled from ear to ear.”
‘As quickly as the joy and relief entered the room, the terror began. Our perfect girl who had a perfect heartbeat 2 minutes before, was born without one.’
‘Let her live Lord. Just let her live. I’ll be better. I’ll be the best. I’ll never sin or cuss or be mad at my husband. I’ll cherish her. I don’t care if she is delayed. I’m a therapist, God…I can handle it. Just. Let. Her. Live.’
‘When the stylist asked what I wanted, I replied ‘Cut it off! Just cut it off before I lose my nerve.’ Without hesitation, she grabbed the scissors.’: Woman shares why cutting your hair ‘may be the best thing you ever do’
“I found myself staring at the reflection of a woman I hardly recognized. Her hair an unkempt mess. Eyes dark and tired. Skin dull and sullen. She looked like she had given up on herself, and in a way, she had.”
After 3 Adoptions And 10 Years Off Birth Control, I Got Unexpectedly Pregnant At 36
“The years and years of crying every month over another negative test, money thrown into another procedure that didn’t work, watching literally everyone I know get pregnant and the one thing I yearned for, still not happening. All of those things were worth it, to hear that I was carrying a child inside of me.”
‘These people were our ‘friends.’: Daycare teacher’s husband abuses little boy, mom ‘extremely grateful’ for son’s survival
“I thought I’d pop in and check on my son. My child is a happy child and lights up when he sees me. I got there and he was asleep on the couch. I tried waking him up and he would barely open his eyes. knew something was wrong. When I began examining his head, I noticed it was swollen. Richard said my son fell off a rocking chair, but that my son was ‘acting fine’ so he didn’t call me.”
‘Expect problems.’ I had heard those words before. ‘What kind of problems?,’ I asked, my voice trembling.’: Mom gives birth to son with Cornelia de Lange syndrome, ‘He’s shown me how to love’
“A dark thought crossed my mind. ‘Maybe David will die, and we’ll be able to forget this whole thing ever happened.’ As soon as that thought came, it was quickly followed by another. ‘God, please, please don’t let my baby die!’”
‘I wasn’t even near him,’ actually means, ‘I was standing directly in front of him trying to touch his eyeballs with my eyeballs.’ You will learn to like Blippi. Because YouTube will show you other videos that are SO MUCH WORSE, HOLY CRAP.’
“Our babysitter is expecting her first. I thought about stuff I want to tell her in preparation for motherhood. And then I got home and unloaded 17 bags of groceries that somehow did not include the ONLY two items I specifically needed. Probably should warn preggo about that.”
‘The receptionist says, ‘Peter will be with you soon.’ I smile and think, Peter? Peter better be a girl. Don’t panic.’: Woman hilariously recalls mortifying experience at doctor where pimple is exposed
“I never get pimples on my back. Never… but occasionally my body says, ‘Hey, remember what it’s like to be 14? Well here’s an eruption for you. I got a real big juicy one right in the middle of my back.’ I think it’s all good because, she’s a woman, she will get it. He says, ‘Laura?’ Real slowly. I sigh and say, ‘Yep that’s me.’ FML. No no no No. NO.'”
‘It was happening all over again. My husband kissed me. ‘I love you.’ We had one egg left. The last thing I remember was tears falling as they put a mask on my face.’: Couple battling infertility says ‘you are never gonna keep us down’
“I woke up 15 minutes later, still delirious when my doctor opened the door. I sat in silence. Click…click…click. The silence continued. I knew something wasn’t right. I put one arm on his back and one over my eyes and began to sob. I am a ‘fixer’ and I couldn’t fix this.”
‘Their biological dad stopped coming around. I re-married, divorced, co-parented, and married the same man again.’: Woman escapes toxic relationship, marries new husband twice, ‘it was the happiest moment of our lives!’
“It was horrific. Todd and I decided to separately seek counseling. We were no longer in a relationship, but we knew that we had to be the best co-parents to the girls. That same year, we were engaged to be married on our original wedding anniversary…again.”
‘Is she going to die? Is she going to be ok?,’ I wailed hysterically. She paused. ‘I hope so.’ I started to see spots. ‘I feel lightheaded.’: Mom almost loses daughter to rapid decline from pneumonia
“It started like any other cold. Runny nose, sniffles, a light headache. ‘I don’t feel good, mom,’ she complained that morning, 5 days before. ‘Me neither,’ I groaned. I was suffering as well, and I assumed we both had the same thing.”
‘They tell you to hold the baby. They tell you to forget your to-do list because that sweet babe is worth snuggling. And you forget to hold the baby.’: Mom urges ‘there is nothing more important’
“But they fail to mention how that baby grows. That little one who once rested so perfectly upon your chest doesn’t fit there quite so well anymore. And you forget to hold the baby. But that babe, your growing babe, still needs you.”
‘She will save many lives. There are going to be two kids who make it a lot longer because of her.’: Parents urge organ donation after infant loss
“They expected her last breath to happen any moment. An hour goes by. A nurse still by my side waiting to call time of death. The doctors are shocked. We all are. We were not expecting this.”
‘Suddenly the officer sits down, pulls out lunch. He not only takes away your hunger, but your loneliness too.’: Woman touched by officer’s act of kindness for homeless man, ‘We are all just human’
“Everything you own fits in a backpack. You look up to see a uniformed officer walking towards you. Your mind flutters thinking of everything you might be doing wrong. I don’t know this man or this officer, but what I do know is today they made a difference.”