“Would you keep hiding from everyone you knew, ducking behind grocery store displays in an attempt to hide your less than perfect hair day, or avoid awkward small talk?”
If Today Was Your Last Day On Earth
‘She didn’t pick up. I left a message telling her I needed to talk to her. The cops yelled we couldn’t be there.’: Mom loses battle with depression, dies by suicide
“One day she stopped talking. My friend had just been murdered so I was crying hysterically in my house. She couldn’t even comfort me. She didn’t have it in her. She had no energy to feel, to move or to talk. I kissed her goodbye and told her I loved her. That night, I started shaking uncontrollably and a horrible feeling overcame me all at once.”
‘He introduced himself and offered to clean a room in our house for free. I listened because he said ‘free’ and also because our entryway needed to be burned or bleached or both.’: Woman recounts meeting the love of her life
“Against my better judgment and while also trying to drown out the ‘stranger danger’ chant in my head I allowed him in. Then there was the knock that changed everything.”
‘It’s Dad, Mom fell getting out of the shower.’ We get her in her recliner next to Dad and she immediately reaches for his hand, and closes her eyes.’
“It’s kind of weird, but when I was young I used to love watching the ‘Twilight Zone.’ Now there are days when I think I have entered it when I open their door.”
‘I was clutching at my children, afraid to lose them. I was desperate and it showed.’
“I did not get into this journey to build a family, but to provide a home. Some of my kids have found their forever homes here, and some just needed us for awhile.”
On Being The Dreaded Military Wife
“How the heck would I have known what kind of wife I was ready to be? Seriously. Did other brides-to-be get asked similar questions?”
‘We pulled into the cemetery. As she opened the door, there it was. Two vials of glitter.’: Widow finds humor in special way as she and daughter honor beloved late police officer
“’Do you want to go see your dad?’ With her eyes swollen and her cheeks puffy from crying, she nodded. Once again, we didn’t have anything to leave behind. Then, there it was. I don’t doubt for one second he put it there to make sure we knew he was sending her a hug.”
‘We’re having a baby!’ My daughter ran the positive pregnancy test to her dad with the biggest smile.’: Mom adopts child from foster care in wake of infertility, gets pregnancy with her little brother
“‘Um, wait. What?’ We learned we’d been wildly misinformed about where Taylor was. She never went back to her mom like we were told. Instead, she went to 3 MORE foster homes, including one that lost their license for abusing children. Our frustration and anger with the system ran deep. We were here, ready, available and waiting for her. We didn’t understand how this could possibly happen.”
‘The results would reveal something was abnormal. Elevated white cell count with no fever. 10% scoliosis was the tip of this iceberg.’
“It had been months since Abigail and I had danced. She’s been in pain and tired so long and as time passes she is seemingly frailer.”
‘You have no idea how good it feels to be part of a family. Thank you for letting me be here.’: Foster mom grateful her children are learning ‘what it means to love’ by welcoming strangers into their home
“My husband and I woke up to find this note on our counter one morning, written by the 12-year-old boy who was living with us. I have carried this note in my purse for a long time, so I could take it out and re-read it on the hard days. There’s also a letter with ‘Youth Correctional Center’ in the return address, tear-stained, begging us not to give up.”
‘My son was only 14 months old and the baby I was pregnant with was only 6 weeks when their Daddy was killed.’: Young mom of 2 loses husband to impaired driver, urges others to ‘arrive alive, drive sober’
“Because of someone else’s selfish decision to get behind the wheel impaired, mine and my kids’ lives are forever changed. I can’t grow old with the man I was supposed to spend forever with and my kids have to grow up without their amazing father.”
‘Your son suffered a brain injury.’: How life has come full circle after his death
“The tears began to well up as I spoke to the staff, thinking about my two triplets who passed away within two months of birth. A strange sense of peace swept over me.”
The Mom Moments I Never Knew Would Happen
“I didn’t know that night, as we rocked back and forth in that cozy, worn rocker that it would be the last time I rocked you to sleep.”
‘Co-sleeping and bed sharing are wonderful. If you feel worried about these things because people make you feel this way, don’t.’
“These people don’t come home with you, don’t sleep in your bed, and they aren’t your baby, so their opinion is invalid.”
‘Do you ever worry about dying? You’re killing yourself.’ She was right.’: ‘Misguided teenager’ credits her unexpected pregnancy for saving her life after ‘horrible’ eating disorder
“I found out I was pregnant. I was confused with shock and happiness, but I was so scared. How could someone like me, who can barely keep herself alive, care for someone else? I couldn’t even give myself nourishment, so how was this small baby supposed to get any? I had my first ultrasound, and everything was crystal clear. I was going to make this small dot live, no matter what. It wasn’t about me anymore. It was about this small being inside me that NEEDED me.”
‘I went to the bridge with every intention of ending my life but found colored notes, 40 on each side when I got there.’
“I remember standing on the edge of the bridge, thoughts racing through my mind over and over. I hope that these quotes just help that one person to not commit suicide and know that they are worthy of living.”
‘Won’t she be sad?,’ our son asked.’: Family realizes ‘adoption is beautiful’ after birth mom’s heartfelt goodbye
“We reminded her in this moment that it was not goodbye, but a see you soon and then the hardest thing happened. We watched as she gave our son one more hug and a kiss and then left the room.”
Dear Abusive Father: You’re No Longer My Addiction
“I deserve to recover.”
‘I did not have my biological parents growing up and if there is one thing I can give her, it will be to be present.’: Why this Marine mom decided to ‘fold up my uniform’
“I’m trying to give our little girl the best life and gift I can give her — a Momma and Daddy she can be proud of.”
Raising Overcomers: How To Teach Your Kids To Do Hard Things
“Let Them Fail. Really. Home is a training ground for life and is the safest place for them to trip and fall and learn about what it takes to get back up again.”
If You Are Not The Parent Of A Heroin Addict—You Are Lucky
“I felt his words in the pit of my stomach. ‘Mom, I need help.'”
How do YOU say ‘crayon?’
“Cray-on,” “cran” or “crown.” Which team are YOU on?
‘Dear Dads of the world: Suck it up and get a vasectomy.’: Mom asks dads to ‘consider all she’s done and been through’
“Remember when your lady was pregnant? Vomiting up everything, feeling sick from the smell of meat… remember how she was exhausted? How she felt like a turtle who was stuck on her back and couldn’t get up?”
My Asthmatic Son Almost Died After Eating Dragon’s Breath
“If you know someone that has even just a mild case of asthma, do NOT let them have this snack.”
I Never Imagined Being Married At 28, And A Mom To 9 Babies
“Toliver was placed into foster care at birth after being born dependent on methamphetamine and heroin. He in 3 different foster homes before we found each other.”