“Because a mama’s body? It is a sponge. Absorbing the entirety of the world around her. Those responsibilities she must hold and honor. The endless reel of worries. The flood of feelings she can’t prevent from drowning her heart. Guilt. Fear. Anguish. Heartache. Loneliness. Comparison.”
When A Mama Says She’s Tired, She Means It
It’s Not My Turn To Spend My Days As I Please—One Day, I’ll Get My Turn
“It’s my turn to memorize the perfect squishiness of chubby baby faces. It’s my turn to heal boo-boos with a kiss. It’s my turn to cuddle and rock. It’s my turn for park days and playdates. It’s my turn to soak up the beautiful, exhausting, magic of motherhood while the turn is still mine.”
‘I saw a photo of a friend and her brand new baby. For a moment, I felt it again: the days of a mama who is in it.’: Woman sympathizes with new moms beginning parenting journey
“No sleep, all adrenaline, high on love, low on hormones.”
‘Hey babe, we need a new showerhead. I broke ours trying to fix it.’ I wasn’t mad. I was proud.’: Wife talks overcoming fear of failure, shares new things to try
“Five years ago my husband wouldn’t have attempted to take apart a showerhead to fix it; he would have bought a new one without a second thought. Five years ago he would have rather missed an opportunity than try and fail.”
‘We deserve honest and direct answers about our biology.’: Adoptee advises adoptive parents on creating healthy foundations for their children
“I was discouraged from ever mentioning my mother. Until 13, I didn’t even know her name. Our curiosity is not a threat; your jealousy is.”
‘I heard my daughter’s name be announced as a ‘Nichols’ in the courtroom, and I Immediately sobbed.’: Mom reflects on emotions of foster-to-adopt journey
“We did everything we could to support her biological mother. Sadly, it became clear reunification would not be possible. I remember feeling that we would adopt her, but it was not an easy path.”
‘Wow, you’re looking great, you’ve definitely lost some weight!’ ‘Tell me your secrets!’ I truly was living a double life.’: Woman battling eating disorder says ‘I refuse to let it beat me’
“I won’t lie, I loved it. I loved the praise, the increased Instagram likes, the attention. I always saw myself as the chubby awkward girl and was in awe of my skinnier friends, but now I had a chance to be like them, to be accepted.”
‘Remember my son’s name, because he taught the world that there is no shame in being autistic or being different.’: Mom expresses need for understanding after mean comment
“’He’s wearing earmuffs, and it’s warm out so I’m guessing he’s a r*tard.’ Days like these make me realize there is so much work to still be done.”
‘In the children’s ward, I learned to play the piano by ear. I discovered a whole new side of me, and there was no going back.’: Visually impaired DJ, musician shares sight loss journey
“If my vision fails, I know I can still play and teach. That is what keeps me going. There is no plan B. There is only this.”
‘I sat up for weeks on end googling ‘how to be happy.’ I was looking for happiness in every single place except from within.’: Traumatic brain injury survivor overcomes battle with depression after break-up
“Without even realizing it, my whole identity was that relationship. So when the relationship came to an end, I almost did too. I didn’t know who I was, what I liked, or where I was heading.”
I Gave Birth To All-Girl Quintuplets
“The tech said, ‘Baby A-girl, baby B-girl, baby C-girl, baby D-girl, and baby E-girl.’ Later, we found out our girls were only the 2nd set of all-girl quintuplets in the US.”
In Between The Deadlines, The Schedules, And The Laundry, Don’t Forget To Pause And Notice The Beauty Around You
“When our kid’s giggles don’t make us pause and say a quick prayer of thanks, when our spouse touches the small of our back and we can’t feel that quick burst of love, or when we can’t see the presence of the divine in the nearby wheat field, the swaying palm trees, or the mountains, it’s time to create a pause.”
I’m The Girl With Retinitis Pigmentosa Growing Blinder Each Day
“Society’s expectations for blind and visually impaired people are extremely harmful and outdated.”
You Can Move On From Grief, Without Leaving It Behind
“During my mom’s ten-year battle with Alzheimer’s, I put my life on hold in so many ways that I stopped living it altogether. I eventually realized just getting by was no way to live my one and only life. I felt like moving on meant leaving her behind, but I eventually learned I had it all wrong.”
In Our House, We Chose The Dinner Table
“Autism makes you choose things. It makes you look at your life and decide what matters—what you’re willing to work for and sweat for and defend and build. Through all the chatter and the plates and the food, we told this boy that here, in this house with this table and this family, he matters. He matters.”
Why The Narcissist In Your Life Still Wants To Remain Friends
“If your narcissist wants to remain your friend soon after a breakup or even contacts you to establish friendship years down the road, save yourself the grief and just don’t do it.”
Why I’m Saying No To Visitors After The Birth Of My Next Child
“This newborn isn’t here to please others. She’s here to join OUR family.”
To Anyone Contemplating Suicide, Please Stay
“You are loved. You are wanted. Life doesn’t always have to be this hard. And there is more than one way to remove the pain and suffering you’re experiencing.”
‘A few months after my separation, Amanda decided 3 a.m. was a great time to drunk text me and declare her love.’: Mom of 3 recounts LGBT love story, ‘We were meant to find each other’
“I asked my daughter why she thought Amanda was my girlfriend. She said, ‘Because you are always together, and you look like you love her.’ That was it. We were official and my kids adored her.”
‘Never hearing her call me ‘Mommy’ is something I will never be able to completely accept.’: Mom opens up on caring for daughter with chromosome duplication, special needs
“Sleeping in hospital chairs, riding with our child in the back of an ambulance, learning to understand a non-verbal child…we wouldn’t change it for anything.”
‘Sarah will always be my baby sister and best friend.’: Woman grieving loss of sister fundraises for Addison’s Disease Awareness
“A patient mentioned she could not wait to get home because she missed walking at sunrise with her best friend. When Sarah’s shift ended, she clocked out, got two coffees, and sat with the patient, watching the sunrise. She did not ever do these extra things out of pity. It’s just the type of person she was.”
‘It’s been less than a month. I can’t do this.’ I wasn’t ready to have a baby. I had a LOT of trauma to sort through.’: Hostage survivor shares accepting pregnancy only weeks after rescue
“He was the manifestation I had conjured up in my mind to give me something to survive for when I was out there in the desert all those hopeless nights. Motherhood came to me when it did, to save me.”
‘Can I please call you dad now?’ I asked if he really wanted that. He said, ‘More than anything in the world!’: Stepdad adopts son into forever family
“During the adoption process, when he could see I was having a tough day, he gave me the most powerful advice: ‘Dad, don’t give up hope and keep fighting because we will win!'”
I Brought My Son To The Doctor For A Broken Leg, And Left With A Cancer Diagnosis
“‘Metastasized? Doesn’t that mean…’ Yes, it does. It had already spread. How did this happen? What stage was it? Was he going to be okay? They could not give me any answers.”
I’m Not Ready For You To Grow Up, But The Time Has Come To Loosen The Reigns
“I must use every last bit of my willpower not to pull you back into my arms, plop your almost bigger than me body on my lap, and rock you and sing to you.”