“MOM is in there nursing the baby.’ What? I WAS the mom! I just wanted to know how my son was. I was so angry at her ex-husband for leaving. My trust had been rocked. When Noah’s first birthday was coming up, we decided to meet.”
‘300 plus families passed on a baby boy.’ What would happen to my son? ‘Are you interested in special needs adoption?’: Moms discuss open adoption journeys, ‘We really are a family’
‘Do you want my boys? We don’t want them anymore.’ They were broken. We were at a crossroad.’: Mom adopts teenage twins, one with brain tumor, ‘We are still here as a family‘
“Tears would well up in Victor’s eyes. ‘Why didn’t she love me?’ Those days were over. ‘Mom? If I’m being admitted, it means I have to stay here, right?’ I said, ‘Then that means I’m staying here too.’ We were going to pick up the pieces.”
‘A guy passed me and asked, ‘Are you okay?’ I was preparing to jump into the cold lake and end everything once and for all.’: Suicide attempt survivor urges ‘the sun will shine again for you’
“My body was shaking. Handful after handful of pills, I could feel myself fading away. I remember the familiar sound of sirens blaring. ‘Lay still!’ I cried and screamed and tried to fight as they held me down. The nurse said, ‘I have to do this if I’m going to save your life and I have every intention of doing just that.’ I was begging to die.”
‘Two kids, that was our plan. I expected a ‘NO WAY!’ But he started talking about it before I did.’: Family adopts after hosting foster child, ‘He was meant to be here’
“Our kids tried to fight back tears. ‘Will we see him again?’ You’d have thought the 3 of them had been brothers since birth. Nothing prepared me to watch him get on a plane, not knowing if we’d ever talk to him again.”
‘Nobody wants a woman with a handicapped child.’ Stories of affairs started. We both chose to hold on tight.’: Single, special needs mom finds true love, ‘He is my best friend’
“My son is 3 year-old trapped in a 20 year-old body. I had to care for him myself. Then Victor came to paint my kitchen. We talked for hours on end. Our able-bodied children disowned us. But Victor wanted to take care of me.”
‘You’re sure they didn’t mix up the vials?’ My healthy husband suddenly looked terrible. He developed a painful cough and couldn’t walk 100 feet.’: Woman births late husband’s son through IVF after leukemia battle
“My husband told the doctors not to resuscitate him. ‘What am I supposed to do without you?’ I remember telling the crew, ‘I am not leaving.’ I promised to hold his hand. ‘I am so proud of you and so grateful to have been your wife.’ His dream was to have children. I still had some of his sperm saved. I knew this would be the last time I saw him awake.”
‘She is my BABY! You can’t take her!’ I felt like I was being choked. We knew we had to do something.’: Mom writes emotional letter to foster baby, ‘I won’t ever forget you’
“’Is your family open to adoption?’ My heart felt so FULL! For that time, you were ‘OURS.’ Then, one day it all came crashing down. It was like a nightmare. ‘By the way, I’m going to come and pick the baby up tomorrow.’”
‘His only worldly belongings were engulfed in flames. I was worried about where I stuffed the karate coupon.’: After encounter with neighbor, woman urges others to share ‘love and grace’
“I was traveling down the street, unaware of the great number of things happening around me. I was still completely wrapped up in myself. He was standing out front. The look of heartbreak and defeat sent my heart deep into my stomach. I knew him but I didn’t know his name.”
‘I’ve been the girl who didn’t fit in. I’m too much for some people and not enough for others. I’ve been the girl who wondered if she’d make it, and the girl who did.’: Mom loves who she is, ‘I won’t change for anyone’
“I’m the girl who is on time for this but late for that, and I’ll probably stop for an overpriced iced coffee on the way. I’m moody in the morning and in my best spirits when I know it’s Friday. I’m too tall for high heels and too short to reach the diapers on the top shelf at Walmart. I’m still not skinny enough to fit inside that crack between the washer and dryer. I’m that girl.”
‘Wedding rings are a symbol of ownership. We don’t wear them. I don’t identify with the word ‘wife.’: Married woman talks terms of marriage, ‘We are in a partnership’
“I am a fully committed feminist, and will kill a bug if I need to. He doesn’t determine my happiness. The husband is the boss, the father gives away the daughter. I don’t identify with any of it.”