“I felt like I was holding my breath for the remaining 27 weeks. Was I going to be able to love him as much as I love Lucas? I thought the Down syndrome label would consume this little being, that he would be more Down syndrome’s son than mine.”
‘Oh no!’ I cried. I thought this only happened in movies. The doctor said, ‘I’m so sorry.’: Mom describes having a baby with Down syndrome, ‘I would choose him again and again’
‘They are precious now, young mamas. But just wait until they grow up.’: Mom to teens says ‘one day you’ll see just how deep beneath the surface their beauty goes’
“One day, you will see just how deep beneath the surface their beauty goes. One day, it will all be worth it.”
‘It was my 15th wedding anniversary. Her daughter messaged me, ‘She isn’t doing very well.’ I started bawling. ‘I have to go see her. I can’t miss this again.’: Medevac dispatcher drives a thousand miles to meet client with terminal cancer
“She became like a second mom to me. I dropped everything in my hectic and crazy life to drive thousands of miles to see someone I love and adore. She couldn’t believe I was there. I’d only ever spoken to on the phone for the last 3 years.”
‘She looked up at me and said, ‘Can I help him?’ Shopping carts were scattered everywhere throughout the parking lot. She was irritated.’: Little girl shares act of kindness for Walmart employee
“We were at Walmart when she spotted CJ grabbing shopping carts and putting them away. She immediately started grabbing carts and pushing them toward the store. A little while later while browsing the toys, CJ walked up to us.”
‘People patted me on the back. ‘How good of you to befriend this black boy!’ they said, without acknowledging you.’: Man pens letter to childhood friend, ‘I’m speaking up now, I hope you can hear me’
“I was in your presence when the n-word was used, on multiple occasions. I said nothing. You came to my white church. You stayed in my white home, ate at my white table. An occasional visit to your world was all my whiteness could warrant, yet you were expected to live in mine. Us white folks stole your oxygen, long before ‘I can’t breathe.'”
‘My baby’s placenta never stopped growing. The doctors were confused.’: Couple pursues open adoption, ‘I will never forget those sacred moments’
“We were told her mama needed space. She had very little support and I just wanted to wrap my arms around her. I told the nurse, ‘Please let her know we love her.'”
‘On our way home, we ended up front and center for a local protest. My daughter said, ‘Mama.’: Mom wonders about George Floyd’s final words, ‘I wonder if in those last few breaths, he was calling not on her, but us’
“I thought she was asking for me. She wasn’t.”
‘At least you’ll stay skinny!’ I sat on the toilet and cried. You never think you might be the ONE.’: Woman documents infertility journey, ‘Don’t be ashamed to talk about it’
“Why does every part of this ‘journey’ have to be a struggle? He marched to the front of the line, set his sperm filled cup right on the counter, and told them it was time sensitive and he couldn’t wait.”
‘But we already have a toddler!’ Now, our boys don’t know life without each other. They are two peas in a pod.’: New parents take in emergency foster care placement, ‘Beautiful things are born from brokenness’
“We planned to save foster care until we ‘had our lives together.’ We weren’t even listed in the system. ‘We can’t take him in, we have a four-month-old!’ I would choose him, over and over again.”
‘I don’t really like black people, but you’re different.’ I shrank inside myself. I couldn’t change my skin, but I could lose every identifiable piece of who I was to blend in.’: Woman recalls experiences with racism, ‘I’m no longer a scared little girl’
“After months of being teased about my accent, my clothes, my hair, my body, I had no wherewithal to speak up when the N-word came out of the mouth of someone I considered a friend. I froze. I spent the rest of the year working hard to drop my accent. I got quiet. I learned not to raise my hand, because the teacher would make it a point to humiliate me anyway.”