“You are a child of the COVID pandemic. When we wake you up from your crib, you look at us with such electric excitement that it is impossible not to start each day with love. You have shown us how to surrender to stillness, to stand together through fear, and to see the beauty in every moment. You are our reason to play and dance and keep smiling.”
‘You are an excuse to be goofy at a time when the world is not. You are chubby-cheeked hope for the future, a constant reminder that life goes on.’: Dad shares ‘fairy tale’ IVF birth, ‘All that matters is the family we choose’
‘The neurosurgeon apologized profusely, looked me in the eye and said, ‘You were right.’ She was walking all night, screaming bloody murder.’: Mom of chronically ill child urges parents ‘if you feel something is wrong, it probably is’
“During the day, she was completely normal. But at night she would pull out her hair and headbutt her bedroom wall in her sleep, begging me to ‘make it stop.’ She was deteriorating. I had to fight for answers. I had to beg for care for my very complex child. My gut was telling me something was being missed.”
‘It’s been 4 years since we last spoke. I heard you met someone new. Am I the bad guy, or does she know the truth and love you anyway?’: Woman abandoned by father says ‘you can’t base your self-love on who loves you’
“My dad walked out of my life when I was 20 and never looked back. I wonder if you saw me in the street, would wave or just keep walking. See, all of my favorite things about myself are you. Your sense of humor, your ability to make friends, and really, really good hair. I call someone else ‘my dad’ now.”
‘Riley is now 6 years old. He still does not speak. I always thought words were what mattered.’: Mom to son with autism says ‘I was lucky to be in his world, I just didn’t know it yet’
“Waiting for Riley to ‘tell’ me he loves me. Waiting for him to say mommy. Waiting for him to speak. How I wished I could get a moment in his head. When in reality what I really needed to do is take a step back and see was he showed me love in ways that don’t need words.”
‘Both on the verge of tears one announces, ‘He smacked me.’ I check for blood, bruising. ‘She was using too much toilet paper!’: Mom shares hilarious ‘chaos’ of quarantine with multiple kids
“I was sound asleep when I suddenly hear a knock at my bedroom door. My heart jumps. The pounding in my chest gets louder. Both children are standing at the door, both upset. ‘It’s 2:30 in the morning,’ I firmly reminded them. I am trying to figure out how I can self-isolate in my closet, but they keep finding me.”
‘Today I got called a boring mother, a crappy mother, a wonderful mother and that I was so much fun. All in a matter of hours.’: Mom urges ‘the last thing you need right now is guilt’
“If they spend their days on iPads while you gather your thoughts, it’s okay. If you wanna sit in your pajamas, eat brownies, and watch Frozen 2 on repeat all day, that’s OKAY. If the house looks like a bomb site, who gives a crap. Really. No one is going to visit you anyway.”
‘One more week of trying to put a smile on through tears. One more week of hearing you say, ‘Mommy, I can’t wait to kiss you again. How much longer will this be?’: Nurse mom says ‘cherish this time for those of us who can’t right now’
“One week of air hugs through Facetime. One more week ahead of wondering if this will be the week we’ll run out of PPE completely. One more week ahead of uncertainty, of masking up and walking into the unknown. We will come out on the other side.”
‘Make sure your kids have a schedule. But let them be kids. Homeschool. You don’t need to homeschool. Teach them life lessons instead. And common core.’: Woman candidly shares reality of mixed messages during pandemic
“Don’t let your kids outside. Don’t leave them home if you go out. Give them fresh air. Keep them home. Is that a cough? Is the tightness in your chest anxiety or the virus? Just breathe. But don’t be irresponsible. That’s not sickness that’s your fear. It’s okay, we’re all stressed. Treat yourself to some junk food. Not too much. You need to keep your immune system up.”
‘They tell me, ‘Go back to your country.’ Many of my patients ask to switch nurses. I’m not Chinese, and I was born and raised in America.’: Nurse vows to continue to fight ‘despite obstacles’
“I head into the shower and visciously scrub my skin until my eczema flares up to match the raw, peeling skin behind my ears from wearing masks all day. I sleep alone, without my special someone. I park my car in crevices to power nap on a makeshift foam mattress in the back of my trunk after a 12-hour shift to head right into another 8-hour shift. I will continue to fight, no matter the obstacles.”
‘I have to send my 3-and-a-half-year-old child away. I won’t get to visit her. I won’t get to hug her. I won’t get to tuck her in at night.’: Nurse mom says ‘I feel punished for having to be the ‘good guy‘
“This is the face of someone who feels punished for trying to be the ‘good guy.’ My job as an ER nurse is just that, my job. This is my current situation.”