“I was born with no ears, no cheekbones, and a receding jaw. Food and bottles were thrown at me. It got to the point where they would trip me and pin me up against walls. I used to come home from school every day crying, but still the school did nothing. Instead, they moved me to another class. ‘Why should I be moved and not them?’ The bullies took over my life.”
‘I swallowed my own tongue and went blue. One week into school, the bullying began. ‘Why should I be moved and not them?’: Teen with Treacher Collins Syndrome urges ‘we are all unique and amazing in every way’
‘Please don’t straighten pillows or wipe down counters. Don’t make the beds, or a fancy appetizer. Your life isn’t too much for me.’: Woman pens touching letter to mom friends, ‘I’m so thankful for a friend like you’
“Before you go to your friend’s house for a play date, text her this: ‘I fully expect baskets of laundry, toys on the floor, and children in pjs. I anticipate all the kids will fight, be loud, and ask for snacks (constantly). I can handle that. Let’s warm up nuggets, put on a Disney movie, and do those dishes together. I’m so thankful for a friend like you.'”
‘Girl, are you crazy?’ I told the midwife I was having a baby on my own. ‘A child needs a mother AND father in their life.’: Single mom by choice births baby solo, ‘Every time I look at him, I see infinite love looking back’
“’I feel I’m destined to be without a partner. I’ve heard about women deciding to have children on their own, it’s something I may try.’ It broke my heart when I heard about conversations they had behind my back. ‘In order to grow up well rounded, a child needs a mother AND a father in their life.’ I struggled with those words for three years.”
“’I feel I’m destined to be without a partner. I’ve heard about women deciding to have children on their own, it’s something I may try.’ It broke my heart when I heard about conversations they had behind my back. ‘In order to grow up well rounded, a child needs a mother AND a father in their life.’ I struggled with those words for three years.”
‘I’m going to miss this. The dishes can wait, the laundry can wait. But those sweet little feet chasing us around, they’re getting a little bigger every day.’: Mom urges ‘don’t let the goodness of today pass you by’
“The look in his eyes when he sees me. The way he snuggles into position to fall asleep. The sound of his favorite word on repeat: ‘Ma-ma.’ Being his cushion, his happy place. I wouldn’t trade this for anything. I don’t ever want to forget how it feels to be his person.”
‘She’d text us, ‘I need more money.’ She saw me not as a woman to love her unborn child, but as a target. Our hearts and wallets were drained.’: Couple suffers adoption scam, ‘She broke us’
“She would make comments about finding a new family for her son if we didn’t give her the extra money, dangling her baby boy in front of us like a carrot. I truly lost my faith in humanity. She pretended to be a lot of things, but a decent human being was, by far, her greatest act. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison.”
‘It took an overdose to come to the conclusion I was not the young woman I was raised to be. Suddenly, everything began to click.’: Transgender man advocates for support in the ‘addicted trans community’
“I threw heavy flower pots through the glass front door and begged the police officer to shoot me. Sadly, the beast that is addiction took over. As terrifying as it was to unearth such a deep truth about myself, suddenly everything began to click. I began to recognize why I couldn’t stay sober for even an hour. I was not the woman I was raised to be.”
‘Her eyes looked up at me in panic. ‘Mommy, it’s blood.’ We were just in the ER and everything said she was fine. My stomach about hit the floor.’: Family says goodbye to their ‘forever Valentine’ after battle with flu
“Around 6 a.m., I heard her crying by my bed. ‘Mommy, my head hurts, my throat hurts, and my chest hurts really bad.’ This child never cried. She was breathing weird and for a bit, I thought she was being dramatic. Then in her weak, sweet, little voice, she asked, ‘Mommy, am I going to die?’ Something wasn’t sitting right. Every few seconds, she would say, ‘Mommy’ or ‘Hello,’ just so I knew she was doing okay.”
‘I hope some day you’ll remember I said I’m sorry more times than I yelled. I hope some day I won’t yell…but today, I’m sorry.’: Mom pens touching letter to daughter
“Today, I yelled at you. You didn’t do anything wrong. You were just playing like a normal 3 year old would…but I yelled at you. I told you to stop…to be quiet…to just listen to me. You spilled your water. It was an accident…but I yelled. I told you be to careful…to pay attention…to just sit still.”
‘While gathering laundry, my eye caught sight of my son’s shirt. Honestly, I almost walked right by it. But something was different about this.’: Mom urges ‘children are doing the best they can’
“It’s the first time my son has taken off his church button-up and replaced it on his hanger. No, it’s not perfect. Yes, it’s still disheveled. But he was trying to do the right thing…completely unprompted. So often, we walk right by our children’s best efforts.”
‘Raising kids without my mother is much, much harder than I thought.’: Woman details parenthood after loss of mother, ‘It’s like driving without a GPS’
“‘Go ahead, I’ll watch the kids.’ The woman walks off, alone. She’ll be back soon, and anyway, her mother loves time with the grandkids. She’ll get a kick of watching the 3-year-old go up and down the tiny plastic slide. After the play space, they’ll do a little more shopping and grab lunch at the Food Court. Mostly, they’ll talk. It’s a common scene. But it makes a lump rise in my throat. I used to do this sort of thing, before my mom got too sick.”