‘Parenting is a woman’s burden. If the house isn’t clean, it’s a mother’s fault. If a mother wants to have drinks, she should be responsible. If Dad wants to, it’s OK.’: Wife grateful for husband who ‘assists in this parenting journey’

“‘Must be nice to have a husband who helps,’ they tell me. He will never carry the burden that I do. Dad’s babysit (so I’m told every time I leave our children with my husband), while us mothers look after their children.”

‘I was livid. ‘Are we just going to have a negative attitude tonight? Is that how it’s gonna go?’ He answered, ‘I just had a hard day today.’: Mom brightens son’s bad day with bubble bath, Netflix

“Kyler came home from school today with a bad attitude. He was frustrated and it was reflecting in the way he was talking to me. I was livid at first. ‘Are we just going to have a negative attitude tonight?’ Tears welled up in his eyes. ‘I had to do so many things and I didn’t have enough time. And I couldn’t do everything and my head hurts, and I’m cold…’ I knew it was just one of those days.”

‘I went from a 3,000 square-foot house to a little hotel room with nothing. I found out the hard way.’: Mom learns to live in minimalism after house fire forces her to realize what’s important

“The single lone hair tie. You baby it. You put it back on your arm after you get out of the shower. You make sure it’s with you when you head to yoga class. That hair tie is your entire freaking life. Then I threw my – should have washed it yesterday – hair into a quick ponytail and a light went off.”

‘I watched my daughter in tears. ‘YOU ARE BEING A BRAT!!!’ The words tumbled out before I could stop myself. I failed.’: Mom learns important parenting lesson after daughter misbehaves

“After watching her scream and flail on the ground, I had enough. ‘Go to your room! You need to calm down,’ I told her. But instead, she continued to talk back. And that’s when it happened. I yelled at my child. My daughter went upstairs and slammed the door. I heard her yell and cry in frustration. I sunk down onto a chair and cried.”

‘I don’t want to, please don’t make me do this.’ I begged them to knock me out and cut me open.’: Woman gives birth to baby born sleeping, ‘I wondered if I’d ever pull myself out of the darkness’

“As soon as the wand hit my belly, we all knew. ‘I’m so sorry.’ In one breath, she let us know I needed to make my way up to Labor and Delivery. I’d already lost 2.5 liters of blood and it was not slowing down. I turned to my mom and said, ‘I am just so tired, all I want to do is sleep.’ I heard one of the doctors say, ‘We WILL NOT take her uterus’ and then I was out. The next thing I knew, I was waking up. The nurse handed him to me. Perfectly formed with 10 fingers and toes, no heartbeat.”

‘I got ‘the call’ no parent ever wants to get. My son lay crumpled on the side of a road. He spoke in a voice that wasn’t his.’: Man makes miracle recovery after motorcycle accident, ‘It’s a blessing to have him here’

“There were wires, tubes, a neck brace. Both arms looked contorted, and he had gashes on his leg. He didn’t know where he was or what had happened. He said things that were out of character for him and spoke in a voice that wasn’t even his.”

‘My fingertips gripped the vinyl. It felt like hot rubber band snaps. My mom had to hold me down. For a child who doesn’t understand, it’s torture.’: Woman with port wine stain advocates for ‘torture’ pain control

“As we walked toward the doctor’s office, the fear made my body cold. I would feel my anxiety bubbling up, making it harder to breathe. I wanted to pull away from my mom. Stop getting closer. I became aware infants and children are still treated without any pain control. ‘They just swaddle them and do the treatment really fast,’ I was told. Babies? How could anyone do this? ‘It doesn’t really hurt.’ Reading this made me want to vomit. The memories of the pain and being held down is so visceral for me.”

‘My mom said, ‘You have to leave. I’ll kill myself if you stay in this house with us.’ I was given one week.’: Woman overcomes neglect, eating disorder, ‘I wake up every day and choose recovery’

“When I had my first period, I felt I was confessing to a huge crime. I asked her, ‘Why?’ She simply said, ‘Out of sight, out of mind.’ I moved into a rundown bed where nobody spoke English. There was no lock on the front door and I frequently saw and heard people doing drugs on the roof of my bedroom.”

‘You’re the 5th person to overdose by 3 p.m. today. You’re the lucky one,’ the nurse said. My grandma saw me turning blue. I didn’t feel lucky.’: Woman addicted to heroin gets clean, ‘There are not enough words of gratitude. I would have missed it all.’

“The only time I was high enough was if I was close to an overdose. He shoved the gun into my temple and screamed at my using buddy to give him the money. To be honest, at that moment, I wish he would have pulled the trigger. My arm was swollen four times its normal size the next morning. One person held me while the other drained my arm. I was just going to do a little bit and then go pick my daughters up from daycare.”

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