“We may be a species apart, but breastfeeding connected us today in a once in a lifetime moment that will stay with me forever.”
Today A Zoo Orangutan Offered Support While I Breastfed My Son
‘She placed her hand on my belly and shouted ‘PREGNANT! PREGNANT! PREGNANT!’ I never met this woman before in my life.’: Woman becomes pregnant with rainbow baby after ‘five years of praying for our family to grow’
“For some reason, I wanted to be a young mom–fit, fashionable, and in the prime of life. I was doing all the pregnancy math. If we get pregnant at this time and it takes nine months to cook, then we’d have the baby at this perfect time. After several months of trying, I started to get a little worried.”
‘You died while we were sleeping. We were merely a few feet down the hall. When we woke to the puppy crying, you were ice cold.’: Mom loses military son to fentanyl overdose, ‘I had no idea how hard it was for you’
“We didn’t know when we went to bed, and you told us you loved us, it would be the last time we saw you alive. You didn’t know either. You only wanted care from the VA. Did you know the priority mail envelope that contained your hearing appointment was finally delivered to me, 4 months after you died? Yeah, you can’t make this up. We applied because of your pain.”
‘My son makes fun of the autistic boy in his class and it’s hilarious!’ You could hear a pin drop. We stopped our giggling, and turned to her.’: Mom of son with autism raises awareness about adult bullying
“I immediately thought I must not have heard her incorrectly. No one would think this, let alone say it out loud. She continued without fear. ‘My son has the whole act down. He covers his ears, repeats words, and even does a hand twitch! He has the flap down perfectly.’ My stomach dropped. I started repeating to myself, ‘Do not cry. Do not cry.’ I willed myself to hold it together. My son covers his ears. My son’s hands twitch. My son flaps his hands. And one of my greatest fears is he will be bullied for it.”
‘You should feel lucky to be with me. No one else would love you.’ My first year of marriage wasn’t ‘rough.’ It was hell.’: Woman leaves ‘prince charming’ abuser to advocate for others, ‘I feel freer than I ever have in my life.’
“‘How much longer are you willing to live like this?’ My mind screamed. This CHRISTIAN counselor was introducing the option of me leaving my husband. ‘He is a narcissist. This won’t stop.’ He was driving extremely fast and irresponsibly down the highway. I was crying, begging him to stop. Then he’d take pride in being the one to ‘comfort’ me. I didn’t believe in divorce. What were my options? Lifelong suffering? It dawned on me – I was being treated horribly. I deserved so much better.”
‘Some days, I’m not even a human. I’m a crystal ball to ask, ‘Where’s my other sock? What’s for dinner?’: Mom shares touching proof ‘invisible mothers’ are ‘seen’ after friend’s act of kindness
“No one can see if I’m on the phone, cooking, sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner. Some days I’m only a pair of hands, nothing more! ‘Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?’ I’m a clock to ask, ‘What time is it?’ A satellite guide to answer, ‘What number is the Disney Channel?’ I’m the invisible mom.”
‘Is there something wrong with you? How can a little girl not be loved by her own mother? It sucks being judged, walking on eggshells.’: To the woman who doesn’t have a great relationship with her mom, ‘It’s a lonely road, but there is hope’
“This is your reality. Your mother is more like a long distant cousin. Your friends bond with their moms over ‘The Bachelor.’ They could talk for hours about decorating the same way Joanna Gaines does. But you can’t do that. Your mom barely has a maternal bone in her body. She dropped you off at college and barely hugged you goodbye, thankful you were finally out of her house.”
‘Why am I so excited to leave work just to go home to an empty home and spend Friday alone, again?’: Woman urges to find ‘true friends,’ not the ones who ‘pass judgement’
“I definitely don’t want to hang out with the friend who tells me my husband walked about because there was obviously something wrong with me. My best friend, my soul sister, told me ‘I can’t even keep my life together’ because I was not able to keep my marriage together. Ouch.”
‘One more thing,’ she said. ‘What?’ the pastor replied. ‘I want to be buried with a fork in my hand.’ His eyes welled with tears.’: Woman shares life advice, reminds us ‘the best is yet to come’
“In all my years of attending socials and dinners, I always remember that when the main course was being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, ‘Keep your fork.’ It was my favorite part because I knew something better was coming, like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. The next time you reach down for your fork let it remind you, the best is yet to come.”
‘Not today, honey, Mommy doesn’t feel good.’ I was lying, manipulating, hiding how much I was drinking. I had terrible anxiety.’: Woman relapses due to brother’s ‘tragedy’ cancer diagnosis, insists ‘relapse is not a death sentence. You can come back stronger than ever!’
“I blacked out, refusing to leave the shop. My husband had to carry me out. I woke up to use the bathroom the next day, but I didn’t make it. I fainted. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced. I panicked. ‘I can’t see!’ My temperature was dropping. He called an ambulance. My parents had just brought our kids home and here I was, being taken out on a stretcher. I could not make my children witness such a horror. I HAD TO STOP.”