“We can all become overwhelmed with the negativity in the world. From my experience during cancer I can tell you there is so much good. My support even came from strangers.”
‘I wore red lipstick during my mastectomy. The nurses joked I looked ‘too good’ for somebody having surgery. I had a huge party the night before. I bought a wig to look like Britney Spears!’
‘I received a text. ‘I know you guys said you aren’t taking any new placements, but we have twins with nowhere to go due to limited beds.’: Student inspires teacher to become foster mom, ‘Our day had finally come’
“I must have read that text a million times. I called my husband and told him about the twins and how my heart and gut was telling me to say yes to this placement. He simply said, ‘I trust you and if you’re okay with it, I am okay with it.’ It was time to stop waiting and make a difference.”
‘During our photo shoot, a man screamed, ‘Dirty terrorists! Leave my country!’ He was an older gentleman, and looked absolutely disheveled, pointing at us. We were caught off guard.’
“He pulled out his privates while giving us the middle finger. We were shocked, mortified, and disgusted by what we had seen. But we are professionals at what we do. We continued on with our shoot. The man started approaching closer and closer.”
‘Not all of us have washboard stomachs in bikinis when their baby is 1-year-old. Some of us still look a pregnant, some of us have muscle separation that won’t heal without surgery. AND THAT IS OK!’
“When I look at my children, I feel invincible. I grew them, I birthed them, and I have the scars to prove it. Talk to yourself as if you’re the most important person in the world, because to little humans, you are.”
‘Just be a good boy and relax,’ he said. He was my teacher. Other men watched. Next was a priest and a trio of monks. I was 11 and my parents didn’t know.’
“I put on my backpack, left school, and walked across the street. I was surprised to be greeted by two smiling men who didn’t offer me a Coke, but real alcohol. I was flattered to be included in such grown-up activity. All three of us got into the car. I was naïve to their motives.”
‘Hours shy of our wedding, at 5 months pregnant, I was assaulted. ‘I don’t know what is wrong with me.’ My fiancé begged me to forgive him.’: Woman files for divorce with 3 children, now living their ‘best life’ together
“My fiancé sat in the fetal position, berating himself. With 3 children, I filed for divorce. It meant food stamps. We all shared the same bed. I decided to do the craziest thing – leave a stable job to fly for the airlines. Single moms don’t do that, right? As I shut down the engine, I could hear my kids yelling, ‘Mommy!’ I was NOT broken.”
‘I bet you’re glad someone actually wanted you.’ Black? Adopted by a white, Mennonite family?’: Adopted woman finally accepts she’s ‘innately enough’ after years of torment for ‘mixed-race’ family
“I’m 7 when a stranger approaches, points. ‘Who does she belong to?’ ‘Where are your real parents?’ I’m 12 and a group of boys spit on me, call me racist slurs. My crush’s mom tells me he isn’t allowed to be with people ‘like me.’ I can’t sleep. ‘You’re not really black.’ ‘You can’t really be Mennonite.’ I’m just now learning to be gentle with myself, and my past.”
‘I can tell by the tears in your eyes no one has believed you, have they?,’ he asked. ‘No, they haven’t.’ He then replied, ‘Well I believe you.’ I had felt like a crazy person.’
“This man was 11 years older than me. We ended up getting married. I felt pressured into this marriage, as if I had no other option. So I did. He had dark secrets. I remember screaming for help. But no one would.”
‘I came downstairs to 3 missed calls. The hotel staff found my husband unconscious at 32. No warning. My love was there one second, gone the next.’: Wife suddenly loses husband to heart disease after collapsing on treadmill
“I remember him grabbing his bags to head out on his business trip, swinging them around his shoulder, and walking up to me at the island where I was making breakfast. He kissed me and told me he loved me. That would be the last time I would ever see him.”
‘WHAT ABOUT THIS MONTH. LETS GET MARRIED?!’ Part of me was kidding. I walked down the aisle as a 17-year-old, wiped my tears.’: Teen mom now mother to 10 kids, ‘We’re living BIG!’
“‘Don’t settle. 17-year-old’s aren’t supposed to get married! You’ll ruin your life!!’ We’d fantasized about an early June wedding at sunset the following year. Life roared to a halt. ‘Pregnant,’ it read. Wife I was ready for, but mother?! ‘I’m not supposed to be a mama yet!’ Reality hit. ‘We’ve found your son to be several weeks premature. We’ve also discovered a mass.’ Oh our hearts. I can feel the shatter to this day. At 29, we welcomed our 10th precious baby at home.”