“We had another baby, we were happy. Things were great, until they weren’t. I’ll never forget the day when I called in sick because of a bad migraine. An hour after my husband left for work, he called to tell me the bad news. He’d lost his job. He was crying, I could barely understand what he was saying.”
‘His head was in his hands. ‘I ruined everything! Call the daycare. Tell them we can’t send the kids anymore.’ I used to hide in the bathroom to cry.’: Couple supports each other through job loss, ‘This too, shall pass’
‘I just got fired. You should leave me,’ my husband’s text said. Something was very off. Strange things like him disappearing at odd times, catching him in lies, his increased anger.’
“He’d opened a private bank account where he had been hiding his lifestyle. I found countless large charges to the local casino. Angry emails. Work phone calls he had ignored. I discovered he was regularly viewing porn. I was livid. Heartbroken.”
‘No, mommy. You obey ME!’ My son was LOSING. HIS. MIND. Tears were flowing, arms flailing. He threw his sandwich on the ground in protest. All I could think was, ‘I’m failing.’
“Mom shamers lined up with judgemental eyes. The grocery line was never-ending. My friend and her sweet, well-behaved daughter began quietly cleaning up their lunch. ‘If you do it this way, they wouldn’t be acting like that.’ Within five minutes, I raised my white flag.”
‘Ladies, don’t settle. Wait. Trust. There is a man who will make you feel safe. Who will calm your fears. Who will make you feel beautiful daily. Who will fight for you.’
“Wait. Do not ever settle for less. And please – Don’t ever think you will change the heart of a man that is not these things. You can’t. You won’t.”
‘My daughter started bawling and wouldn’t let go of me. ‘All you do is sleep!’ My friends would say, ‘You’re a single mom. It’s normal to be tired.’ I knew something was wrong.’
‘It was happening at home, at work, at the grocery store. When I got home, I would give my daughter a snack and immediately go to sleep. Every time I got up to use the restroom, my heart rate would shoot up. I started teaching my 8-year-old how to call 911 if I couldn’t make it to the phone.”
‘I choked back tears when Travon told me, ‘You’re my big sister now!’ My earth shattered.’: Family adopts 3 brothers from foster care, now family of 8
“We got a call for three boys – ages 1, 3, and 4. They were brothers, and had been separated. ‘I’m glad you are not mean and never get mad. I was scared of foster parents, but not you. You never scream or cuss,’ the oldest said as my mom tucked him in. In their eyes, they were already a part of our family.”
‘I tried to put my pre-baby jeans on, and they didn’t fit. ‘You did good, babe, ’I looked at myself in the mirror and said, instead of feeling like crap.’
“I didn’t just wake up one day with my body not fitting into jeans. I didn’t just wake up with muscle separation, a saggy belly, stretch marks or a bit of extra weight. I had a freaking baby. I grew a baby. I made it in my body. I made a foot in there, an eyeball, I made another heartbeat.”
Dear Nurses, Thank You For Holding Our Hands Every Step Of The Way
“You sat with me when I couldn’t hold back the tears. You carried my mom when she was too weak to walk. You held her hand the day she died because you didn’t want her to be alone.”
‘Society to working moms: Date your spouse! It’s important to keep your relationship fresh. Hire a babysitter, they charge $22+ an hour, so take out an extra mortgage to afford this.’: Woman details working mom struggles
“Go back to work 6 weeks after having the baby. The baby you spent 9-10 months growing inside of your body. Make sure to break the glass ceiling and excel at your job – you can do anything a man can do! It is your job to show society this! Show the world that women can do it all. Rise to the top of your career.”
‘Are you going to name your children?,’ a nurse asked me. My triplets were 2 days old. They had been known as Baby A, Baby B and Baby C. The truth is, we were scared.’
“My husband and I began to brainstorm. Peyton and Parker were always our favorites. That was the easy part — Peyton and Parker were alive. Several floors below, in the hospital morgue, was our peaceful angel, only known as ‘Baby A.’ How was I supposed to name a child I only looked at for a few hours?”