“This was no ‘ear infection.’ How could I not have known? The walk to the hospital was silent. When we got to his room, he was still warm. It was the first time we’d seen him without tape, monitors, and wires all over. He was absolutely beautiful. I cried and kissed his cheeks. ‘I’m so proud of you. You were so strong. Thank you for letting me be your mommy.’ I cuddled him like I did the first day he was born. I gave him one final kiss, and handed him to his daddy.”
‘It’s time to let go.’ They wrapped him in his Superman blanket. Daddy held his little boy, for the last time.’: Couple lose first child to extremely rare YARS2 disorder, ‘Every single day we miss his smell, his little personality’
‘I called my mom to tell her about my dream. ‘Maybe you’re pregnant.’ I took a test. Two faint lines.’: Woman with alopecia elated over surprise pregnancy after public miscarriage
“In a Target bathroom, I took a pregnancy test. I just knew. I cried by myself in that stall, holding my belly, hoping everything would be okay this time. I kept the secret from my husband for 3 days to surprise him.”
‘I drove by the cemetery where I buried my best friend. I walked briskly to the place I remembered, but couldn’t find his headstone. Hot, surging anger coursed through my body.’
“I paced a few hundred yards along the plot, sure it was there. But none of the names on the headstones were his. My anger brought a prick of tears to my eyes. Grief struck. Maybe it was the next plot over? But the next plot didn’t reveal his headstone either.”
‘I cried and wept uncontrollably because of how he was going to be made fun of, and thought of as less or not worthy. I never want my child to feel that hurt and pain. The sadness was so deep, it crushed my soul.’
“I know something about one of the children you don’t. You see two children holding hands and playing on a playground. Nothing special, just cute as usual. Children playing like they usually do, like they should be doing. But it is so much more than just that.”
‘It took both of these trucks to get your Amazon order delivered today.’ That simmered in my brain for a while. ‘April Fools!’: Woman plays prank on husband, ‘Honey, they are empty’
“I buy all of our household goods on Amazon. We typically get a box or two every week, but sometimes it’s more. My husband has made comments about how many boxes we get. I thought, ‘Now wouldn’t it be funny if he came home and there were boxes all over the place!’ I started saving boxes.”
‘I imagined my father-daughter dance being perfect. But, he couldn’t hear the words. He cried the entire time. Not tears of joy. But, of sadness and disappointment.’
“My dad anxiously waited to hear. My mom, sisters, and I said the words: ‘I love you.’ Words he never heard his children say. But my dad broke down and cried. He cried, because he COULDN’T hear.”
‘At 60 years old, my mother said, ‘Oh, I love being pregnant!’ We laughed. She couldn’t have a baby, could she?’: LGBT couple welcome baby after sister donates eggs, grandmother volunteers as surrogate
“We mentioned we needed a surrogate during a big family dinner. If you’re taking names, put mine in the hat!’ We laughed lovingly at the unrealistic gesture, alternating between pure excitement and terror. Then the doctor told us, ‘Her uterus is beautiful.’ Our far-fetched idea was now a soon-to-be-real daughter with a name: Uma Louise.”
‘This is how her ‘boyfriend’ shows her he loves her. He is on the run. Her children are in CPS custody. Our family is devastated.’: Mom shares daughter’s drastic condition to warn other girls who are ‘headed in this direction’
“This is my middle daughter, Jessica. She is on life support as a result of Domestic Violence. Her body is covered with bruises, her head has large knots, and she was strangled to death. We are waiting to see if we will have our beautiful lady back.”
‘I watched my dad get taken by the police. I was playing in the neighbor’s yard. The officers crept up MY DRIVEWAY. I I hugged onto his legs, begging him not to go.’
“When asked about my parents, I’d lie. My go-to story was, ‘My parents work out of state, that’s why they can’t be here.’ How could I tell these kids the truth? How does a 3rd grader explain the hell they’ve been through?”
‘Casey had no idea what was happening to the woman he married. He thought I was no longer happy in our marriage. All he wanted was the woman he married. I could not do this one thing.’
“I became very closed off and did not want to communicate with my husband, the one I was supposed to be sharing my life with. I felt like I was letting him down, when in reality all he wanted from me was the woman he married.”