Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
The Crown Between Them
The palace had never felt so quiet. For decades, it had been a place of ceremony, tradition, and carefully measured words. Every step mattered. Every glance carried meaning. But behind the polished doors and historic walls, it was still a home—one that had slowly grown divided.
By Behind the Curtain2 months ago in Families
Caring for Aging Parents as an Only Child: What No One Warns You About
Caring for Aging Parents as an Only Child: What No One Warns You About When there are no siblings to share the decisions, caregiving requires more than love. It requires planning, boundaries, and a support system you build intentionally.
By Jose Mejia2 months ago in Families
The Thing About Cancer...
The thing about cancer is that everyone believes they understand it until it finds someone they love. Before my mother became ill, cancer was something I had only heard about through fundraisers, awareness campaigns, and stories on the evening news. I knew it was devastating. I knew people died from it every day. I knew families gathered around hospital beds and prayed for miracles. Like most people, I believed I understood the weight of the word.
By Megan Janousek2 months ago in Families
Baby Clothes
I have always believed I would have a family one day. I always wanted a child, even as a young woman. What I wanted was a son. Don’t ask me why—a son and not a daughter. I have no clue. The idea of having a daughter never entered my head. It was always so.
By Alexandra Grant2 months ago in Families
A Walk with Papa
The crunch of hay echoes in the hollow space of the barn. I can barely hear my dad and the farmer chatting outside, something about the water rising in the heat of summer. It isn’t warm now, quite the opposite, with the frost creeping in with ease through the spaces made by moisture in the wood panels over the course of a hundred years.
By Kaitlin Ball2 months ago in Families
Lost Trails
She stared transfixed at the bloated body. She waited for it to move, but she saw no signs of life. It lay propped up in an odd position, as if reclining against a pile of branches. There was no one to call for help. She was alone with it, him? There was only the sound of gas escaping from decomposition. She was frozen in place. She needed to move away and get to an adult. She hadn’t encountered a horror like this in her whole entire life. She couldn’t look away, so she’d have to reason with this monster. The whole area smelled so strange, too different.
By Twyla Wren2 months ago in Families
The Man, The Woman and Their Children
We can find the foundation of law and government in how a father and mother handle their children through the years of their childhood. Their sense of justice toward them—how they teach, discipline, forgive, and reward—deeply reflects their acceptance and diligence toward the law of their nation. If the parents are fair, measured, and merciful, then the children grow in the likeness of a free people. But if they rule by fear or neglect, so too will their nation falter, for tyranny begins in the smallest home before it reaches the highest office.
By Chase McQuade2 months ago in Families
Am I nesting yet?
I'm officially in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy, and the heartburn serves as a great reminder that the day I get to hold my daughter in my arms is creeping ever closer. I find myself trying to prepare for something that's somewhat impossible to prepare for. After all, you can't really understand what childbirth is going to be like until you go through it. You won't know what it's like to raise a child until you try to raise one.
By Jessica Freeborn2 months ago in Families
