Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
My Child Is Not Broken
"She doesn't look autistic," says the well-meaning person. "If I didn't know, I wouldn't even be able to tell," she says again as to lend me some sort of comfort in the appearance of my child. "What does 'autistic' look like?" I wonder to myself as I smile and say something passive such as "well she is". I know they mean the best. I know they want to help. They don't see her cry and cover her ears in shear terror because she can't find the things she had strategically placed. They don't notice her, outwardly shutter at the thought of a change in our everyday routine. I do. I am here when the dark clouds roll in and the ear-piercing screams begin. I have watched her watch 18 hours of a single Netflix show and endured hell when they removed it. I have sung the same song or commercial jingle over and over until I wanted to poke pencils deep into my ears to make it stop. But no, she doesn't LOOK autistic.
By Aleea Whitmire8 years ago in Families
A Little About Me
New day. I'm feeling good, overall. I have three boys, 15, 12 ½, and 11. I am truly blessed to have been with my husband for the years we have been together. We met when I was 18, fresh out of high school. Well, I was about to graduate when we met, but we started dating that fall when I started college.
By Silvia Quiroz8 years ago in Families
Calmează
The woman fell down on the bed as soon as the front door closed. The last client had been rough; he had hit her a little too hard, and now she had a small bruise on her cheek. She lit a cigarette and spat into the mold-ridden sink that occupied her bathroom. She looked at her face in the mirror. It was an old face, a face ridden with guilt and broken promises, with abuse and regret. She picked a scab on her forehead and the dead skin fell into the sink, followed by a small drop of blood. She picked up the towel resting on the toilet, examining to make sure there were no suspicious substances on it as she wet it and pressed it to her face. A flick of her finger landed a clump of ash onto the old carpet, and with that she strutted over to the kitchen with a sigh.
By Daniel Hudson8 years ago in Families
Eleventh Grade
I live in what is quite possibly the whitest neighborhood ever. I'm not kidding. A local publication did this analysis of every neighborhood in my city, ranking them on affordability, diversity, those sorts of things—and mine ranked in the bottom 10 percent for just having so many white people. An elderly piano teacher (white, of course) used to live across the street and gave my mom lessons when she had her midlife crisis and bought a keyboard. She was the neighborhood gossip, and always had some tidbit of information to give my mom when she crossed the street to practice her scales. Being the un-diverse suburb that it is, where most of the residents are either eighty or eight, most of it was pretty boring stuff. Whose sister is in town, whose daughter going to what college—that kind of thing. But that didn't stop her from outfitting her entire front wall with glass just so she could see what the neighbors were up to. I've always wondered what she thought about the events of last fall when my family started to devolve in an extremely dramatic and public way. She moved away before I could ask her.
By Misunderstood Ninja8 years ago in Families
Being Gay (How Does My Family React to This?)
My family consists of diverse religious views. My mother is a Roman Catholic while my father is a Muslim. In that case, as a child with a "peculiar behavior" as they quote it, it is hard to act as an individual in the community (as I was afraid being judged by other people).
By Libra Giovanni8 years ago in Families
Young Mama Shit Story
Hello, all. First and foremost, my name is Maria and if you could not tell by the title of this post, I am in fact, a young mom. Long story short, I met my now-husband, then-conflicting boyfriend in 2015. Five months later, I was a pregnant senior in high school. Yes, I know that escalated quickly. I’ll probably leave the long story for another time.
By Maria Marino8 years ago in Families
Godparents - The Orthodox Version
Here you are visiting your best friend's house. Both she and her spouse are excited to have you there. There is a special reason for you to be there today. She is pregnant with either a boy/girl. Her partying days with you are officially over. They sit down, offer you something to drink and eat, and then they ask you...
By Girl in a paranormal world8 years ago in Families
Part 1-a: Alli
Spring Break 1998 This afternoon it was a tan line, but now it was starting to look more like a sun burn. The young man sitting next to her in the sand tipped his plastic cup up and swallowed the last drops of tequila. He dropped it in the small pile of empty cups at their feet and turned to put his arm around her.
By Kathryn Brown8 years ago in Families
Unique and Sweet Baby Girl Names
I’ve always been obsessed with names. Like, not just a little but like spending my free time searching and searching the internet for baby names. I don’t just like any old name. I’m very specific on the names that I’ve chosen and I’m proud of my list! I don’t have any children of my own yet but I definitely will eventually. You will see that some names have middle names with them and some don't. That is only because for some names I found middle names that I like and for some names I haven’t yet! Without any further ado here is my list of baby girl names that I love and the reasons behind them. The list is in no particular order other than the order in which I’ve thought of them!
By Jennifer Lichti8 years ago in Families
