Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
The Dark Days of Motherhood
There are so many dark days of motherhood. And for me, there have been a lot of them in the past few weeks. This week being particularly bad. A couple of days ago, it was one of those days where you have to put your child in their crib and let them cry. Because if you don't, you feel like you just might lose it. And you know what I did during the 20 minutes I let my beautiful one and a half year old daughter cry? I sat in my backyard and sobbed into a towel. Feeling like a fucking failure. Because she had been crying for six hours, and nothing I had done made her feel any better.
By Shana Nizeul9 years ago in Families
Life of a Stay at Home Wife and Mother
As a stay at home wife and mother of a three-year-old, I can tell you that it is the most rewarding experience of my life. I love being able to take care of my daughter and be at home to have dinner ready for my husband every night. Although I love every aspect of it, it is anything but glamorous.
By R Williams9 years ago in Families
Thin Lips
I had always liked smoking. The slender cigarette burning slowly as you watch the glowing red tip working closer to your face as if it were eating its way to your mouth. The smoke however, was my favorite part, how you'd let the grey mist seep out from thin lips, looking like the fog that spills over onto an open field during a rainy day. To be honest I wouldn't actually say I enjoyed smoking entirely, the only aspect that drew me in was the silkiness of the smoke, how it lofted through the air in front of me then dissipated as if it had never even been there.
By Matt Knobloch9 years ago in Families
My Induction Horror Story
Every pregnant woman will tell you the last few weeks of pregnancy are the longest. You want to meet your baby so badly, and you are so, so, soooo tired of being pregnant! I was huge. I was ready. I was four days away from my due date. We woke up early on October 27, 2009. We had stayed up all night talking about our baby and how nervous/excited we were to meet him and I should have been tired but I wasn't. I was completely full of energy for the first time in months.
By Felicia Hippler9 years ago in Families
Life as a Daughter of Agent Orange, Part 3
I was quite unsure of which path to take this story down after part two; there are so many memories that are scrambling in my head and the emotions of each memory paralyze the nerves in my hands, preventing me from typing this next part. There is a video on Facebook showing a father teaching his little girl the right way to express her emotions, especially when she is upset. Whilst watching the video, I came to realize, if I had been taught as she has now been taught, my life would be completely different. I would not have bottled up over a decade's worth of raw emotions only to have it expressed in harmful ways such as cutting or having suicidal thoughts. I would also like to think that, if my dad had never been exposed to Agent Orange, I would have had a more stable emotional development. Some parts of my story may be shocking.
By Elizabeth Kozlowski9 years ago in Families
My Story
25 years old. Single mom to two amazing children. Trying to figure out life and feeling like a failure. That’s where I’m at with my life; wondering where all my dreams and plans that I had in high school went, wondering where the happy-go-lucky 17-year-old about to start college, majoring in teaching, went and where this 25-year-old adult struggling with depression and anxiety came from. Somewhere along the way, life had other plans for me, and I’m still trying to figure out exactly what those plans are.
By Rachel Smith9 years ago in Families
The Toddler Life
No one told me sharing or teaching a toddler would be hard. You know what, scratch that, no one told me raising a toddler was going to be hard. I figured it would be a breeze. I thought raising a toddler would be something like off a TV show. I had this little world where my son would listen to me, finish every meal, and have no problem eating his fruit and veggies (we're working on this). Raising a toddler isn't that bad, if you figure it out. Every toddler is very different in their own little personality way, but I try to make the best of it in our own little lane. Our good outweighs the little satanic tantrum moments. I'll give you the greatest moments, since learning how to raise an in-tune human being.
By Gayle Lebus9 years ago in Families
Toxic Family
It seems nowadays many of us have issues with our family members that either force us to walk on egg shells around them or avoid them entirely. We prefer to skip out on holiday gatherings and screen our relative’s phone calls and texts like they're bill collectors. There are some people who can’t be around their family without experiencing a strong sense of anxiety and others whose relatives are a major cause of their depression. Perhaps they have a father whose substance abuse made growing up more difficult than need be, a sibling who bullied them to the point where they have developed self-esteem issues, or an overly critical and emotionally detached mother who makes them feel worthless and unloved. Question is, how do you handle it and do what is best for you?
By EJ Shannon9 years ago in Families
Infertility and Our Journey to a Forever Family
I was just like any girl, always dreaming of the day to finally get married and have children. I had the names of both boy and girl picked out back in high school. Once I had actually typed the names all on a piece of paper and I kept it in my purse. Back in high school my worst fear was not being able to have children. It is almost like I had a feeling I would never have a child. I remember telling my mom one time “Mom, I want kids so bad, I bet I won’t be able to conceive”. She said “don’t say that Stephanie”. I guess when you want something all of your life you wonder if it will actually happen…
By Stephanie Geisler9 years ago in Families
