Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
Brandon Coming Out
“You can’t tell me how to live my life!” he screamed through his tears as he slammed his bedroom door. For the last few days, that’s how nearly every conversation with his mother had ended, with sobs and isolation. He hated it. He wanted out. But being only 15, there was nowhere else to go.
By Logan Sohma9 years ago in Families
Understanding the Effects of Addiction on the Family
Addiction is a disease that has a profound effect on everyone that it touches. No one wakes up one day and decides that they want to become addicted to drugs or alcohol. It’s a complex combination of genetics and life experiences that will, ultimately, lead someone to become dependent on substances.
By Aeden Smith-Ahearn9 years ago in Families
2 Girls, One Cup, and My Innocent Son
My true story of parental negligence. The First Sign of Trouble This is the very sick story of my ten-year-old son and "Two girls, one cup." If you have no idea what this is you are a very lucky person. Do yourself a favor and skip googling it, it is for your own good. It all started when I found messages from an older woman on my son’s tablet. She was attempting to get my ten-year-old son into video chat to show him her “new panties.” As a mother, I was furious and of course wanted to kill this woman. Recognizing I wasn't interested in “hard time in the joint,” I instead blocked her from my son’s social media account. It was a very innocent instant message from a girl who he had chatted with regularly and it popped up when I was using his tablet one day. I pretended I was him because I was attempting to find out who this person was. Very quickly she started talking about the new panties she bought today. That pales in comparison to where this message led me.
By Sherrie Pogue9 years ago in Families
How to Create an Emergency Plan for Older Parents
I have recently babysat my friend’s toddlers because she had to tend to her mother who suffered a domestic accident. Unfortunately, she was severely hurt. After dealing with the aftermath of this event, my friend realized that her mother is unable to properly take care of herself and that she also has great difficulty in accepting her condition.
By Andrea Dawson9 years ago in Families
Grieving Through the Holidays
I lost my mom in 2015. Since then, no holiday has been the same. In the beginning, you go through the motions, robotically doing what you’re “supposed to do” and, as time goes by, you learn to cope without them. The hardest one for me is Christmas, and with it being more than a few short days away, I feel her absence even more.
By Leah Burton9 years ago in Families
Becoming a Mom
The day my life changed forever. My pregnancy was very rough on me, if there’s any moms reading this, I hope you can relate to the morning sickness. Oh my god it was rough. The first 13 weeks of my pregnancy I did nothing but stay in the bathroom day and night. Had to go to the hospital three times for IV fluids... very rough... but having her was an experience that I can’t describe! My labor was rough. She was my first. It was a hard six hours of back labor and contractions... but only a ten minute push! After I had her the emotions I had were unreal! Heard of the emotional roller coaster? Well, that’s what it was like for me. It didn’t feel like she was mine... it didn’t feel like I just had a baby... it felt like a movie... all I wanted to do was go home. I wanted to take her and go home. But she was having problems and had to be put under the lizard light, which is what I called it, and she wasn’t eating.. all she wanted to do was sleep. From the moment I found out I was pregnant I wanted to breastfeed and I know there’s a lot of different thoughts on it but this was my choice and it was hard. It took us over a month to get the hang of it. And we went through it all...thrush... cracked/bleeding nipples problems with latching... you name it, we went through it. I was ready to give up, it was super painful, but I pushed through and we are still going to this day! She’s ten months and it’s a bond I can never lose with her.
By Morgan Hatley9 years ago in Families
'Brian, Santa is Coming to Town' - Christmas Story
On Christmas Eve, Honey and Brian were sitting on the sofa by the log stove in the cottage, waiting for his uncle and aunt to come home from walking the dogs, as they loved the snow more than Brian did. He was not even sure why or he couldn’t remember why the reason was. His uncle always knew why, but he didn’t want to remind him of it, especially when he just came out of the hospital from the attack the other day. He was kind enough to Brian that he took Scout out for his walk with his wife and their two husky dogs; Scout didn’t want to leave Brian more and more often since the accident. He was guarding him from everything and everyone but Brian reassured him that he’d be safe when he came home.
By Lizzy Arrow9 years ago in Families
Blue Flowers and Teddy Bears
I remember the cold feeling of the plastic highchair and eating sticky cheerios (sticky 'cause most of them had already been in my toddler-sized mouth) while watching from the doorway of the kitchen across to the den where my cousins were spread out on the floor playing Operation. I remember the sound of the buzzer going off every few minutes and being startled by the loud buzzing each time one of them missed and hit the silver sides. I remember asking my aunt over and over and over again when I could go home to Mommy and Daddy and being told the same thing every time... soon. I remember crying at the answer.
By Jessica Grice9 years ago in Families
