Top Stories

Stories in Families that you'll love, handpicked by our team.

That April. First Place in Dads Are No Joke Challenge. Top Story - August 2022.
“Take my air, take my lungs, my heart and my liver,” I prayed. There were mornings that April where time sped up, and I couldn’t keep up. What followed was a soundtrack of crashing and yelling and pulses keeping beat with the chaos. Tick-tick, tick-tick, tick-tick. Fragments of movements mixed with slow motion falls and quick-thinking recalls. The latter always followed by defeated phone calls.
By Christina Hunter5 years ago in Families
When a game's more than a game. Top Story - August 2022.
My daughter recently turned 18 and is on the eve of her 10-year-anniversary of being diagnosed with Type-1 diabetes. She was just 8-years-old when her (and our family's world) was turned upside down, and it's hard to believe that she's lived now with the disease longer than she hasn't.
By Cheryl Wray4 years ago in Families
Rebranding World Breastfeeding Week. Top Story - August 2022.
August 1st to 7th is World Breastfeeding Week, but I have a bit of a bone to pick with it. I think it is in desperate need of a rebrand. An image upgrade, if you will.
By Emily the Period RD4 years ago in Families
Things Father and Daughter did in the 80s.. Top Story - August 2022.
Back in the 80's life was so different. I lived in the country at this time with my family. I was the youngest. One older sister and one older brother. Me being the youngest I was daddy's little girl.
By Kerrie G.Diaz4 years ago in Families
Three Little Birds. Top Story - August 2022.
I watched my daughter, barely two days old, lay lifeless on the hospital table in front of us, struggling to breathe. “We need to get a spinal tap ASAP.” the paramedic shouted to the ER surgeon. I cried, paralyzed at that moment, praying harder than I ever have in my life. “Please, don’t let her die.” Please, don’t let her die.”
By Kathryn Mahoney4 years ago in Families
What it Really Meant to Grow Up. Top Story - August 2022.
When I was born, it was about ten years after my parents had been in a house fire that very nearly destroyed my entire family. My parents, who had both come from large families, had envisioned having five or six children themselves, but until this point, had the one-- my older brother. I can’t imagine it was easy for him, nearly 12 years old, to suddenly go from hitting all his developmental milestones as an only child, but, there you go, it was September, 1984, and I made my debut, into a weird little family that had been waiting for another baby for a long, long time.
By Rachel Collins4 years ago in Families
Brothers. Top Story - July 2022.
I grew up on an Arkansas farm where we raised pigs. I enjoyed living in the country and our house was nestled in a valley where the same dirt road that led you in was the same dirt road that led you out. It was generally a quiet place and from anywhere in the valley, even though you couldn’t see the vehicle, you could hear it quite distinctly as it traveled down the big hill into the valley. The sound of the tires rolling across the dirt sending up pings of gravel into the bottom of the car or the wheel well.
By Don Money4 years ago in Families
Return of the Stay-at-Home Dad. Top Story - July 2022.
My daughter’s mother, my ex, died. The funeral was to happen in 48 hours. I scrambled to find the quickest way back to Minnesota from Bali, Indonesia. I told my daughter to do her best with the funeral arrangements until I arrived.
By Arlo Hennings4 years ago in Families
Can We Drop the Evil Mother-in-Law Trope Already?. Top Story - July 2022.
She is the stuff that nightmares are made of. A creature so fearsome that she is the butt of jokes at weddings, a prediction of the woman we are all terrified of becoming. The mother-in-law.
By Nicole Correia4 years ago in Families
The Pearl Necklace. Top Story - July 2022.
I remember back in the 80s, when I was a girl, my mother bought her first "real" pearl necklace. She was so excited. She was a homemaker for most of her life. She never had her own money, never had a job, never had a feeling of independence. She was always at home taking care of her children. When I turned 12, this all changed.
By Kristi Flowers4 years ago in Families
Remembering Again. Top Story - July 2022.
It has taken ten years for Poppop to remember my name again. We are sitting at a table outside under string lights and stars. He is wearing a blue sweater vest and his head is still bald. I cry as he marvels at my tattoos. He tells me he would like to get some. How outlandish! How hip! He doesn't ask me why I’m crying, and I don’t register the tears until I wake up.
By Sone Kramer4 years ago in Families
The Dappy Dinky Doodler And Other Childhood Fantasies. Top Story - July 2022.
There are many things in life that mold us and make us into the people we are. Every day, every moment, every person we connect with brings another form of change to who we are meant to be.
By Kelli Sheckler-Amsden4 years ago in Families