Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in Families.

Found Money
As I entered the hallway to my father’s office, I flipped the light switch. This lit up a series of cheap fluorescent lights, one of which was making that annoying buzzing sound, heralding its last days of illumination.
By Kathleen Langone5 years ago in Families
Something You Don’t Know
She licks her thumb and presses the spine flat. His old black book, his old habit — she’d nearly forgotten. “No one came by today. I haven’t seen the kids or grandkids in a few weeks now. It’s almost dinner time. The usual for me. A few telemarketers called. Bananas. I can’t forget my bananas at the grocery store.”
By Alyson Kate Long5 years ago in Families
Something Amazing Happened To Meagan
The blistering sun was beaming at her face when she woke up and looked around her. Fiercely shaking, she could not feel her face! It was completely numb from the wintry weather. She glanced in the rearview mirror and spotted her frostnip nose. She felt ruined and defeated that morning. Her body was sore from sleeping in the car. It was not just another bad day for her; it was one of the awfullest moments in her life. To make matters worse, stranded outside her motel room. She had left her key inside the room and had tried calling every number that was available to her.
By Maritza Alston5 years ago in Families
Sickness and diabetes
In the two years of learning about diabetes to help my son Jaxon through diabetes. I have learnt that sicknesses can mess with sugar levels whether it will go high or low. Just recently Jaxon ended up getting sick without me knowing he was sick until his sugars kept rising and no matter how many corrections I had given him he wouldn’t come down. I then changed his insulin pump lines and still couldn’t bring it down so because his sugars are high his ketones went up to 3.7 overnight. Jaxon then got up in the night vomiting and urinating more because of the high sugars and high ketones. I then had to take him to the hospital for them to help me they then had to put in a temporary basal and increase his insulin rate at the time as he continues to go up even without food. We spent all day at the hospital trying to help this beautiful 4-year-old boy. Jaxon was then needed to be persuaded to drink as he was scared it was going to come back out of his mouth (his words).
By Tanika Stimpson5 years ago in Families
Keeping Secrets Of A Little Black Book
As if on cue, the raindrop universe began exploding on impact. One planet at a time, and then, almost simultaneously, the phone drops from my hand as I begin convulsing on the floor. I wake up from the strangest dreams of post apocalyptic living in the droplet universe and realize I'm in a hospital bed. All of a sudden alarms of some sort go off after being recoiled back down and I notice the handcuffs that were chaining me to the bed. The tall and striking figure of Detective Reid strolled through the door of the room. Through dry lips and glazed, tired eyes, he demands, "When will enough be enough for you young lady?! When you're paralyzed in a coma or buried in the ground? Well I'm afraid it's time for some tough love now. I can't save you from your self-sabotage but you sure can. You have two choices,
By Tieara Hall5 years ago in Families
No Fairytale
Nanna’s voice echoed in her head, “It’s going to be alright baby, God will get us through, somehow.” Cassie can't help but feel everything is far from being alright. How could Nanna of all people, even believe what she was saying. They were officially on their own and for the first time in 7 years she was feeling like she had when she lost her parents in the accident. This feeling took her back to remembering her parents in the front seats of the car. They were there singing their hearts out as the light turned green not knowing this would be their last. They pressed forward, then what felt like milliseconds later were t-boned by a truck, causing them to spin into a light pole which instantly took the front passengers. Cassie, herself was knocked unconscious by the blow but reclaimed consciousness unlike her parents.
By Sharice Wells5 years ago in Families
The Truth
The room moved in a blur as people moved around. Lisa stood in the corner of the room in deep observation, watching all the vague acquaintances walk around and play the sympathy game. It was the funeral of her father yet, Lisa felt nothing. Lisa always thought the actions of crying people at a funeral were overrated. She knew more than half of them in attendance did not even care about her dad's passing. When he was alive, her father was a strict and calloused man. He was the type to never share his feelings, always demanded perfection and believed he was always right.
By Franyka Frederick5 years ago in Families
Heading to the Butterfly Ball
Catherine was born when her egg hatched on the underside of a milkweed plant in a Rocky Mountain meadow. At first she was about the size of a pin head but grew rapidly over several days in the cool spring air. She had a huge appetite and the more she munched on the delicious milkweed plant leaves the faster she grew. In the early mornings she sipped the fresh dew drops left on the leaves from the night before. She grew so quickly that she had to shed her furry green and black stripped skin several times to grow coats more fitting. She was Catherine the Caterpillar and she was heading to the Butterfly Ball. It was time to dress herself in something more appropriate for a grand ball. She wove herself inside of a silken gossamer dressing chamber attached to the underside of a twig. Inside her chamber she was undergoing an amazing metamorphosis. She grew long delicate legs and majestic orange luminous wings highlighted with dark black markings and white dots. She emerged from her chrysalis a beautiful sight to behold. She was Catherine the Monarch Butterfly and she was heading to the Butterfly Ball.
By Jerry Fisher5 years ago in Families
My Father's House. Top Story - March 2021.
I am standing in the house my father built. The rooms are cold, as they always were. The myth of California is that it’s always warm. Instead, the damp gets inside of you until your skin crawls. The heat was never turned on in my father’s house.
By Louis Chalif5 years ago in Families
The book and the bay leaf
I was in my father's study after the funeral, his funeral. I'd love to stay here, but it wasn't safe living in this big house all alone. So this afternoon I'd be going to live with my Aunt Cassie till I was old enough to live on my own. My Aunt Cassie was my only living relative, and she seemed nice enough, even though I've only met her once or twice before. My father was a very rich man, but we were close. So no one was surprised that all of his inheritance went to me, but Aunt Cassie was conviced that I had to live at her house, she wasn't big on moving to other places, hinse why I never saw her.
By setrocks5 years ago in Families
My Sister's Gifts
With only two days until my final ceremony at Claredon Hill Middle School, Christine finally found time to go graduation dress-shopping with me. It was the first sunny afternoon after two weeks of gray skies and endless drizzling, so North Michigan Avenue was packed with pedestrians. We had just walked out of Saks Fifth Avenue, where Christine had asked the woman to put a pale blue dress on hold for me.
By Tina Gao5 years ago in Families
Shadows In The Hall
Chapter 7 The Shadow of Death…. The loss of my mother. Shortly after we moved from the boy’s camp, my birth Mother became quite ill, with extreme shortness of breath. Her condition became so exacerbated that she was admitted to Palo Alto Hospital. She was diagnosed with Mitral Valve Failure for which she received a Pig Valve replacement.
By Linda Pavlos5 years ago in Families