Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in Families.

Avoiding Baby Mama or Baby Daddy Drama with your Ex
Breaking up with someone and staying civil is hard enough when it's just between the two of you, but when a child is involved, it can be a bit dicey. Having spent the past decade as a parent working with an ex to raise a child, these steps have made it easier to focus on what matters most-- our child.
By Robin Jessie-Green5 years ago in Families
Movie Review: 'Minari'
The American dream is for everyone. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, the American dream, prosperity, independence, freedom, are available to everyone. Some people place hurdles in front of the dream based on their prejudice, petty hatreds, and ignorance. But those hurdles can take nothing away from the true American dream and those who fight to achieve it. A good example of that is the new movie Minari.
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Families
Best Day of Our Lives
So this is the story of the day we got our little sunshine. Now, I mentioned in my intro we didn't have my boyfriends daughter quite yet. She still lived with bio mom and at the time we had no problem with that. Things started around his daughters birthday. I typically worked the night shift and came back later. When I arrived home the kiddo was fast asleep on the couch trying to wait until I got home from work. But as soon as I walked through the door I knew something was wrong. My boyfriend had one of our mutual friends come over because his daughter wouldn't talk to him. When I went to the couch to get his daughter off to bed I saw what they were talking about. She had a huge black eye, not a typical oh she fell black eye no it looked like someone had hit her. But the story she was telling is that she was spinning and hit it off the corner of bio moms coffee table. Not uncommon for a child to fall so I honestly didn't think much of it. Until I got her to talk and she was saying the same thing she told our friend and her father. You'd think well again not uncommon, however our problem was that she was repeating it word for word. Like she had memorized what to say, or she had been coached to say it. We shared our concerns with mom and she basically blew us off about it which made us feel even more uneasy. I wish that was the last incident before our happy day, but it wasn't. The next time we had gotten her she had such a bad sunburn that it had created some really nasty blisters. Which again didn't sit well with us. We were told that she had sunscreen on, but we didn't believe it so we called DHHS. We shared our concerns and come to find out we weren't the only ones with a problem with bio mom. We were informed about other incidents that were reported on, so we were told to keep ahold of his daughter until they could come and visit her with us. At this time she did have a room that she stayed in with us. But her dad was a little concerned with the cops being called. DHHS asked if there was a court order in place and there was none. That is when we were told then there was nothing the cops could do because he was bio dad. The next day DHHS came out to see us and we showed them the pictures of the burns and explained what we had put on them to keep them clean. That resulted all of going in for a team meeting to decide what was going to happen next. The next day when we attended the team meeting bio mom was making such a fuss about things that she either did (or didn't do) and tried saying he wasn't an involved father. Not to mention he did not know his daughter was his until after a year and a paternity test was done. At the end of this meeting it was decided she was to only have supervised visits and that dad would have custody of their daughter until mom got some help. After this meeting we were so excited, I was excited we got to see her more and that she would be taken care of. This was the best day of my life, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!
By Bonus Mom5 years ago in Families
Daddy Fox and Devil's Elbow
Daddy Fox - 1962 The call came at about midnight. I was still awake because it was Friday night and I knew that Dad would be in my room soon enough. It was his habit to start drinking as soon as he got home from work. Scotch was the drink and he could well afford it as he held a high office in state government and made excellent money for the time. I would go to bed about 11:00 and pretend to be asleep, dreading the bedroom door opening and my dad shaking me to wake up. He would turn back toward the living room knowing that I would follow and take my place in the overstuffed chair next to the couch. I was expected to just listen to his drunken rambling, nod my head and not comment…and then the phone rang. Dad took the call in the kitchen which was right off the living room.
By Trent Fox5 years ago in Families
Her World
A lifetime of love and care to the man she met as a boy. He was world for so long that she could not remember a time when he was not in the center of it. They met in high school. Those were the times when women did not have the choices they did today. It was pre-written that she was to find a husband, have babies, and take care of her family. The fight for women’s equality had made big strides, but there was still a long way to go. It would not have made a difference to her anyway. She would have chosen him. She would have chosen the same life because of her love for him.
By Shirley Meadows5 years ago in Families
Aqua Dad
This is the story of a boy called Tom. Tom is very very small. This is also the story of Tom’s Dad. Tom’s Dad is very very tall.
By Luke Howe5 years ago in Families
The Dungeon
I hear footfalls on the old stone steps. I drop the ancient shaping tool I use to shape fallen tree limbs into 1x4s, and quickly hide behind a stack of 10,000 Christmas tree parts.
By Thomas Anderson5 years ago in Families
The Truth You Hid From Me
The Truth You Hid From Me By: Brandon I should have seen the signs. When I think back towards our time together, I realize now how obvious the signs were. But at the time, when I held you in my arms, all I could see was our future together. Do you remember that time I took you to the beach? It was your first time ever seeing the ocean. I remember thinking that day that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. If I had to guess, you felt the same way back then. It feels like so many lifetimes ago now. What happened? What changed in us? Remember how you looked into my eyes with such love and appreciation? Why did all of that change?
By Otaku Waifu Owo5 years ago in Families
Lucky Ticket
My hands shake as I hand over the bills to the attendant at the gas station. The place smells like cleaner and stale hot dogs, and the floor is covered in marks from where the mop went by with dirty water. He asks to see my ID and so I fish it out of the plastic sleeve in my wallet, the leather worn from years of use. He looks at it then hands me a playslip. I write down the numbers I’ve been thinking about all morning, hesitating when the gravity of it all makes my pen waver. If I order them in just the right way, I could win. If I don’t, I’m short $10 that I probably shouldn’t have parted with, and possibly left with a broken heart. I let impulse decide for me, and hand the slip back to the guy. In return, he hands me my ticket and asks if there’s anything else he can get me. I say yes, actually there is and walk out with a pack of cigarettes.
By Maggie5 years ago in Families
Why "Family Divorces" Are On The Rise
The last 12 months we all have experienced a shift in the way we relate to others. Especially our folks. The other day someone rang me saying " I am divorcing my own family, do you think you could help me?"
By Antonia Lyons5 years ago in Families
Preschool parents: Help is on the way
Preschoolers have limited attention spans and need a lot of supervision so how do you keep them engaged and safe and still get anything else done without just plopping them in front of a screen?
By Julie Thompson5 years ago in Families
Mother Drunkenly Messages A-List Celebrity About Me
This story I will say that unfortunately this is a story in my life, that yes, did indeed happen. I won't name names out of privacy and respect for the person. If you are ever feeling bad about yourself, just read this and you will feel all better about your life!
By Dreamer5 years ago in Families