Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
10 Things About Being A Boy Mom
Being a boy mom sometimes has me questioning my sanity. Like today, my almost three-year-old stuck his head in the toilet to “wash his hair”. Thank God the water was clean, but why?!?! If that was the only thing he had done today, I would have called today a success. Trust me when I say, he can come up with some clever ideas to make his mom lose her mind. As I’m sitting here typing right now, I cannot begin to tell you how many times he has already tried to flip on me or asked for his “pippy” (sippy cup) and I just began typing. I always heard I would pay for my raising, but I never realized I would this quick.
By rachel west5 years ago in Families
Home is Where the Heart is
To many when you hear the word home you think of a house, you get a very distinct image in your mind of what you expect a home to look like. I was raised with the belief of the white picket fence, a dream. Although this image for me has changed over time as it has for many others, however for me the image is not one of walls and a roof.
By Lilo Dallas5 years ago in Families
Is Moving A Lot as a child traumatic?
Articles and studies I have read report school and behavioral difficulties and some emotional issues in children who move. Parental divorce is a factor in most studies I read. No literature I could find talks about the impacts of moving many times during childhood.
By Caroni Lombard5 years ago in Families
Jagged Little Pills...
Christmas Eve 1983 I can still smell the sulphur and feel the scabs on my head. My head was a mine field of sticky, bloody patches. I would pick on them and pull whole strands of my hair out. My grandmother, that evil witch, relaxed my hair at 4 years old. She was told by a friend just as shady as her, both in their hot pink foam rollers as they sat and sipped on their Bustelo...that if she put chemicals on my scalp, my 3rd eye would calcify and close. It burned so bad.
By Jessie Perozo5 years ago in Families
Barney The Barn Owl
It’s been a few hours since the amber alert was first dispatched. 7- year-old Jason-Jay Jackson or J.J. by his family and friends, went missing in the dense forest not far from their farm, while playing hide and seek with his older brother and sister. When they couldn’t find him during his turn to hide they started to get worried. They called out his name over and over and then worried turned to fear. They ran back home as quickly as they could yelling out to their parents both extremely distraught. Mom frantically called 911 giving a detailed description of J.J. and headed out with a very concerned Dad to search for J.J.
By Pamela Wright5 years ago in Families
My Struggles
I have tried to submit this one time already but it wasn't long enough so here I go again. Let me start by saying this piece should not be viewed or interpreted as I hate being a home health aide to my mother in any way. The part I hate is the struggles that come with doing this. And yes I knew there would be struggles when I signed up to do this. I have been my mothers home health aide for the last 2 years. I had been apart from my mother for 4 years before that due to her living in Washington state. Then she moved back to take care of my last living uncle 2 years ago. I'll get more into that later. Then I moved back home with them due to a bitter and abusive ex husband. Then I found out my mother has stage 4 kidney failure. To those of you who don't know what that means I will explain. It means that 1 of her kidneys is completely shut down and the other is only working some not 100%. That is a struggle to handle yes. Then on top of that she has type 2 diabetes she is completely insulin dependent. Those two things i have pretty well mastered. As far as what she can and shouldn't eat and also how much insulin to give her and when. Also on what foods are best for her kidney function. Well fast forward to last year i also became the home health aide to my last living uncle. He had leukemia . I took care of him all the way up until his last day on earth. He past away February 2020. He pretty much raised me. And he will never get to see the woman i grew up to be. But back to the love and hate relationship i have with being a home health aide to a parent. Yes its been a struggle because in the beginning i was working a 50 + hour a wekk job on top of being her full time caregiver. Yes i still work a full time job on top of taking care of her simply because the state won't to jerk me around and not pay me to do it simply because they can. I have filed every bit of paperwork they need and talked to everybody from a case worker to manager and social worker. I also deal with Medicaid because their the ones that give me the most hassle over my mother. They tell me their going to drop her simply because she is too high risk because she has fallen 19 times in the last 4 months. But then i try to explain to them that she wouldn't be falling if they would do what they need to do for me to be able to be at home with her all day and night to prevent her falls. She falls due to her knees giving out. She doesn't know when they will and when they won't give out. She could be completely fine one minute and then I go to transfer her from the bed to her chair or walker and they give out. Don't get me wrong i love my mother. But I always have the thought in the back of my head would she be safer in a home with around the clock care or is at home with me the best option? I have worked in nursing homes before and I see the type of care that these people receive. And it is down right disgusting. And yes I know that has nothing to do with the nursing home. It comes down to the caregivers they hire. I always wonder if I am giving her the best care. Is there more I could be doing? Yes I worry everyday when I walk out the door to go to my full time job if I am going to get a call saying that she's unresponsive. And that thought tears me up inside. I just wonder sometimes if there are other home health aides out there that are taking care of a parent or a relative that can relate to this? This is only part one of this collection of my love and hate relationship with being a home health aide to a parent. And please if you have thought about being a home health aide to a parent or relative feel free to ask me any questions and I will do my very best to answer any and all questions. Or even if you have questions about her condition I am an open book. Thanks for stopping by and reading this. Thank you and god bless.
By Jennifer Salinas5 years ago in Families
Timmy and the Great White Owl
Once upon a time in the forest. There was a family of mice that lived inside an oak tree. Timmy was curious about the sky. So one night he pretended to go to sleep. After he was tucked in his bed. And all the lights were off. He snuck out of the house and went to explore.
By Anjalee Jadav5 years ago in Families
Dear Mom
Dear Mom, Family sucks! As I sit here in a hoodie that's barely blocking the light emitting from my lamp, I wonder why we acquire the family that we have instead of the family that we want. I feel like a character in a novel written by someone who forgot to incorporate compassion, respect, and pure love.
By Shereese N5 years ago in Families
The Ghost Note
"Grandma, we nearly have everything unpacked. Where would you like this notebook to go?" A young woman asks, holding up a small leatherback booklet. It was maybe half a foot in length, with a black fabric tie around it. An elderly woman slowly moves into view. "Ah, my old friend. I had feared I lost you in the move." The older woman takes it gingerly from the hands of her granddaughter, slightly caressing the spine of the little black book. The young woman shakes her head with a sigh. She then proceeds to break down the empty box before her. "You act like that thing is alive, grandma." She turns to face her grandmother and the older lady chuckles. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Call me senile you would." A smile cracks on the old woman's features, but it turns sad when she looks at the book once more. "It has been with me and helped me many times, Cassidy."
By Mariam Michalak5 years ago in Families
