Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
Cuba 2016
A cousin is diagnosed with stage four breast cancer and wants to go back to Cuba. She wants to bring the dog she left at her mother-in-law’s house, to the beach for the first time. The phone rings at 6:00 am that morning. I answer my cell to a frantic voice on the other end. She says “I had a dream last night and haven’t been able to go back to sleep since. I have been trying to figure out how to make it happen and I need your help.”. Still a little dazed I answered “Sure, What’s up?”. She replies “In my dream I was able to bring Thor to the beach. I have not had a chance to do that yet. I know he will just love it. Sorry for calling so early but this has been on my bucket list since my diagnosis. Will you come to Cuba with me so I can do this?”. A little more awake now, I say “of course! But have you talked to your doctors and when do we leave?”. Fast forward to a beach in Cuba with a sick cousin who has lost all her hair and her oh so happy dog. Thor is frolicking in the water and running through the sand. My cousin is enjoying every minute of it from her towel on the beach. She can’t move much without hurting but watching her dog have the kind of fun she knew he would brings the biggest smile to her face. She forgets her pain for just that one perfect moment. She looks down at the sand and sees a sea shell. The sea shell in this picture. She holds it up for me so I can take a picture of it. The years that pass aren't so easy. I try to be there for my cousin who is going through so much. Fast forward now to 2019. I get to hold my cousin’s hand in the hospital before her last dying breaths. The hand that held that small shell those few years before. That picture reminds me that I was a small part of getting her to Cuba to cross that item off her bucket list and the happiness that trip to rustic Cuba brought her. I did not edit that photo and left it as raw as she was at the time. I hope one day to get that image tattooed near my breast as a symbol of love and respect for the woman that battled a disease that robs so many of a normal life. Some survive and some do not, but my cousin will live on in my heart forever and so will the moments that brought us together. I feel fortunate to have been a part of a life that was cut so short. Fortunate to have had my camera with me to capture that moment in time that I can never get back. Someone once asked me why I take so many pictures when I’m out in nature and why can’t I just put my camera down and enjoy the moment. First off, for me, viewing the world through my camera is me living in the moment. Secondly, I can call up those images anytime I want, to relive those moments over and over again. Something that will be more precious to me as my actual memories fade. There are photos that make me smile, some that make me cry and some that invoke emotions that only a certain photo can provide like the one I have shared with you here today. So let’s capture many more of those photos in life! Photos full of colour, meaning and love, now and always!
By Anna Spano Guarino6 years ago in Families
5 Things to Consider Before Starting a Family
Some individuals are certain that they want children and are prepared to make the adjustments necessary to become parents. Others may be hesitant, for a number of reasons. Whether you’ve always wanted children or have recently considered expanding your family, having a child will change your lifestyle and family dynamics.
By Marshall Stevenson6 years ago in Families
Come Mommy and Baby, Let’s Prep for the Preschool Stage!
Oh dear! Tired and stressed mommy, we very much understand your worries for preparing your little baby for this crucial stage of her/his life – joining the preschool. Your bundle of joy is going to step out of your embrace for the first time, and you’d be both regretting the idea and being excited for the milestone – both at the same time. But well, that’s motherhood! There’s always guilt attached with every new step your little bird takes to explore the world (where you won’t be with them, glued).
By Eada Hudes6 years ago in Families
The Best Age to Freeze Eggs for Future Pregnancy?
Egg freezing is a method used to save women's ability to get pregnant in the future. Mature oocyte cryopreservation is another name of egg freezing. When the eggs are frozen and stored for future use, it is known as egg freezing. The frozen eggs can be thawed, combined with sperm in a laboratory. In the future, whenever the eggs are needed, they can be implanted in your uterus through a technique called In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). One must seek expert advice before deciding for fertility preservation. It is advisable to know all the related potential risks before opting for egg preservation.
By Femicure Healthcare6 years ago in Families
Your Daughters' Tears
Nothing breaks your heart more than hearing the cries of your daughter. Then you feel her diaphragm ascend to force out every ounce that occupies her lungs, it escapes the dryness of her mouth, and fills the room with her pain. The sound of her screams cancel out the sound of you telling her that, “...everything will be o.k. baby”. You feel the love, the laughter, the innocence evaporate from her small frame, and her limp body collapses into your arms. Suddenly she becomes a vacuum. She sucks the pain back into her lungs. Trauma is absorbed where innocence evaporated. Her diaphragm descends and her limp body tenses up and rises. She’s filled with anger now. She pushes and pulls away from you and you can hear her mind echo over and over again... that she hates. The love was taken and now hate resides. She steps into the stages of grief and her mother can’t save her. She’s lost someone very close to her heart. Someone on your level. Someone she grew up believing she would never live without. There’s nothing you can say to comfort her. With every kiss...with every tight embrace...she rejects it all. Pardon my French but, she doesn’t want to hear that shit. She doesn’t want to hear that they are in a better place. She doesn’t want to hear that they aren’t in pain anymore. She doesn’t want to hear that it will be o.k. She doesn’t want to hear that they are in a place called heaven. She wants them back. And you can’t offer that to her. All you can do...is pray that the hate escapes and the love returns. When she cries out, “Why?”...you know that your answers won’t suffice, so you free her. You loosen your grip and wait for her return. She returns...and you try every day to help heal the tear in her heart. But she’ll never be the same. And neither will you. You live the remainder of your life trying to protect her from that same experience. And you realize you have another daughter you must console. She shuts herself down and she can’t comprehend or express her pain. She doesn’t exhale. She swallows the grief and allows it to slowly rot. You spend the day trying to help her regurgitate that pain. Little by little she does...and her tears begin to flow. You catch them. And you know that you will have to repeat this process over and over. Now your heart is wounded. This wasn’t easy. This was one of the hardest moments of your life as a parent. Nothing comes easy when you tell your daughter that her greatest love has transitioned. And only time can heal you all.
By L.S. Price6 years ago in Families
MY WINDRUSH SCANDAL
My dad Clayton, left his wife Ann, in Roseau, Dominica with five children whilst he, his two brothers and his best friend James travelled to England to look for work. That was in 1960. And after a year he sent for his wife and us kids. He told my mum" Leave the kids and come to England, I've set up home in Bradford and I'll send you the money to pay for your ticket on the boat to get here". I didn't know until recently that my mum refused to come without me and my siblings. "I'm not coming to England without the children," She told him. Although he didn't agree straight away he eventually gave in and agreed to send enough money for us all to travel. All except my eldest sister, she decided that she didn't want to come, so grandma looked after her. The rest of us, especially me, the youngest, at five didn't really have a choice. Mum made all the arrangements for us to journey there by ship, which would take us just over three weeks to get there. Once docked we travelled by train to meet up with our dad in Bradford.
By Albert Andre6 years ago in Families
continue of Bitter Kiss
. . . she did the first time she saw him. She was the only friend the young boy had, the only person who gave him love. Days flew into weeks, and months turned into years. When the man would come home late from a night of drinking at the pub, the child laid in his bed unable to sleep, only hearing the muffled cries of his grown father. He could hear the sweet confronts his mother tried desperately to offer to her husband, though he wouldn’t take any. Sometimes the man would push the wooden door open, yelling and screaming at the top of his lungs. He didn’t understand what happened. What went wrong? This terrible demon child could only be a curse from God, that could only fall upon the womb. The hurt child stared at the darkness in his room, as he heard what his father said, he pictured the man staggering, swaying drunkenly, pointing a finger at the child’s mother, while these vile things slurred out of his mouth.
By Julie Unruh6 years ago in Families
A New Chapter; A New Father; A New Business Model.
Hello Vocalizers; "Today I choose life. Every morning when I wake up I can choose joy, happiness, negativity, pain... To feel the freedom that comes from being able to continue to make mistakes and choices - today I choose to feel life, not to deny my humanity but embrace it.
By A single Father6 years ago in Families
Bridging The Gap
I just turned 32 on June 16th. That was the first time I can recall my father ever saying “Happy Birthday.” Hmm..well he texted me and didn’t say “Happy Birthday,” he just acknowledged that it was my birthday. Take your wins where you can get them (slaps knee with laughter.)
By Richie Moon6 years ago in Families
