Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in Families.

Living with abusive family
It‘s hard to know when you’re around abusive people when it’s become the norm. It happens that often and somehow justified every time it does happen.
By Jessica Christie6 years ago in Families
Grandpa’s Car
Taking this picture was a way of wrapping up my sorrows. My grandpa had recently died a few weeks prior to this photos capture, and I was mourning my loss. My grandpa had meant a lot to me and taught me lessons that I would never forget. One example of a lesson would be when he brought me up on the mound of dirt in his backyard and pointed to all of his land. He claimed that “even though I purchased this land, it still belongs to the animals”. Lessons like these were hard to forget... mostly because he would forget sometimes that he told you them and would keep repeating it. Not only did he just give you good lessons but he learned a bunch of new ones too. One time he decided to cook for my family and I, even though he hasn’t got a whole lot of cooking experience. Needless to say things didn’t work out so well for him and his food. In the end though he learned that you have to keep your eye on the stoce at all times.
By Jude Pachiorka6 years ago in Families
What makes a mother?
Is it such a straightforward thing anymore? Being a mother? Nowadays in a society where you can identify as a potato if you want to, definitions are blurred compared to what they once were. But from what I've been observing for several years is the bias against change in what defines others. A big example would be mothers of children vs. "mothers" of pets. Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones was given those dragon eggs, she didn't birth them; yet, she was called the mother of those dragons. How dare she, except...she CAN dare to call herself that. She can dare all day long. This is because being called a mother isn't as simple as giving birth to a child anymore. It's tagged to any caregiver who displays the very characteristics of nurturing and guidance necessary to ensure survival of the receiver of this care. Couples that are having trouble conceiving will get into the adoption process and after waiting possibly years, finally adopt a child for them to love and care for. The "mother" in this scenario is still not regarded as a mother for having such a big heart and so much love to give a child she didn't bear herself? What about single dads who put down everything to handle their child's needs when they are doing it all on their own? They have to provide way more and be that child's absolute world while still supporting the financial needs of them both.
By H G6 years ago in Families
A Gift of Wisdom: Journey of an Awakening Soul
I was born in December in the late 80's on the cusp of dawn in a suite at a small hospital off the coast of a mid-California beach city. The doctors all thought I would be a boy. So convinced were they that my parents had already decided on a boy's name and were caught without a baby girl's name when I surprised everyone.
By Amber J Lash6 years ago in Families
Reality of breastfeeding for me.
Please understand this is my own experience and i am not judging or talking on anyone’s behalf. Im a mother of three, two boys and one girl. I had my first baby at 19 after being told I wouldn’t be able to conceive without help. I had decided from the start that i wanted to try breastfeeding. Once Albie was born i tried breastfeeding but at the hospital wasn’t any help when it came to how to breastfeed so i presumed i was doing it correctly. I was home the day after giving birth. The midwifes came round to see me for the routine visit, when asked how is breastfeeding i replied with it hurts. The midwife explained it shouldn’t hurt and latching on should be a strong tugging feeling not painful. She watched me attempt to latch Ablie on to the breast and she explained Albie was only sucking my nipple which it why it was causing pain. The midwife then showed me some breastfeeding techniques and positions too make sure he was latched on properly. After a couple of days my milk came it and it hurt A LOT. My boobs were swollen and heavy. Albie couldn’t latch on because of this so i had to use the breast pump. Nobody warned me of my milk coming in and what to expect. Unfortunately things got worse over the week and i started passing clots and blood. Albie was sick blood and i was expressing blood. I ended up back in hospital with an infection on IV antibiotics and told this was due to having Albie and having mastitis. I was so upset and felt like i had let my son down. I’m not ashamed to admit it i ended up with post natal depression but that is another story to tell. I gave up breastfeeding which wasn’t pleasant. I found using breast pads from the freezer helped sooth the pain and hot flannels. It was also recommended that i try cabbage leafs, that also helps its not and old wives tale.
By victoria hall6 years ago in Families
Mom's Can't Teach It All
Every once in a while, my sister and I start to complain about our husbands. "He doesn't help with the chores!" "He's SO not romantic!"
By KoVa6 years ago in Families
The thing about hitting puberty...
"Parents are your best friend" ain't that amazing? Let's be honest, no matter how close you think you are with them, you're NOT, or at least not me. I consider myself being pretty close to my parents given the fact that they got married and had kids at a fairly young age, they're like my friends, the kind of friend that lures the secrets outta your mouth and overwhelm you with their so called opinion, for weeks. My mom is so proud of the fact that she thinks we tell her EVERYTHING and often shows off to her friends saying something like "My daughters share everything with me, I know it's so cool right? We're almost like sisters and I guess this is the benefit by getting married early blahblahblah" Yeah you're right, ALMOST, this is when i put on my awkward social mask and smile like my face is twitching while my inner devil is actually throwing a party knowing that she only knows what I choose to let her know. VICTORY. Knowing exactly how and how much to share is an art because the line between getting all the help you need and getting into trouble is hella thin and I'm telling you, you don't want no trouble. Here’s an example, I told my patents that I started writing on Vocal and stopped right before they could ask about what the content is, which is THEM obviously. Now the tricky part is that how far I go determines what kind of reaction I’m getting, is it “Aww honey I’m so proud of you! I always knew there’s something in you!” or “Young lady we need to talk.” See? Parents are like malfunctioned fire alarms, they could be completely cool about the situation despite the feeling that they’re gonna snap and come at you like it’s no one else’s business the second they sense something wrong, which is totally up to each of their sensibilities. This concept came even clearer after I hit puberty, if you have no idea why let me put it this way, as long as you hit puberty the problem is no longer “Jeffery keeps teasing me” but “Jeffery keeps teasing me because he likes me” cherry on the top. This is the point when you start looking for advices from whomever you could get in touch with, your bff, your teachers, the girl or boy next door and even the psychic on YouTube, last but not least your daddy and mommy. Now if you have open-minded, supportive parents, lucky you, but if you happen to have overpowering parents just like I do, what’s gonna happen is that they’re gonna make sure that you do whatever they want you to even if you already have an answer deep down since they apparently know what’s best for you. That means that Jessica who already has a boyfriend gotta go, Joyce the school counselor? Gotta go, that Amanda who encourages you to study art and talk to Jeffery? Absolutely no. The worst part is that the second you disobey them they'll start pulling this fine-do-whatever-you-want attitude to make you feel guilty or question your ability of decision making (trust me this never gets old) but actually that’s called having your own damn opinion, there's nothing wrong with that and you certainly shouldn't feel stupid about it. Not until I hit puberty have I realized how glad I am to not have them on my side, it feels like some sorta switch in my body turned on and all of the sudden I just want to do whatever they told me I shouldn’t, there’s this time I decided to put on face mask right before my mom asked me to, suddenly this voice whispered to me “Mission Abort." so I ended up following my instinct. Why? It’s almost like an epiphany when the answer popped up in my mind, we have been deeply convinced that everything they do or want us to do is for the best since we were kids, so they went with the same trick over and over again even til we finally grew up with our own secrets and thoughts developing, they somehow forget that we no longer pee our pants and believe in Santa so that they could continually force their opinions through, the only difference now is that we are tired of being treated this way, that's why. Please don't get me wrong I do love my parents even though they could be incredibly annoying sometimes, all I want to say is that it is ok if talking to your parents is what you desire but it is also completely fine if you choose to take all the time you need to sort things out even if that means you have to keep secrets or seek advice from others, even if that means we're gonna make mistakes and learn from them. It is our journey, we're the one who's steering our ship, cleaning up the vomits and discovering the treasures, not Jessica, not Amanda, not them. Say we are taught not to stay with any guy who makes us feel stupid then why should we feel stupid for not following our parent's footsteps? This ain't rocket science and we are no rebellions knowing what we actually need, we are just unraveling life by taking different routes. If I hurt your feelings, I'm sorry, I meant no harm and wish the best for all of you but like i said, you always have a choice, you don't have to do what I said if you're not vibing with me, just DO YOU, the heart wants what it wants. Puberty can be really tricky sometimes, It's like that Jeffery who sends you mixed signals, but at the end of the day we all learn from it and appreciate whatever it has brought us, hopefully we will pass on the wit and become those people we used to picture in our mind as we sail further into the unknown.
By cringysam6 years ago in Families
Your Little Girl
Daddy, remember all the times I came running to you when I got hurt? I called for you when I needed help getting up. Remember when I would follow you around like a little duckling? I would walk right behind you when you cut the grass. I was always outside with you by your side when you worked on the cars. I was out "helping" you all the time. I wanted to be just like you when I grew up. And I know you said you wanted me to be better than you, but to me you were and still are the best man I have ever met.
By alexandria Urrutia6 years ago in Families
Lunch For Seven Ostriches
Living in Belgium, my mom and dad had never seen an ostrich. They had seen such a bird on television, of course, but they had never seen a real live one.
By Conny Manero6 years ago in Families
Baby dinosaur to big brother dinosaur
This story is about a baby dinosaur becoming a big brother dinosaur and how he gets through the big change. Albertasaurus is a regular long neck dinosaur. He lives in with his mummy, daddy and other dinosaurs. His best friend is Gwentasurase she is also a long neck Dinosaur. The two of them go on great adventures and get into mischief on a daily basis.
By victoria hall6 years ago in Families
Mommy & Baby morning routine challenge
As a mom everyone has a challenging morning, which is why most moms have a morning routine. I wonder what is your most favorite part of your morning routine and what's you're most challenging part of your morning routine?? My favorite part of my mommy and baby morning routine, has to be when baby takes a nap after her bath. When she falls asleep I can actually care for myself from head to toe. I can also get anything that needs to be done out of the way because as you know being a mom you really won't have time to get things done while baby's awake. While baby's up they need to be fed, played with, massaged, changed and more, the list goes on. The most challenging part for me I'd have to say is cleaning up, this is because cleaning up my home thoroughly takes time. My daughter is usually almost always up at that time, when she's up I care for her till her next nap to resume cleaning. If she takes a short nap which she does sometimes, I resume cleaning like 10 times in that day. I think all mommy's are super moms because at the end of the day we take care of our mini me's and get things done. I can't imagine my days without a morning routine.
By The Hayes Family6 years ago in Families
Remembering a Great Man
I don’t know the author, but I recently reach a statement about the impact of a Father: “If after you are grown, you think back on your Father, and you smile, you were raised by a great man.”
By Frank Zaccari6 years ago in Families