Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
"The Signs"
I’m cleaning the house and this song comes onto Pandora. I instantly stop... speechless, numb, frozen. Suddenly my ENTIRE life comes into question. I sit down and start thinking about everything that has happened to me (mostly just in the last 6 months). I have too many emotions to focus on just one and I have too many questions that cannot be answered, which is frustrating and confusing. I am a strong believer that everything happens for a reason, and I do believe God has a purpose for everyone and everything. But what I cannot wrap my head around is (WHY) he allows BAD things to happen to GOOD people. I suppose to make them stronger, but why so much hurt, anger, pain, and sorrow?
By Bri Pinson8 years ago in Families
Silent Night
The last leaf had fallen off the last tree when she woke. The sun was showing bright that day, leaving her long, golden hair glimmering. It had been four days now. And her brother had visited her all four of those days. Her parents refused to see her, ashamed of themselves for letting this happen to her. Her brother was the reason she was there, and even he could swallow his shame and care for his little sister. Twice a day he visited her, once before breakfast, and once after dinner, neither of which she could keep in her stomach either way. Each time he brought her something. She ignored the thought he was only doing this because he felt sorry. She tried to imagine herself before the accident, before she was sent to a hospital to sit in a white bed with white sheets. She tried to imagine herself laughing with her parents and her brother, not being rolled off to some small room once a day at least to be cut open and experimented with. She looked at her teddy bear and imagined herself as that plush toy. She wouldn’t feel pain, she wouldn’t be bedridden. She would be whole again, just like she was before a silver car ran a red light and slammed into her brother’s car. Why did she have to be in that car? Where was that silver car going so fast it just had to run that red light?
By Hannah Shull8 years ago in Families
"20 with No Kids" Is Not an Accomplishment
Let's be honest, we all judge people, even when we shouldn't. It's a natural flaw of humanity. However, as functioning members of society, we should at least have the decency to consider the repercussions of our judgments, especially those that are vocalized. We have all heard, "If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all." I firmly stand by that phrase. Words may not break our bones, but they do affect each and every person differently.
By Leya Deickman8 years ago in Families
The Man in the Moon
It was the summer of my eighteenth year. Typically, I would spend my days under a large oak tree on the rolling hills of my yard, reading books under the sunny sky or watching clouds go by, picking out the fluffy cat-shaped ones that reminded me of my childhood. That young girl whose only companion was the white furball of a cat or the characters of my books. It was easy for me to connect with fictional people of other worlds, yet it was unimaginable for me to even dream of speaking to others in my own world. I didn't know anything of public schooling, as I had been homeschooled my whole life. The only people I spoke to were the maids and butlers of my homestead and the occasional stranger that asked for directions. I spoke to my father only once, when I was very young, yet I still remember each word that flowed so easily from his mouth. That was the last I saw of him. I was told he went on a business trip, but the maids have their superstitions. Some say he ran off with a girl, others say he abandoned us for the life down south. I didn't know what they meant as a child, but whether I knew or not I didn't believe them. My mother was only photographs and stories to me; I met her only once, when I first saw the light of this world. She died after I was born, and again, the staff had their theories. Theories or not, the situation didn't change, and the cold truth was that I was left to grow up alone. After my mother died, I was given to the head maid, whom I learned to call Cheryl. She took care of me and raised me as her own while my father grieved over his love. As an infant, I was oblivious to my situation. I became very attached to Cheryl and loved her as if she were my mother. But as my mother before her, she died of old age when I was five. Having lost two mothers and not speaking to my father for five years, I shut myself off from everyone else. I mourned Cheryl deeply, and cried out for my father, yet he never came. Until one sunny day, when I was basking in the sun on our Nebraskan Homestead. My father stood over me holding a box. He wore a black suit and tie, his hair combed neatly back, the smell of cologne wafting from him. He handed me the box which contained a white kitten the size of a softball. I held the kitten gently in my arms and looked up at my father, who knelt down to me, and spoke the words that I had waited so desperately for. I still remember that day like it was yesterday. Twelve years later, his words play in my head like a symphony, the only words he ever spoke to me that I hold so dear in my heart. The words that, despite the superstition, gave me hope that my father will return one day and hold his child as gently as she held that little white kitten.
By Hannah Shull8 years ago in Families
Family Life: Being an Only Child
Traumatic events. Disabilities. Money. Location. Experiences. There are thousands of factors that contribute to the growth and development of a child. The most effective of these? Family life. The factors within one’s family life truly determine how a person will become in the future, including things like their personality and interactions. Specifically, the factor of being an only child has a prominent effect on a developing child. This aspect of life has been studied and researched throughout time in order to discover exactly how and why these children become how they become.
By Nicole Wenger8 years ago in Families
Something's Wrong with Our Mia
Mia, my 8-year-old daughter. She is an amazing little girl, loves to play, run around, draw, write, and has a big heart. No matter what’s going on a smile is never missing from her face. She has a selfless heart, always willing to give to others and always puts herself last when others are in need. She lost her baby sister to a freak accident in 2016 and her loving grandma a year later, but even then she has never stopped smiling and sharing her love of life.
By Ivette Ruiz8 years ago in Families
If I Am What I Eat...
Along the hardwood floor, pitter patter. My small, barefoot, childish feet take me to the kitchen. The house I have come to know, not my own but similar. I stand in the kitchen, behind the screen of a sliding door. My gaze is set across the lawn and through the slatted fence to my own home. A house, much like the other ones in my somewhat grand but cookie-cutter-esque neighborhood. It is pale olive green and it is encircled by trimmed hedges and seasonal Home Depot flowers. The rope swing that I so loved swayed gently, its red disc seat spinning slowly in spring's gusts. I thought of being on the swing, how I always kept my feet out to push off the towering tree, being frightened every time I twirled, losing sight of the trunk. Waiting for its hard bark to hit me in the back or scratch my elbow. It was a captivating thing, I thought, staring into your own yard, seeing how a passerby might view your life and all that surrounds it.
By ella caisey8 years ago in Families
Blueberry - My Short Journey
My Blueberry and Our Short Journey So as most of you know, I announced that I was pregnant on July 1. We found out on June 27 and had it confirmed on June 29 through bloodwork and urine that we were pregnant. Something that we didn’t think was going to be possible. We were so excited to tell everyone. We even discussed if we should wait to tell everyone in case something happened. But a lot of my research I did said that a lot of women wished they would’ve told at least their family so they had support when something happened. So, I thought it was a wise choice. Facebook world found out because we recorded telling my mom. Now I didn’t come out on Facebook about what I went through this past Wednesday because I didn’t want people to think we were just out for attention, especially after we just announced that we were pregnant three days earlier. So, here’s my story and warning, there are parts of it that are graphic, but these are the things that have stuck with me through this tiny journey with our Blueberry.
By Marleah Tryon8 years ago in Families
Mother of Mine
Kneeling beside the tub I would sit, chin resting on one hand, propped up by the side of the bath. Immersed in the warm soapy depth, I used my other hand to wash water over her growing belly. Curious, I would explore, gently probing the soft, round shape all the while studying the flashes of purple. Scar tissue that lit up, glistening under the water, reflecting the night light. Consumed, my gaze would move between her stomach and the black mascara that trickled over her cheeks. Transfixed, I watched the stream of tributaries as they meandered across and down her face. Diluted, slate grey boulders streamed from red, raw, bloodshot eyes. She would cry so hard. The pain in her face was one that I understood and so quietly I sat and observed, all the while sharing her sadness.
By Rumer Bartholomew8 years ago in Families
