Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
On the Day My Mother Was Cremated
On the day she was cremated, 3 days after she passed away, I was alone in my house. I was on the other side of the country over a thousand miles away. Alone with my thoughts. Alone with my feelings. I had work to do but felt paralyzed to move forward. It felt as if time had stopped for the moment.
By Paula C. Henderson8 years ago in Families
How It Affects Me
My childhood was a relatively normal and happy one. I have three little sisters, two of which share a father with me. No brothers at all. Just us girls. Hell, there was hardly ever a long-term man around as I grew up. My mother had shitty luck and it was not until I was about to turn 18 that she finally found a man she is genuinely happy with. He is actually a pretty decent person. I didn't really see it when I was younger, but to be honest I think a lot of my issues with him came from the issues we have always had with our father.
By Alicia Abbott8 years ago in Families
Opinion: Children Are Getting Worse
Walking down the dusty halls of my old job, I always heard the same conversation. "Children have gotten worse." Walking down the dusty halls of my (once) new job, I hear the same thing. I didn't believe it at first, believing children to always have been bad, but now I fully agree. Children, in my opinion, have gotten worse. And they keep getting worse. Every educator has their own reasoning behind it. Ask the veterans and they think it's violence on TV and in video games. Ask the newer teachers and they think it's due to parents. As someone that has grown up watching violence every day, I agree with the parental theory.
By Allie Brown8 years ago in Families
Babies Are Blessings
When I was 23-years-old, my boyfriend and I could not wait to have a baby of our own. He had a 5-year-old from a previous relationship but we wanted to add a child of our own into the mix. I wouldn't say we were actively trying to conceive, but at the same time, we weren't trying to prevent it.
By Lauren Haley8 years ago in Families
My First Memory
Dad was on the other side of the kitchen table with his heart patterned coffee-mug, singing a tune to me that always gave me a rush of laughter. My mind never entirely made connections with the sounds coming from his mouth, and he knew that. But all I knew was that I wanted to hear it until the day came to a shy ending.
By Olivia Jackson8 years ago in Families
Home
When I was born, I was born into a family very different from others. I was born into a Christian family, but not just any Christian family. No, I was a pastor’s kid. My grandfather, whom I call Poppy, is the pastor of a little church in Alabama called Agape Christian Fellowship. My parents got married young, which was quite shocking to my mom’s parents. They believed that they were way too young to get married, but they allowed it. As soon as my mom graduated high school, they got married. They didn’t plan on having any kids until they had both finished college, but some medicine my mom was taking counteracted her birth control, so a year after my parents got married, I was born. On the day my mom and I were released from the hospital, it was a Sunday. On that beautiful Sunday morning, guess where I went before I even got to view my own home. If you guessed church, then you’re correct. Most everyone in the church had been there for years; they’d all seen my mom grow up, so they wanted to see her precious little baby, me, so badly that it couldn’t wait until Wednesday night.
By Michaela Martin8 years ago in Families
Family Isn't Always Blood
"They're like a sister to me!" We live in a world where the term "family" is getting harder and harder to explain. For some, their family includes their grandparents, aunts, and uncles, cousins -- even the second cousins they only see at family reunions. For others, their family dynamic relies on their friend group due to their disconnection to their family after so long. The family does not always have to be your blood to be considered family; they just have to care.
By Ashleigh Smith8 years ago in Families
The Clearing
The cherry blossoms fell gently, floating on the breeze. They swirled around on the eddies that whipped to and fro, sending the tiny petals tumbling about the clearing. One fell on an upturned palm, worn with age and scarred by life. Long fingers picked it up gently, and it rose to the view of a weary face. The simple beauty of this new life did nothing to ease the lines on it; rather, the creases deepened, and bloodshot eyes began to water. The blossom trembled as the long white digits shook. They released it, and the petals once more drifted lazily. But the breeze faded away, and the little flower fell, spiraling ever further down. It came to rest on a simple gray stone. Regular, smooth, and polished, this was not the work of Mother Nature. It had been carved by the eyes that now came to rest on an inscription. It read,
By Matt Miani8 years ago in Families
