Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
A Broken Childhood
There was a yellow school that began turning on my road that was a little cracked and appeared to look bleak. I noticed this whenever I rode the bus right into what was my home. This particular place had walls the color of the sun and the ceilings the color of stop signs. Well I couldn’t wait to get to tell my mother something very important. As the bus came to a stop, I began skipping down the black narrow aisles. The next thing I know was that I sitting on white tiled kitchen counters while consuming a barrel of cheese balls. After I brushed cheese dust off my blue jeans and my pink butterfly shirt, I found my mother in her usual grey sweats and brown t-shirt as she was lying in her bed.
By Sahaira Duron8 years ago in Families
Heartstrings of Siblings
When I was a little girl, I thought having four older (half) sisters was the coolest fact about me, especially when they lived in a different state than I did. I would dream about hanging out with them, being one of them, and sharing secrets. Over the years as I grew in knowledge of the real world, it became painfully clear to me that my dreams were simply my hopes manifest and would rarely cross over into reality. To be fair, I can't blame my sisters entirely; I was a pain in the butt as a child. On the rare occasions I did see them, I would chase after them to tell them to stop smoking because it would kill them. I didn't know how to say, "dad won't let me hang out with you when you smoke," so it came out as me being a little priss.
By Elizabeth Kozlowski8 years ago in Families
Third Time's the Charm
Far be it from me to buy into the concept of summer flings bred by pop culture such as Grease and Dear John, especially with my history in love. There is just something about warmer temperatures and longer days that make love easier. Everyone has experienced this phenomenon at some point in their lives. The third time is the charm, so they say and hoping it holds true in my story.
By Angela Brigance-Vance8 years ago in Families
Moms and Dads
I know a lot of kids out there in the world have terrible parents, and I mean extremely shitty moms and dads. I can tell you that you're not alone, and I can sit here and say that there's so many more people who care about you, and although that's true, I'm not going to tell you the same old stuff.
By Natalie Jolynn8 years ago in Families
Mommy to an Angel
2011 was by far the most traumatic event in my life. My daughter, Grace, was stillborn at 39 weeks and 3 days. My pregnancy with her was great and completely normal. I had my 39-week appointment on March 14th, 2011 and while the doctor flubs her heartbeat, I noticed it was 30 bpm slower than usual. I questioned her about it and she dismissed my fears. We were going to induce that day, but I wasn't dilated at all, so my doctor decided to wait three more days. Induction was then scheduled for March 17th, 2011, St. Patrick's day🍀 The night before my induction, I noticed that she wasn't moving. I figured she was sleeping. I was 21, I really wasn't educated about kick counting or normal fetal behavior. That night I had a dream... My daughter was dead. I woke up crying but dismissed my fears because babies don't die, right? I never thought it was possible. Naïve? Yes. I woke up at 5:30 the next morning and packed my stuff in the car. The whole 20-minute ride, I knew something was wrong. My mom and my cousin came with me to the delivery room. I changed into a hospital gown and sat on the bed while the nurse got the belly monitors ready. She tried for a good 5 minutes to find my daughter's heartbeat, nothing. She found my heartbeat and said, "I hear her in there, I know she's there." That was the biggest lie I've ever heard. She exited the room and another nurse came in. She also tried to find the heartbeat. The second nurse tried the fetal Doppler incase the belly monitors weren't working correctly. Again, no heartbeat was found. I knew something was wrong by the look in her eyes. She said nothing as she left. Both nurses entered the room a couple minutes later with my doctor. My doctor also tried to find the heartbeat with no luck. She called for an ultrasound machine. Something was very, very wrong. For what seemed like an eternity, the machine finally arrived along with my doctor and three nurses. She spent 10 minutes attempting to find my daughter's heartbeat on the ultrasound, but her face said it all. Tears came rolling down her cheeks. She touched my leg and said,"I'm so sorry, sweetie. I can't find her heartbeat." At that point, everyone in the room started crying. My baby was dead inside of me. I failed her, my body failed her. It's not fair! I begged for a C-section just to get it over with. I was told that I couldn't have a C-section because it was not medically necessary, so we started a regular induction with pitocin and a cervidil pill to dilate me. My grandma was supposed to come to the delivery after her hair appointment. My mom called her and told her what was going on. All I heard was, "oh my god, oh my god, oh my god." This was fairly significant because my grandma is very religious and never takes the Lord's name in vain, nor does she swear. About an hour later my grandmother arrived with three angel necklaces, one for me, one for my mom and one for my two-year-old daughter. She was crying, and it broke my heart even more. My pastor was called and sat with all of us until an hour before I delivered. I attempted to nap and while I was sleeping, I woke up screaming and crying. "She's dead! She's dead, Mom!"
By Jessica Leigh8 years ago in Families
Life Is Full of Tests
You know that feeling you get when you think about something horrible happening to the ones you love most? You never think that something could actually happen to them because of how much you love them, right? Well, it happened to my father. My father, Ron Stephens, has always been a family oriented man. He does whatever it takes for his family and to pay the bills. Around 2014 he started his own business. 'RJ Stephens Trucking Inc.', where he was hauling logs for local logging companies. So, with that being said... He was gone for sixteen plus hours a day, totally wiped out when he got home, but still had to make time for his kids and wife. And he did. No matter how tired he was. He always pushed to do everything he can and most times he would overdue himself.
By Caitlin Faith8 years ago in Families
I Miss You
It's true what they say; losing a loved one changes you in ways you never know until it happens to you. Once upon a time, I was a happy young girl with a world of possibilities and a smile that never left. My family was my rock and my life was perfect. My parents both worked so hard so that my little brother Daniel and I could have everything we would need in life and grow up with a happy, big home. I was so lucky. I was always a daddy's girl and looked up to him always. Despite that, I never stopped loving my mum. She was always there for me, to give me a hug, to give me a kiss, or to answer my many many questions about how long rabbits live.
By Carrie-Ann Oliveira8 years ago in Families
Her Life
Everyone has seen those movies where you have a picture-perfect family. Well, that's how Miharu's family started out. The father was happy, she had an older brother, mom was happy, everything was joyful and outgoing. Until her mom started leaving more and more. Her dad started to drink because he was depressed that the mother kept leaving. Her brother was always quiet. Soon her mom stopped coming back, her father started to get abusive and drunk, and her brother ran away leaving her with a monster.
By Tiffany Maultsby8 years ago in Families
