Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
The Battle Between the 'Taken,' the 'Protected,' and the 'Lost'. Top Story - March 2018.
As I have begun an intended and unintended journey, the road is paved with potholes, sinkholes and wet cement. I was a missing child, as a result of running away from an abusive home. I share my personal story to raise awareness; awareness that runaways are not belligerent children, we aren’t drug addicts, we aren’t rebellious—we are children who have been abused either physically, sexually, and/or mentally.
By Marnie Grundman8 years ago in Families
Dear Mom
I'm sorry for not understanding. Up until now, I've never fully understood the meaning to all of this and I have to be honest, I don't know if I still do. A part of my soul yearns for you and wishes I had you in my life, but the current part of my understanding knows that I would not be where and who I am, had I not gone through what I did. I've spent 21 years battling these emotions, seeking to understand exactly what this all means. I remember the last day I saw you. That memory is imprinted in my mind with such detail, I've never been able to forget you. I don't have a clear conception of time, all I really remember is how much I wanted to be with you. I never wanted to be apart, I would follow you everywhere.
By Juan DeLaRosa8 years ago in Families
Five Must-Have Products for the Colicky Baby
Being a new parent is one of the hardest jobs there is. Especially if you have a baby that suffers from colic. A lot of first-time moms don’t know what baby products work to help soothe their baby, so they unfortunately fall victim to spending their hard-earned money on products that just don’t work. As a mother of two myself, I have spent my fair share of money on those not-so-good baby products as well as those miracle products that every mom searches for. These are the five products I use every day that make having a new baby so much easier.
By Ashlei Rupe8 years ago in Families
True Life: Motherhood
Surprises. This is what motherhood has brought me thus far. I became a first-time mom just a few months back and am surprised at how different it is from what I imagined and had heard. I am surprised at myself, surprised at my husband, and surprised by my daughter daily. Here are some of things I have come to understand about motherhood that no one really talks about.
By The Honest Mama8 years ago in Families
Two Sides of the Same Coin
Prologue Any psychologist or sociologist will explain a "normal" family unit as being a mother and father with two children, preferably a boy and a girl, who coexist peacefully together in a house with, maybe, a family pet. However, "normal" in our society no longer exists. There is now the idea of step-family, mothers and fathers getting re-married to people who may also have children from a past marriage. This sprouts new family, bigger, wider variety of family that joins the unit to create a complicated web of a family. "Normal" was wiped out when it came to the family unit.
By Jade Varley8 years ago in Families
Unattended
Disclaimer The following is a written narrative of my personal experiences. Let the reader understand that the opinions, feelings and thoughts expressed, like my memory, are all flawed. This written account is for entertainment purposes only, it is not intended to cast a negative light on any person or institution, particularly Monadnock Community Hospital which is a top notch, caring, community hospital. This organization (in my humble opinion) is second only to the home birth option for delivering babies in The Monadnock Region.
By Jaws of Life8 years ago in Families
My Testimony
My name is Lyndy. I am eighteen years old and I love Jesus. Who would have ever known I’d write this in a sentence. If you would have asked me a year ago, I would have told you I came from a place of despair. When I was a little girl, I spent a good amount of time with my grandmother. Every night, she would say a prayer and we would say what we were thankful for together. I was too young to know what or why I was doing what I was, but I did it anyways. Besides going to church on Easter day occasionally, that was the only time I could remember being devoted to God in any type of way. When I was nine, my uncle passed away. That was the lowest point in my life. Going through grief is so much harder when you have to watch everyone in your family go through it for years, too. Flash forward to my freshman year of high school, where I was friends with the “popular girls.” You know when you want to be friends with certain people and you don’t have anything in common, but you try anyway? That was what I did, and I did not feel comfortable or happy or loved. Flash forward to junior year when I was in a toxic relationship for a year and felt unworthy. Flash forward to when my great grandmother started getting sick. Many restless hospital visits, broken hearts, and many tears later, to the night I came into touch with Him. It was the beginning of January and my great grandmother’s health was slowly declining. She was in the hospital and I knew my grammy was a mess so I went to see her. I will never forget the hopelessness and tears that filled and consumed her. We talked for a while and the last thing she said to me was, “I guess the only thing we can do is just pray.” Something about that sparked my memory and I was reminded of my time with her as a child. I went home that night, crying. There was so much loss in my life that I would break down every time something bad would happen. I thought about what my grammy had said, “Just pray.” I had never prayed in my life but I went into my bedroom, got down on my knees, heavy. I was crying and I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I went with it.
By Lyndy Ehrenzeller8 years ago in Families
Dad Smiling
To my knowledge, this is the only picture ever taken of my father smiling. He smiled easily and often, but not for the camera. Most often he looked as if he was facing a firing squad. I've been told I'm like him. He died when I was eight so I don't really know.
By Elvin Clark8 years ago in Families
Schroon Lake
Nobody has heard of this place, but I managed to find it with both husbands. My first husband and I took the older kids here twice on vacation. We stayed in the Lakehouse at the Davis Motel and Cabins when Tom was a tyke and Jo was only a year old. It was nestled in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. I met my second husband through a friend at school when I was getting my B.S. in biology. When she heard I had been to Schroon Lake, she introduced me to Larry whose family owned a house there. There are unbelievable coincidences in life.
By Monica Bennett8 years ago in Families
