Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
To My Father
To My Father, I am currently writing this in my bed thinking about how to make everything better. I have done everything I can possibly think of doing. I have tried to help you, to help me, and to help everyone else in this situation. I really believe I have hit a point in my life which I can no longer take anymore. I meant every word I said in the car the other night. You probably do not remember our conversation. I am so upset with you and your actions that I simply do not feel anything at all. Mom has done everything for Brody, Ally, and I. Everyone has tried their best to shield Brody from what is really going on. One day eventually he will find out or even figure it out on his own. I understand you are an alcoholic. But you have not been there for me as much as Mom, Ally, and even my grandparents have been. You can't take back what we never had. I can be manipulated only so many times before even "I Love You" starts to lose meaning. Don't you remember that I'm your baby girl? You lied to your flesh and your blood. I dream of another you, the one who would never think about doing what you have done. I have always wished you the best. I prayed for your peace. Even if you started this, this whole war in me, maybe someday when I look back I'll be able to say you didn't mean to be this way. I used to think I was so lucky. That I had the best parents in the whole wide world. Then I found out everything. I would do anything it takes to protect mom and everyone else in this situation. Put yourself in my position. What if your dad was the problem, was the alcoholic. What if he made your mom cry all the time? Made your older sister breakdown at her boyfriend’s house? What if your father is one of the reasons you take anti-depressants? Just all that is what I have to go through on a daily basis. There is so much more that I don't even want to talk about because I know telling you all my troubles will not fix any of yours. This letter is going to be the last thing I “say” to you for a while. I do not want to speak with you. All of your words fall flat. When I have a daughter, she will never have to wonder her worth because, unlike you, I’m going to put her first. Any man can be a father, but not everyone can be a dad.
By Kennedy Hale8 years ago in Families
Loss. Top Story - February 2018.
My grandmother was the center of my family. She was like my second mother. She always seem to know the answer to any question that Alex Trebec throw out. She chain smoked while doing the cross word, and almost always drinking coffee. I spent summers, winters, and time after school, with her. She was a legend in my mind. I thought that she would never leave us. That somehow, she was going to out last us all.
By Kasey Renee8 years ago in Families
It's Better This Way
For as long as I remember, my parents always bickered back and forth. For as long as I remember, my parents never kissed, hugged, or held hands. When my father tried to pull my mother close, she would push him away. When my mother tried to talk to my father, he was not receptive.
By Kyleigh Keovilay8 years ago in Families
Into the Lion's Den
If you forget to water a flower, it'll surely die. If you run over a flower garden, it'll fight to survive. With people it's the same concept. When I was in my mid-twenties I met a boy who was three years my junior. For whatever reason, I fell madly in love and that blinded me so badly that I led him ruin me. He stole everything I knew right before my eyes and I never did a thing to stop it. He was the love of my life, or so I had thought. He was the true love I had dedicated my life to trying to find. But he was the most toxic person I had ever met. He was draining the life from me and I never even realized it. For three years I fought for a little boy that didn't even want a future with me. Not even after I had our daughter. He was constantly in and out of our lives and when I had finally bent over backwards to keep him happy I got kicked while I was down.
By Miranda Floyd8 years ago in Families
Thoughts on the Death of Billy Graham
So Billy Graham died. What an impact this man has had on my life. But not in the sense most would think. LOVE, is not what came to my mind when I read of Billy Graham's passing. My mind was filled with sadness, longing, and loneliness. A feeling of being totally and utterly alone...and so empty. I have often wondered if that is how I feel when thinking of Billy Graham, how did his own children feel about a father virtually absent from their lives? Were the sacrifices truly worth it? I just don't know. I have learned long ago not to believe the public pictures.
By Esther Renee Large8 years ago in Families
How I Coped With Having a Miscarriage
Many women dream as a kid about having the perfect wedding and having children of their own. To be just like their moms. I always wondered if I would have children or if I even wanted children. After meeting my husband and marrying him, I knew he is the only one that I could ever want kids with. He was the one that had me dreaming about being a mom. I knew I would never be as amazing as my mom is but I could try. After two and a half years of marriage, I found out I was finally going to have the chance to be like my mom. To be a mom meant the world to me. I was excited and scared. There was a life inside me and I hadn't the first clue as to what to do. I told Roger, my husband, and that same smile I fell in love with was bigger than ever. There was a light in our eyes and we couldn't wait to share with our families. But what we eventually shared with our families was anything but happiness. The smiles faded and that light in our eyes burnt out.
By Taylor Searcy Holland8 years ago in Families
My Senior Year from Hell
Senior year, the best year of your life... or so they say. The year started like everyone else's, walking in the doors of my high school for the last time, saying "hi" to my friends that were gone all summer and of course, chirping our favorite teachers.
By Paytan Addley8 years ago in Families
Waves
I have a phobia of drowning, and when that first wave crashed down on me, I panicked. It took me under the water and spun me around like I was a leaf floating in the air. I tried holding my breath, focusing on which way was up. When I touched bottom, I kicked off, but only to be twisted around again. Another wave had pierced the surface and started stirring up its contents, including me. My lungs burned and felt tight.
By Ambur Lane8 years ago in Families
