Top Stories
Stories in Families that you’ll love, handpicked by our team.
Reflecting on Love, Life, and Loss. Content Warning.
I don’t think I ever fully conceptualised the reality of my grandparents’ mortality until my grandmother died. Her body broke down, leaving her mind intact. I cannot think of a worse fate. Motor Neurone Disease is a vicious, cruel beast that takes and takes and takes. My grandmother went from a vibrant energetic woman who loved drinking champagne and cloudy apple juice and sitting in tide pools to someone who could do little more than grunt. After my cousin died, she couldn’t go on, and I lost her at the end of 2021.
By Ash Taylor3 years ago in Families
They didn't tell me. . Content Warning.
Content Warning: Miscarriage The entire experience seems so unnatural. It feels like it should never happen, and yet it happens a lot, with little discussion. I never heard many, or maybe any, conversations about miscarriage. That is until it happened to me. Suddenly it seemed that every woman older than me in my life had at least one miscarriage, some more times than one could even fathom.
By Jade Haumann3 years ago in Families
The Delicate Art of Counting to Three. First Place in Little Black Book Challenge.
It’s a remarkable balance, keeping oneself together in this brittle thing we call life. Honestly, it’s a miracle I hold myself together at all, but I try my best. It’s just that my best consists of exhausting, tireless repetition, repeated in threes, to simply, hopefully, make life alright.
By Jess Sambuco5 years ago in Families
Hospice Came Today
My mom dedicated her life to her children. She took care of us. GOOD care of us. All while battling her own demons. She is kind-hearted, loving, and funny. Christmases, Easter, and our birthdays always brought great gifts, above my parent’s means. And today, hospice came for her.
By J. Delaney-Howe3 years ago in Families
Husbandry
Bear with me. What I thought was a chance encounter with a fellow toddler turned out to be more important than I ever thought at the time, and even for the first sixteen-plus years of my life, didn't fully figure out. I'll tell it to you as I remember it now, not as my tiny brain recorded it then.
By Meredith Harmon3 years ago in Families
Meeting in the Middle
I am embarrassed to say that I am not great at playing with my daughter. From what I hear from other parents, that’s not uncommon, but it’s still frustrating and it gives me a pretty serious case of mom guilt. When she was a baby, it was easy. All had to do was jingle some keys or give the teddy bear a silly voice. Now things are more complicated. Don’t get me wrong, she has plenty of friends in her classes and around the neighborhood. I am happy to send her outside to play with them whenever possible. I wish that was enough, because I am usually too exhausted to play.
By Leslie Writes3 years ago in Families
He Chose to Chance the Rapids
“You were his favorite uncle, you know.” My sister's words felt like an ice pick straight to the heart. It wasn't her fault; she had meant to make me feel better. On that day, sitting there with my siblings, the surge of emotion was too much to hold back, especially after the stress of the past 48 hours. I couldn't respond, for fear that the dam would break.
By Dana Crandell3 years ago in Families
Touching Hearts
A heart is a universal symbol for love – especially on Valentine’s Day. February is also American Heart Month. Raising heart disease awareness carries a deeper meaning for me because my mom, who was my best friend, died of heart failure on January 6 last year after a seven-year battle with lung and heart disease.
By Lori Melton3 years ago in Families
