Letting Go of Love: How I Came to Terms with Divorcing My Husband
I have to admit that I knew something was up with my husband, Eric, even before he confessed to having an affair. This was back when cell phones were a new thing, and he’d tell me he was taking out the garbage and take the phone with him. I woke up in the middle of the night and heard him talking in hushed whispers on our house phone. When I walked into the living room, he hung up and told me to go back to bed. I obeyed him like I always did. He then started having “nights out” with the guys, something he’d never done before.
Read full storyWhen Love Isn't Enough: Overcoming Marriage Challenges
I adore my husband. I think you should know that first. We met nearly ten years ago because my first teenage love died, and there was a memorial service at his wife’s house. My husband was his best friend for practically his whole life. Upon talking to him, we discovered that our years living in Pompano Beach were on the periphery of each other the whole time, yet we had never met before.
Read full storyMiracle Baby: The Story of a Premature Birth
My water broke while I was getting my car’s oil changed. I was with my two young sons, and we were coloring while we waited. Once I felt it happen, I hurried into the bathroom, hoping it was nothing but knowing it wasn’t.
Read full storyThe Green-Eyed Mother: A Tale of Envy and Betrayal
She was my mom but always my competition. Right before I turned 21 and got married for the first time, I remember going over details about the reception with my mother-in-law. I shared with her what my own mother said when I told her about it.
Read full storyWhen Girls Bully: The Silent Epidemic Nobody Talks About
The consequences can be deadly. You may have heard about Adriana Kuch in the news. She was a beautiful girl of 14 who took her life after being bullied by four girls. One of the girls took a video of her being beat up two days earlier and posted it on social media, where it went viral and further humiliated Adriana.
Read full storySix Weeks of Drinking: A Woman's Journey Through an Alcohol Binge
Why I gave up after two years of sobriety. On ordinary days, I don’t think about drinking that often. I stopped doing it two years ago after I got really sick from alcohol. Remembering the torture of my debilitating stomach pain was enough to make me never want to drink again… until I did.
Read full storyIs There Ever A Good Excuse For Cheating?
When my ex-husband and I first separated years ago, lots of friends and family told us we should go to counseling and try to work things out. Mostly, it was his family’s suggestion. They knew he’d cheated on me already, but they still had hope for our marriage. If I had been more observant, I would have noticed that he’d checked out of our marriage a long time before he slept with his receptionist. I just didn’t understand why.
Read full storyDon't Do These Five Things After Your Divorce
One Saturday night in April of 2005, my husband of sixteen years confessed that he wasn’t happy in our marriage. He also let it slip that he’d been having an affair for the last month. Then he asked me if I wanted something from McDonald’s.
Read full storyThe Most Important Stage In Every Relationship
“He’s completely perfect,” I bragged to my friends about my new boyfriend. It was the summer of 2013, and Cupid had struck me with the precision of a surgeon. In just a few short weeks, I’d become convinced that the man who captured my heart existed on this planet without a single flaw. If there were any red flags in our relationship, I certainly couldn’t see them. It was from this magical view that I wanted to hang on his every word and follow him anywhere he went.
Read full storyMy Teenage Daughter Has Bipolar Disorder
My beautiful daughter, oh, where do I begin? She is magic and kindness and grace all rolled up into a cute smile and a button nose. She lights my life with the power of a thousand suns. My amazing 14-year-old girl has been through so much for such a tender age. She also has recently been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Read full storyMy Teenage Daughter Asked Me About Love
My 14-year-old daughter has lots of questions about love these days. Not about the birds and the bees though, since we’ve covered all that. The information that she wants to know now is slightly more complicated.
Read full storyPandemic Stress Is Real For All Of Us
It’s hard to know how to feel in the days of COVID-19. We see the pandemic numbers of the infected and dead every time we turn on the news. The numbers were going down but are now at a plateau again. I feel numbed out but still heartbroken for those who have died, but I can’t bring myself to cry yet. I’ve been fortunate that COVID-19 hasn’t touched most of my friends and family members. The idea of something bad happening to somebody I love is constantly on my mind, and I live in fear of it every day.
Read full storyI Hid My Mom's Affair From My Dad
The first night of my mother and father’s reconciliation, my father cooked the best dinner I’d ever had in my life. The grilled steak, mashed potatoes, and green beans tasted like heaven to my stomach. Junk food had been the staple of my diet since my mother and I started living by ourselves. I beamed with happiness as I ate and dominated the conversation. I had so much to tell my dad. The fact that we were all together at the same table seemed like nothing short of a miracle.
Read full storyThe Trouble With "Trauma Bonding" In Relationships
By the time I ended my marriage of seven years of hell, I was left with no furniture, no money, a traumatized bipolar brain, and severe drug addiction. Everyone around me knew what I didn’t, that my husband was dangerous and manipulative and would likely be the death of me if I didn’t get away from him. My friends and family watched me repeatedly escape from him, only to go back a few short weeks later. Nobody could make sense of why, least of all me. I hated that man with the same passion that I used to love him, yet life completely without him seemed unimaginable.
Read full storyThe Difference Between A Cheater And A Keeper
I refer to the night I found out my first husband cheated on me as the moment my life broke in half. For eighteen years, I built a happy life with an otherwise good man until he burned it all to the ground. Our divorce kicked off a downward spiral in my world for the next decade as I tried to replace the love and family he shared with me with a series of horrible decisions.
Read full storyHow I Got Rich By Giving Money Away
He leans against the wall outside the Walgreen's where I shop almost every day. He might be in his sixties. I don’t know if he’s homeless or not. He has on the same outfit almost every time I see him. A blue baseball cap sits on top of his head. His brown shoes are old and scuffed.
Read full storyLiving With High-Functioning Depression
At first glance, it might look like I have it all. I’m a wife to my husband of six years and a mom to three wonderful children. My dream since the fourth grade of becoming a writer has come true this year. I’m physically healthy for the most part. I never go hungry. I can go shopping and buy new clothes every once in a while. Being helpful and considerate is important to me. I shouldn’t have a complaint in the world and instead be grateful for the way life has blessed me.
Read full storyThe Heartbreak Of Postpartum Depression
My first pregnancy seemed like a breeze from the moment I saw the plus sign on my pregnancy test. I only had marginal morning sickness with only one episode of vomiting, and in my second trimester, I was full of energy and happiness about becoming a mommy. I didn’t have much experience with children, having been an only child myself. When I had an ultrasound and found out the baby would be a boy, I felt thrilled but a little nervous. What did I know about little boys?
Read full storyPlease Don't Do This To Your Adult Children
In total, I have two sons who are full-grown adults plus a daughter who is still 14 and lives under my roof. If I had one wish from a genie’s bottle, it would be that I could spend just one day with them all little again and just play with them. Those were the happiest times of my life by far. Sadly, they flew by way too fast.
Read full storyWhy I'll Never Forget Cody Coffman
In November of 2018, twelve people died in Thousand Oaks at the hands of a gunman at Borderline Bar and Grill. It was a country-style bar frequented by young people complete with music and line dancing. It was also just one of many mass shootings that year by a troubled man with a gun.
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