My parents divorced when I was nine years old after being separated for eight. I am the middle child of three children. My older sister was eleven, and my little brother was eight when our parents divorced. In June of 1997 on Father’s Day I told my father that I was moving in with my […]
Motherhood is Like Living in a Foreign Land – Casady’s Story
The night my first child was born the nurse handed him to me, pointed to a call button on the wall, and left the room. I was in a foreign country, recovering from an emergency c-section, with a strange creature in my arms and painful nipples. I could barely manage to drink from a glass […]
Mad Mama: Taming Adult Temper Tantrums
They say it’s those whom we love the most that are also the ones we hurt. I have found this to be excruciatingly true as a mother who struggles with sometimes uncontrollable anger. And sometimes a lot of it. I have memories as a child of my mother’s similar temper. I loved her so much, […]
Your Story Doesn’t Have to be a Train Wreck to Make a Difference
One of the most common things I hear from women when I ask if they’d like to share their story on M2M is, “but I don’t have an exciting story. Who would want to hear about my life?” I always respond that their story doesn’t need to be a show-stopper; it just has to be […]
Giving Up on Being “SuperMom” – Renee’s Story
After I became a mom I used to daydream about going back to the hospital. Not for anything serious; just an overnight stay after a broken bone or something like that. People would bring me chocolates and flowers, and my narrow hospital bed would have room for only one person. In this fantasy, I would […]
ReDefining Beauty – Reposted with Permission from Allison at Sisters of Katie Luther
As I washed my hands for the fifteenth time this morning I glanced up into the mirror and sighed. I looked tired, older than I should, and my skin has pores the size of the state I live in. To say I’m not happy with my appearance is an understatement. But I’m resigned to the […]
Motherhood Gave Me the Strength to Leave Abuse – Rachel’s Story
While I have never been one of those women naturally instilled with soaring levels of confidence, the amount I had worked hard to build was ripped to shreds by years of verbal abuse. I was treated terribly by the one who was supposed to be my partner. When I first met the man I would […]
National Adoption Month Series: Organization Spotlight – Adoption is a Loving Option
Adoption is a Loving Option was founded by two mothers, Jenny and Maria, with the dream to someday live in a world where the demand for abortions is virtually nonexistent. It is their mission to make a difference by educating youth about the positive options for facing unplanned pregnancies. Jenny and Maria believe that “if […]
National Adoption Month Series – Jill’s Story
On May 23rd, 2008 we got her. As we were snapping in her car seat, my husband Jake and I looked at one another and took the deepest breath of our lives. It had been years of struggling with infertility, confusion, and frustration. Finally, we had her, our Quinny. She just happened to come from […]
National Adoption Month Series – Rachel’s Birth Mother Story
As a 19 year-old naïve girl going through a rebellious time, I found myself pregnant. I had been challenging my family at every turn; I turned my back on them, and just knew I knew everything. Then reality hit. I was in the most unstable and unhealthy relationship I could ever imagine having and wound […]