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"I experienced my first broken bone in my life when I fell skiing this winter. I have been skiing for over 40 years. I broke my left collarbone, and it took over 4 months to heal on it's own. However, I still intend to get back skiing next winter."
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"A few years ago I went to a rave. From ages 17-24 I had been doing a lot of drugs and partying with friends. I would honestly drink and drive quite a bit. Never had any problems. But then one night I got wasted. I left the rave alone at around 1am. I was wandering drunk and lost, couldn't find my car for an hour. Finally I find it just a block away but was too drunk to figure that out. I chose it's time to drive home about an hour away. I'm driving down the highway when I see a construction zone ahead. Somehow I managed to drive into the construction zone area instead of turning left to continue down the highway. Just as I was back out to leave the area a cop pulls up next to me. He asks me what I'm doing, I just say guess I'm a bit lost. Next thing I know I'm getting arrested for a DUI. I get taken to jail, car gets impounded. This was a very annoying period of my life and I have never drank and drove since."
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'Our dear friend Steve passed away two months ago. He was a great friend to all of us. He was appreciated by all his friends and family. We had a wonderful memorial in celebration of his life.'
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'I went to Steve\'s memorial service about two months ago. I hate going to these things but had to pay my respects. There was a lot more people there than I had expected. I saw many pictures about him him in his early years that I never saw ever. I saw pictures of him with his brothers and sisters, It also showed him with his parents which i never got to meet. He looked a lot like his father. After checking out all the pics, I paid my respects to Steve. I checked out all the flowers till I saw the ones I had sent . Wanted to make sure they were worth what I paid. Damn , I will miss him a lot . Wish he didn\'t leave us all so soon. His passing was quite a surprise to me . He had hid his medical problems from me and I was shocked to hear he died. Most people there were quite somber. A few were sniffling and there were tears in many eyes. His siblings in particular were teary eyed. I paid my condolences to each one of them. I did not know them much. Only occasionally, did I meet the sister in passing. Nice people , all of them. Wish I got to meet them under different circumstances. Afterwards, I signed the signature book . Looked around and found some "holy pictures" with his info on the back . Knelt by Steve one last time. Said my good byes. Hugged the siblings and gave them my final condolences .'
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'I reunited with a woman I had met in the past and went out on a double date. The double date went well for us, but not for our friends. We have started a relationship since then that I hope lasts a long long time.'
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"A couple of weeks ago I reunited with this amazing woman named Nicole. I met her once a couple of years ago through one of her friends. We had an instant attraction to each other. I find her to be deeply and extremely attractive. She is puerto rican and italian with long curly red hair. On that first day she gave me her phone number to call, but unfortunately left the state a week later. Her phone number was changed and I had no way of contacting her. I have been thinking about her so much over the past two years, so when I ran into to her 2 weeks ago while getting gas I was ecstatic. We exchanged numbers again, and went on a double date the very next day. The date mostly consisted of us all going to the liquor store and buying vodka. We all went back to my apartment to drink and hang out, Nicole and I hit it off immediately. Unfortunately my friend and hers did not get along at all. Soon her friend Brittney was asking to be taken home. Nicole rode with me as I took them both home, and then we went back to my apartment and had sex for 3 hours straight. I couldn't be happier having her back around."
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'My supervisor told me of my promotion and pay increase. The promotion was happy news but the pay increase was a bit disappointing.'
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"After a couple of years being told of my pending promotion, my promotion was finally approved by the higher managers and went into effect. My supervisor had worked quite hard to press for my promotion and to champion me for this. When my supervisor told me of my promotion, he was quite pleased that he had finally managed to make this happen, especially since he was starting a new job in a different department soon and this was one thing he wanted to achieve before he was no longer my supervisor. He came into my office one morning and slid a folded piece of paper on my desk. He had a pleased smile on his face but said nothing, waiting for me to open the paper and see for myself why he was so happy that morning. I opened the paper and saw that it contained information regarding my promotion to a level 3 administrator. The change in levels pleased me since I was already performing level 3 job duties and felt that it was long overdue. The folded paper also held information regarding my pay raise and the percentage increase. This information fell a bit flat to me because it was much less than I had originally anticipated a promotion would bring. I received the same percentage increase for my promotion that I typically do for my annual raise. Seeing that lower number disappointed me, but I felt I couldn't show my supervisor my disappointment because he was so happy. Showing my disappointment would have been a slap in the face to my supervisor. He felt that he had done me a solid and the promotion, as well as the pay increase, was quite fair. It may be that I had the wrong ideas of what pay increase follow promotions. It could also be that my last promotion with the significantly higher increase was a fluke. I don't have much experience with promotions and don't know what is typical in the company."
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'I know that none of these moments may seem extremely emotional to anyone but as a person who tries to suppress emotion they are all important to me.'
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'once I returned to work from lunch to be told to get to the hospital quickly, my father had died. once I almost lost it when I hung up the phone after being told by my brother I had lost more than a quarter of a million dollars on a stock deal. An instructor at college once told me my work was better than any graduate student\'s work he had seen in his career and I was an undergrad at the time. The way way Sheryl put her arms around my neck and gave me "the look" you always want to get from the woman you love. driving my beloved and ancient cat to the vet while it\'s suffering Jacobson\'s contractions on the seat, and dying before we got there. looking down into the toilet and seeing it filled with blood and realizing my ulcer had burst and that I needed to get to the hospital right now. Pulling a dead man from the ocean and trying to bring him back to life with no success. having a friend offer me my dream job, without a single interview, and being the happiest at work I have ever beenscreaming at work at the insanity of a stupid proposed strategy that cost millions. buying that first Mercedes convertible and driving home with the top down and feeling like a million bucks. waking up in the broiling sun, naked, on the deck of a dive boat after being rescued from certain death by the US Coast Guardrelaxing with a cigar at the end of a long and wonderful day in Positano, Italy with my girlfriend. feeling my heart pounding when the mugger pulled out the switchblade and backed me against a fence overooking a canal in Amsterdam. having my sister ask me to walk her down the aisle after my father died. my mother, giving me my father\'s gold watch, that his father had given him- standing back and viewing the sailboat I had built from scratch signlehandedly, the first time it was completely finished. opening up the envelope and seeing the packet containing my first patent and the big bonus check that came with it. looking into the eyes of the woman I loved the very first time I entered her and seeing love reflected back at me.'
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'My sister needed me to purchase a gift for her husband on her behalf and gave me $800. I had a friend come over the same day, and they stole the money from me. I was left with having to pay for the gift with my own money.'
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"About two months ago, my sister asked me to purchase some tickets to a concert for her husband and gave me $800 to buy them for her. She asked me to do so on her behalf, because it was a surprise gift for their anniversary, and she did not want him to know that she was doing it. The afternoon that she gave me the money, I went home and put it in my desk drawer, with intentions of depositing it in my bank the following day so that I could make the purchase. Later that evening, I had a friend come over who was having some problems with her boyfriend. We talked to each other and caught up and she asked if she could use my computer, which I of course said yes. I was on the phone with my husband who was out of town and in a different room while she was on the computer. Shortly thereafter, she suddenly had to leave and her reason behind it was unclear and sounded suspicious, but knowing her I summed it up to she was lying about what she was really going to do and I didn't really care too much. The next day I was getting ready to leave to go to the bank and I opened up my desk drawer and the money was gone! I checked my wallet and purse to see if for some reason I had put it in there, although I know for a fact that I never moved it. I immediately knew that she had stolen the money from me, and her wishy-washy excuse for leaving now made perfect sense. I was furious. I called her immediately and she did not answer. I called her 3 more times and she still did not answer. So I sent her a text message and pretended like everything was ok so that she would call me back. She called me back and I asked her if she took the money. She claimed to not know what I was talking about and tried to blame it on my kids (who were all asleep when she was there) and I could sense that she was lying yet again. There was not much that I could do at this point but to write her off as a friend and know that she could not be trusted. This was extra hurtful to me because I now had to come up with $800 of my own money to pay for the tickets since I was the person trusted to do this. I struggle financially as it is, so $800 is a lot of money to me."
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'The most memorable and significant day of the last few months is my graduation from my PhD. It is significant because I am the first of my family with an advanced degree. I will look to inspire future generations of my family to do the same.'
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"That was a very special day in my life because it was one of the largest accomplishments for me and my family. I woke up very nervous and sort of sick to my stomach but in a good way. I was afraid that something would somehow go wrong and I wasn't going to get to graduate. The morning started with breakfast with family and hanging out with my wife and brother. We then went back to the hotel and got ready by showering and getting some good clothes on. We met up with the he rest of the family for photos which took about an hour. After photos we went tot he auditorium and the ceremony started shortly after 2 pm I believe. It was about an hour long but it seemed to last forever. At some point the nerves went away and I was just happy to have finished a very hard phd and happy that I made my parents Proud. The rest of the day was also very positive. We had dinner as a family at a nice restaurant. We then sat and talked for a few hours. I told my family stories of the struggles and tough times during those five years. The offered feedback and told me I had done a great job. I admit this felt so good! It meant to much to be able to accomplish this for everyone that helped me along the way. It was a top moment in my life for sure"
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'I was waiting on my Jeep to be repaired and it was taking a very long time, the Jeep had given me plenty of trouble in the past as well. Someone I barely knew called me and gave me a car that they no longer wanted.'
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"My neighbor works on my vehicle's and he is often very unreliable. He works for a great rate but doesn't communicate and sometimes has take over a month to do a job. So this was one of those times. I went out of state for 3 weeks and dropped it off, assuming that he could do the job while I was gone and I wouldn't be waiting when I got back. It all was very efficient. Well, I got back to town and guess what? The job still wasn't done. I was told it would be done the next day. Nope. The next week. Nope. Then I just wasn't told anything. So while this is going on, another friend who knows how these mechanics can be had a Subaru sitting in his driveway that he didn't want anymore. It was in a bit of rough shape and certainly understandable why it was being given away, but the interior was nice and more importantly it drives like a dream. I couldn't believe how cool this was because the friend I speak of, who gave me the car, was barely a friend at this point. We had maybe hung out 2 or 3 times. It was just completely unexpected and came at a great time. I was able to sell my Jeep to someone who really needed it and the car has treated me well for the most part. Although currently I'm again waiting on repairs ."
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"My friend and I took a road trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles. We followed the Pacific Coast Highway and didn't make a single plan. This is our story."
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'Three months ago my friend and I started our road trip. We started from San Francisco and the destination was Los Angeles. We did not make any plans, but we stick to follow the Pacific Coast Highway. During the trip we stopped at many cool locations, including a coffee place where my friend met a girl who was also doing a road trip. However, she was alone and did not had a car, as she was mostly relying on rides. We offered her to join us on the rest of the trip, which she promptly accepted. We continued our journey visiting many small places and seeing very nice landscapes. During the trip, the new girl and my friend started to flirt with each other. One or two days later they starting to date. Once we arrived in Los Angeles, they booked a separated room for them. Later on, we found out that the girl was from San Francisco as well. We then came back to our town, but this time we flew. The girl came with us. Looking back to the road trip, it was a very pleasant experience for me and especially for my friend. My friend is still dating the girl we met in the trip. In fact, I think he is about to propose to her. I think that without the road trip, he would never had fallen in love with this girl and be about to start a marriage. My friend thanks me a lot for this, since the road trip was my idea.'
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'I went on a trip to NYC with my son. It was an amazing experience for both of us. It was our first trip together one-on-one. He loved all of NYC and I loved spending time with him.'
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"I recently went on a trip to New York City with my teenage son three weeks ago. We are from the southern United States and have never been to New York before so it was a new experience for the both of us. We have been to cities like Miami and Atlanta but New York is on a different level. We flew into JFK airport and then caught a cab to our hotel in Manhattan. Our jaws were open for the entire trip to the hotel. We have never seen so many people just walking to and fro, no matter what time of day it was. The energy level of the city is just insane. Once we checked into the hotel, we immediately headed back out to explore the city. Each day we sought to explore a different borough. We checked out Central Park and the zoo. We of course visited Lady Liberty herself and the One World Trade Center. We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and took pictures of the water. We took the subway to Coney Island and rode on the ferris wheel until sunset. We walked down Wall Street and watched all the bankers and brokers run from office to office. We spent about a week there and we still felt like we hadn't seen half of what the city has to offer but all in all it was still the most amazing trip we've ever taken and we will definitely be heading back."
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"I fell for a scamming company that charged my credit card for fixing my brand new Dell computer. I should have really thought about what I was doing but I didn't. I spent a whole 2 days wasted working on this problem but, thankfully, my bank refunded me because they confirmed it was a scammer."
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'Last month I ordered and received a new Dell PC desktop. I installed it and within an hour I had big red warning boxes popping up all over the screen saying my Windows 10 was compromised. There was a telephone number which I thought was microsoft so I called it. A guy with an Indian accent (naturally) answered and I told him my problem. Unfortunately, I could barely understand him so I asked to speak to an american-accented person. He hooked me up with another Indian person. By then, I was getting frustrated because I couldn\'t understand anybody but they seemed to understand what my problem was. So somebody else came on online and gave me a quote for $225 to fix it and wanted my credit card number. At that point, I stopped and asked to make sure they were Microsoft but they never confirmed it in so many words (I thought about this afterwards). So I gave them my credit card number and they took over my computer and tried to fix the problem. The next day, I got the red error boxes again. I called them and wanted my money back and they said the charge was already gone through. I asked to speak to a manager, but nope, never got anybody else. I argued for a while with them and got nowhere. I hung up crying and called my bank and told them I was scammed. It took 2 days to get my money back from the bank. I can\'t believe this happened to me. I continually warn my friends about stuff like this. But now I know how scammers work. They scam you when you\'re vulnerable and have no other place to turn in the middle of your emotions! I swear, this will never happen to me again (I hope). I hope my bank is doing something about them - I got a letter afterwards explaining that it "was" a scamming company.'
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"I applied for my dream job, at my dream company. I had great interviews, and the final interview was wrapped up in a way that insinuated that I was going to get an offer. I didn't get an offer."
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'It\'s been four and a half month since I had the job interview at my dream company. I was quite depressed in July and August, after I got the news. Even though I like my current job, I still had a hard time getting out of bed every morning. I dreaded going to work for a while since I thought I was going to be in a new city by then. I cannot believe how certain I was that the job was going to be offered to me. I still don\'t know what happened there. One reason why I was so depressed was that I lost my confidence. I told to myself, "If I cannot even get a job after a good interview, how is this going to ever work for me?"Early September, I took a week off and went camping. Oh, how much I needed this vacation. I was out in the mountains, where I did not have any cell phone connection. I spent my days reading my books and just enjoying the nature. I didn\'t go hiking or kayaking. I simply took my time to relax and recharge. This vacation helped me get over my depression. I came back to my home and to my work with a completely new perspective. I like my job, but my job, or any job I may get in the future, does not define me. The real life that makes me happy is out there in the wilderness. I will keep working to be able to afford living a comfortable life and to continue to enjoy nature and outdoors. I feel much better now.'
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'I coincidentally reunited with close friend from high school. It was very emotional and I am so happy that it happened.'
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"It's actually very interesting and funny that I happenned to run into that high school friend that I have not seen in quite a while, reason being I had no intention of going to that mall on that particular day. I was just going to stay at home and relax on that day. Luckily I had a change of mind and basically force myself to go to the mall and buy an item of clothing that I really wanted. I actually was in the mall for couple minutes looking for a nice leather shoe to buy. I had formal event to attend in a couple days so I really wanted that shoe. As I went from one store to the next. I saw my high school friend a couple steps in front of my. I honestly did realize at first but I was thinking this person seems familiar. i realize that I recognize the person. I kept thinking where do I know that person from. I then realize that the person was a friend from high school. I smile and my friend smile back. Thinking about it now, I am guessing that my friend went through a similar thought process that I went through. We greeted each other with a smile and a hug. We talked and laugh. We talk about our time back in high and what going on in our current life. We then exchange numbers and went our separate ways."
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'A woman killed something on the road while driving home one night. She was working with a psychiatrist to deal with her emotions.'
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"Late Saturday night around midnight, I was driving home from dinner with my friend, on a road that runs parallel to the railroad tracks, when I heard a noise and felt my wheels run over something. I wasn't sure what it was and it was dark and deserted out. I didn't feel safe getting out of the car to check. I kept driving until I got home. I couldn't sleep that night thinking I might have run over and killed an animal. In the morning when I checked my wheels, I saw blood stains on the wheel and underneath the car. I was sure I had killed something on the road. I felt really guilty about it. It was an accident but it was still not something I could like with easily. My psychiatrist has been helping me sort through my feelings and prescribed anti-depressants. He's afraid I would slip into a deep depression. I had just gotten off the drugs but he thought I should get back on them, given the accident. I took the drugs again. They numbed my feelings. I could get by with school and work. It helped to stay busy."
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'Rented a lake cabin with my family. Convinced my mother in-law to kayak for the first time. She did not fall in the water but it was still amusing to watch her get out of the boat.'
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"I rented the cabin out on Thunder Lake a few weeks ago. I thought it would be a lot of fun to get all of the families together. So I went ahead and rented a pretty large cabin. It was really cool, the kitchen was wide open with a lot of windows looking out over the lake. There were plenty of bedrooms for everyone so both my parents and my inlaws came along, along with our kids and some of their friends. We all wanted to get out on the water and we rented some kayaks to use while we there. Everyone was taking turns and having fun but my mother-in-law refused to try it. Finally after a lot of pushing by just about everyone, she finally decided to give it a try. It was so funny she was really pretty freaked out about the entire thing. But she got in the kayak just fine and managed to have some fun kayaking along the shoreline. It was hard not to laugh when she finished. She got back to the dock and just stared at all of us. She couldn't figure out the best way to climb back out of the kayak! Some grandkids went over to help her. They essentially had to pull her out. We all got a good laugh out of it, even her. It really was a great time and she thinks she may even kayak again sometime."
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'My softball team had to make up a double header on a day we already had a double header. This meant we played four games, back-to-back-to-back-to-back.'
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"Recently, my softball team had a double header cancelled because of the weather. This week, we also had a double header and the league decided to make up the one that was cancelled from a few weeks prior. This meant that we were going to play four softball games in a row. This wouldn't be so bad if it weren't 95 degrees and humid. Just one inning into the game, we were all sweating buckets. We knew it was going to a be very long day. Still, we persisted and won our first game. Dripping with sweat and exhausted, we moved on to the second game. This game was much closer to the last, with signs of fatigue clearly showing on our faces. Normally, this would be the last game of the day. Sometimes, we only played one, but we advanced to our third of the day. A couple errors really brought the team down early in the game, but we managed to string along some runs via some great hits and couple home runs and brought our daily record to 3-0. With the finish line in sight, we walked over to another field to play our fourth and final game of the day. By now, the lights were on and a light drizzle began to fall. Usually rain was unwelcome, but on a day like that we all took it with open arms. Unfortunately, we weren't able to complete the undefeated day. We were bested by a good team that was playing their first game of the day, but no excuses! We could have pulled it off, but in the end I was honestly just happy to be heading home."
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"In the past year, I went through a very dark period in my life after a separation and divorce. Since going through that dark period, I've met a great woman who I am still with today. This serves as a reminder to me that all tough times pass with enough persistence and hard work."
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'This time last year, I was going through a very bad divorce. I had only been married a short time (under a year), but I asked for a divorce and separated from my then-wife. This separation occurred around the holidays, so it was especially lonely and depressing. Having to spend Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years alone was a very dark thing to experience, very lonely. I had a great support system, and got myself into some healthy habits (gym, therapy, hobbies), but it was still an incredibly difficult time in my life. There were times when I wasn\'t sure things would ever get better. My divorce was finalized five months after separating, and I knew I needed to take the time to be single and get myself in a good place before I started dating again. As luck would have it, right when I started feeling like "myself" again, I met a wonderful woman. I am still with her to this day, and have a strong, fulfilling, and satisfying relationship. In the end, I learned that although I went through a dark time, all bad things will eventually pass as long as you\'re willing to put in the hard work to see them through. In going through the pain of a separation and divorce, I learned to appreciate not only myself, but my girlfriend. The little things she does seem so much more meaningful and important, because I came from a bad relationship where I had none of them. I now know what it\'s like to feel love and respected, but first, I had to learn to love and respect myself. That\'s something that could only come from recovering from a divorce. I hope my story ends up serving as an inspiring tale to those around me who don\'t believe there is light at the end of the tunnel.'
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'I went on a beach vacation. During that vacation I had a great time and participated in many memorable activities. It was a very lovely getaway.'
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"I went to the beach. Before we left, we loaded all our beach gear into the car. Continuing down the road my sister and two brothers and I sang songs to keep from falling into the depths of boredom. Deciding where to stop for dinner was a real challenge. Everyone wanted to eat at a different restaurant. Finally Dad stopped at Cracker Barrel. I chose green beans, potatoes, and steak for my dinner. We all drank hot cocoa and whipped cream for dessert. Initially we had hoped to reach our destination, Pensacola, before midnight, but it seemed impossible. Just after we crossed the Georgia/Florida border my dad stopped at a hotel. Keeping quiet not to wake the others staying at the hotel, we tiptoed out at 6:00 A.M. Later the next morning, we arrived at the house in Pensacola. My mom's friend and her family were staying with us. Never is there a dull moment when we are all together. Of course we were very tired from our trip, so we rested all day. Plenty of fun in the sun was in store for us the next day. Ready to get out on the beach I had forgotten something very important. Quite sunburned was I by the end of that day. Sunscreen had not been applied!"
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'Had a crush on a guy throughout my childhood. Reconnected with him years later. He stopped talking to me because he was in prison.'
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"I didn't know that he had gone to prison so I can't really blame myself. I suppose there is some shame that he feels with regards to what happened in his life and that is why he stopped talking to me. I really don't know. I would like to know what happened though. Did he fall down on his luck? Did he get caught up with people who were bad for him overall? I would really like to know the story behind his imprisonment. I would like to reach out to his family but don't know how to contact them. I don't know who he talks to anymore as per friends either. I've tried writing as well but get no response. I would like to help if there is something I can do to help. I'll try contact one more time and then leave it be. Perhaps the embarrassment and shame of it all is too much for him. It's rather sad really. He was a super nice guy in high school. He had a lot of potential to do good things in the world. That's why I find it rather strange that he got caught up in something that put him in prison. It's just sad."
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"A couple of months back, I had a big storm roll through town as I was babysitting my best friend's kid. I love that kid like he was my own. Even though I was scared of the storm, the kid showed me that I didn't need to be afraid and that I had a place in his future."
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"I had a very enlightening experience two months ago. I ended up getting a call from my best friend, asking me if I could watch his son while he and his wife went out for a date night. I love that kid like he was my own, so I was happy to accept. Another plus, is that I get snacks and dinner for doing it. It's a win win. I didn't think to check the weather, as it seemed promising all that day. As soon as the kid and I were alone, however, it started to rain. And then the rumbling thunder accompanied by frequent flashes of lightning. To make it better, the storm cell was right over our town, so we got to hear it from right underneath. I hate storms, and have an irrational fear of them. I put on my best brave face, but I think flinching every time I saw lightening, or heard thunder gave me away. The kid, awesome as he is, had me sit down with him, and told me that playing games helps take your mind off of things you're scared of. Responding without thinking, I told him it was good advice. He just gave me a look, and said that I told him that all of the time when he's scared. I almost wanted to manly cry, I was so flattered. I ended up laughing, instead, thankfully. He then told me that even when I was an old man in a thunder storm, he'd always be there to play games with me. Like I said, I love this kid like he were my own, and I'm thankful that he thinks of me as family, and we'll always be in each others' lives."
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'My son returned from a military deployment. We had a big coming home party for him. The night ended badly, with drunkenness and physical fighting.'
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"My son returned from a deployment in Cuba for the US ARMY a couple months ago. We had a huge coming home party for him. It was such a joyous occasion. We had not seen him for over a year. He was so happy to be home. We invited all of his friends and family. Unfortunately some of our relatives got really intoxicated and got into a physical alteration. The police were called and his father ended up getting arrested for assault when he tried to break up the fight. I feel so embarrassed and ashamed of these family members. I really wanted this to be a happy time for my son, but he ended up so upset, and unfortunately, this has caused a huge strain on a few of our family's relationships. What should have been a great celebration, ended up being an event filled with bad memories. My son is the one who should have been celebrated. Instead, certain family members decided to be selfish. They decided to focus on unnecessary drama. I have apologized to my son. He said that it is all right, but I do not agree. It will be a long time before I consider having those relatives at any events in the near future."
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'I had my fourth baby very unexpectedly after going in to the hospital for monitoring. It turned out that he had a full knot in his umbilical cord.'
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"I knew the pains I was experiencing were not normal because I had three previous pregnancies. I wasn't set to give birth to our son for another month. While braxton-hicks contractions are normal at this stage, these were definitely not false labor pains. Three weeks ago, I delivered our 4th son, Van, via cesarean section in an emergency delivery. His umbilical cord was tied in a complete knot, and he was not getting the life-sustaining support he needed as a result. Even though he was early, he thrived. I wasn't at all surprised because he was utterly active in the womb, which is probably how he ended up in the situation he was in. He spent every waking moment kicking and keeping me awake. He's very much like this now! My husband told me that when they took him, he was blue and not breathing. They quickly got him breathing, and though I was completely out at the time, I feel in my heart that I could hear his first cries. Even though this memory was not something solidly formed in my brain, it is something I know in my heart. This memory will stay with me forever. I am blessed to have him in my life. This was probably the most traumatic experience I've ever had, but seeing his smiling face every day has made it all worth it."
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'I was explaining my daughters birthday party. And the enjoyment she had as well as the work it took me to pull of. Overall is was one of the most happy re-memorable moments i never forget.'
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"I had the time of my life two weeks ago. I had never felt that alive, and weirdly being a father was the reason for that feeling. Being a father at that point felt like the best thing that has ever happened to me. It was my daughter's birthday, she had so much that she could not stop talking about it for days. It was two weeks ago but I can vividly remember everything that took place. Audrey was so full of joy, seeing her smile and laugh was probably the highlight of the year for me. Though planning and preparations for the birthday party was not an easy one. First I had to deal with the caterer, then there was the clown. The most annoying to deal with was magic-less magician. His magic almost bored kids to sleep. By some act of miracle the event turned out to be better than I expected. Everyone had so much fun, even the adults. All the kids were even reluctant to go home. I was so tired that night i slept for about 9 hours straight. The happiness and joy I saw on Audrey's face that day made it all worth it."
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'My oldest son, Henry, started Kindergarten today. I watched has he climbed onto the bus and waved goodbye as he headed off to school for the first time.'
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"Today was a very memorable day in my life as a mother. My oldest son, Henry, started Kindergarten. I can't believe that he is five years old and starting school already. I feel like he was just born. Where has the time gone?! I still remember his newborn smell, his first bath, his first tooth, his first words, his first steps, and his first day of preschool. Now, here we are, and he's in Kindergarten. I know that the next 12-13 years are going to fly by just as fast, and I need to savor every minute of his life with me. Before I know it, he'll be graduating high school and heading off to college. We only have 18 years with our children before they head off into independence and adulthood. We need to cherish them. This morning we were both anxious about his first day of school. I made him a special breakfast of waffles and milk, helped him get dressed in the outfit we picked out last night, and got his backpack ready for the day. We took many pictures outside with his brother and sister to commemorate this special day as we waited for his bus. When the school bus arrived, he nervously walked up the stairs and turned to look at me one last time. I waved goodbye to him as he found his seat. As the bus pulled away and headed to his school, I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. My baby is heading off to school, and although I'm a little emotional, I know that he is ready and going to excel."
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'A friend from my childhood saves me from the anguish caused by a cheating partner and troubles at work.'
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"Today, I received a call from an old friend at the best possible time. I had the absolute worst day of my life. My partner of five years admitted to cheating on me. Not once did she tell me about any problems with me or our relationship. Not once did she share any negative emotions. She always had a smile on her face and we did things together. To add insult to injury, I was transferred to a different unit at work even though I performed well and expressed a strong interest to finish my career in my unit. Evidently, the new boss wanted to clear out the veterans and make room for his friends. I guess I should have expected that considering his approach on projects he had been involved in--all consisted of old college buddies. And yet, despite these incredibly painful events, I was treated by the universe with a call from one of my most trustworthy friends from my childhood. It was as if the universe didn't want me to fall into depression. It was as if I was being reminded that there are always good and bad things that happen, but it was important to remember that they are all experiences we must go through. I had never been so happy in my life that day. I felt like that there's always hope if you wait for it. I'll never forget how awesome and supported I felt at the end of that day."
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'I was fooled by a nice old lady whom I thought was honest. It turns out she is a selfish deceiver and liar. I want to get as far away from her as possible, but I have to bide my time.'
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'Throughout our lives we meet many people ... Many types of people who in some ways affect both our lives positively and negatively, as long as we decide that it affects us. In my short life of 28 years I have become a rampant traveler because of the search for wealth that is not exactly monetary but rather the wealth that provides a good memory of someone or somewhere. I have known many parts of the world, many people, cultures and have heard their stories, legends and the wisdom they have. But two years ago I decided to take a trip but not one to another place but I gave myself the task of knowing the people around me thoroughly, to give them my confidence, to know that world they have inside their mind. Because as I say each person is a world, some are full of goodness, wisdom and much love but others are rotten by deception and evil. A few weeks ago on my trip to meet people I came across an old woman who gave me the first impression of being a kind, honest and honest person. I managed to talk to her, meet her and it was so good that I had fallen that I started a few days to give her an extremely good confidence. I could tell her everything and she, until one day I made a request, and this was to lend him $ 2,500 to pay his mortgage, when he told me this I was a little surprised by his request and after thinking a little I decided to give him the money. After a few days of lending him the money, that nice old lady who had met and liked me so much, began to change his way of being with me. It became more closed, when I visited her home she didn\'t attend me or sometimes she didn\'t even open the door to greet me, at that moment I started to see that something was very wrong. Although as a kind old lady I thought, "Surely she must be busy or sick and doesn\'t want to help me."But one day I met her at the walmart and she saw me when she was surprised and greeted me with a lot of hypocrisy and left, it was no place to talk about the loan. So days and days went by until I took on the task of inquiring if she really had used that for her mortgage, the truth was that no, I spend it on something I still don\'t know. Seeing this, I went to her house and argued with her I was so upset that I could not even think, I felt so deceived, and I told her that I was going to report her to pay me the money. It was a very tense moment. Until she confezo me it was my grandmother, that grandmother who had believed missing since long ago, that grandmother since childhood so much wanted to have and now hate her for having deceived, that grandmother tricky and very unethical. In the end, I decided to forgive her, she wanted to maintain the relationship after the lack of respect she made, I just decided to get away from her and continue with my life.'
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'I was the caretaker for my mother for six years and although she was sick the entire time, everything seemed to be okay. This was until she had to suddenly be rushed to the hospital, and died there, which has left me feeling alone and wondering how to move forward.'
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'A few months ago a very sad event happened that changed my life. For the past six years I was the caretaker for my sick, elderly mother. She had been in and out of various hospitals due to her illnesses. Although I knew it would be a difficult undertaking, because I was really close to her, I decided that I would take care of her full time. We moved in together and I took care of her daily needs. However, I had to watch as her condition started to slowly get worse. She began to lose her ability to walk and was forced to use a wheelchair. And next, her mental capacity began to deteriorate as well. Still, I tried my best to care for her and to give her an enjoyable life, like she deserved. There were ups and downs to the whole situation, but I thought that overall everything was under control. That was until unexpectedly, one day, she needed me to call an ambulance for her. That was the last time I was able to speak to her. She was rushed to the hospital, and had to be put into a medically induced coma, from which she never woke up from. Losing her was such an unexpected event in my life. Suddenly I felt more alone than I had ever been. Nothing could have prepared me for this situation, and even now, I still am feeling the effects. To say that I feel sad about the situation is an understatement. I wish that I could have her back, even for a short while.'
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"The summary details my day as I flew to my company's annual event at the state's capitol. I flew there, attended the event, and flew back on the same day. Upon returning home, I grabbed a drink with a friend and went home."
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"My flight to the event could of been better. Even though it wasn't a long flight I was placed by a screaming child. No matter what those poor parent's did their kid would not stop screaming. I gave them a look of sympathy as we exited the plane. The event was amazing. Great food, good conversations and the chance to meet employees from different company locations. The speech that our CEO gave was heartfelt and motivational. He told us about his personal struggles this year while undergoing treatment for cancer. And thanked all of us for being there to make sure our company continued to work to the high standards our clients expect from us. The flight home was thankfully much more quiet. I met my friend Jason at our local bar and we caught up a little bit on how the event went, how his job is going. We've been friends since high-school and have only grown closer as time has gone by. Despite having all in all a great day. It was a long day. Returning home felt like a blessing. I was able to kick off my dress shoes, and get into some comfy clothes. The rest of my evening consisted of watching a movie and then going to bed."
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"I went to my brother's commissioning at the local sheriff department. He was beginning his training there to become a sheriff and received his badge. I was surprised to find out we would not be able to spend time together after the event because we made plans."
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"I went to my brothers commissioning a few months ago. He was being given is his sheriff's badge and officially accepted into the sheriff's department. We had to go to the courthouse area really early and at 7 am we were led into the compound of buildings and into a secured area. The sheriff came and gave a speech before pining a badge on each one of the new sheriff's shirts. I used my phone to film the whole process. I also looked around while they were talking and I saw very interesting photos of sheriffs going back to the 1800's. There were also photos of many sheriffs on the wall of the facility who had died. It was emotional when the sheriff spoke because he talked about how family was the real reason that they did what they do and it was clear that he meant it. The most surprising moment was when they were told that training started right away. I expecting to get to spend the day with my brother since we even had family in town and it happened to me my birthday but he had to stay and we had to leave. The event was still significant to me and I was glad I got to witness it because it's not something I've probably have the opportunity to do again. I also think it was important for me to be there to support him. I think it makes a difference when you have family who support your career choice. I also have considered law enforcement in the past but I've always decided against it. That doesn't mean I don't think that its a job someone has to do and I'm proud someone in my family is capable of filling that tole."
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"This story is about my recent adventure to Europe. The two weeks I spent in France and Italy have transformed the way I look at life. I can't wait to go back!"
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"This summer I had the wonderful privilege of going to Europe for the first time in my life. I spent two weeks there with my parents and my boyfriend. First we went to France, where I was immersed in the most gloriously romantic places I have ever seen in my life. It was here that I was shocked to find that the stereotypes I had always heard about France smelling foul and the French being rude were completely incorrect. I found the French to be polite and impossibly chic. They know how to live! I don't think anybody in France works; everyone just lounges at cafes enthralled in deep conversation over a glass of wine and great food. Needless to say, we were easily able to acclimate to that way of life. Highlights of France were trying escargot in a Parisian bistro, canoeing down a river in Bordeaux, and lounging on a beach in Marseille. Next, we moved on to Italy; Or shall I say EATaly! There, we engorged on the best food that the world has to offer, like pasta, pizza, bread, gelato, and more. When we weren't shoving food in our mouths, we were gawking at the finest art that has ever been created. It was a culture overload, and it was amazing. The best parts of Italy were seeing La Traviata at an exquisite opera house in Bologna, walking through ancient architectural marvels, and sipping prosecco on the gorgeous Amalfi Coast. This trip has transformed my perspective on life. Seeing new cultures has broadened my outlook in such a way that I have tried to incorporate European habits into my life. For example, I noticed that the French were very present and engaged with each other, not like us Americans who are always on our phones. This is a valuable souvenir that I have brought home with me, and I can't wait to return and experience more!"
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'My mom came to visit out of state for my birthday and took my husband and me to do an Escape Room. It was my first one and we failed, but we got really, really close to escaping. It was a much needed reminder that I am pretty darn good at thinking and have solid leadership skills.'
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"Three months ago my mom wanted us to try something different. In a way, it was a form of catharsis that I didn't really know that I needed. I was working long and hard to improve on my thinking and leadership skills, but just could never crack or edge on through. My birthday took place on the day my mom wanted me and my husband to go with her to do an Escape Room. It was challenging, and exhausting, but we made some pretty substantial progress. There were so many different mechanisms involved that it was hard to imagine there was actually a way out. But I was excited, and I could tell my family was excited too. We had worked hard to make progress, and while it was slow, it was still progress. It was my first ever try at one of these rooms. I had only heard of them in passing but had never seriously looked into them. After that night though, I want to go more. It's an exhilarating way to pass the time and to have fun doing something a little bit different. It's hard to deal with certain things. Some things just felt counter-intuitive. We ultimately didn't make it to completion that night, but I'm confident I can do it if I had just a little more time."
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'A long-planned trip to Disney World was threatened by an unexpected hospitalization and an emergency surgery. Despite this, we took the trip and had an amazing time despite the setbacks.'
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"This summer I had the opportunity to take my youngest daughter to Disney World. She is four years old and obsessed with princesses and Mickey and Minnie Mouse. This was to be a magical opportunity. Unfortunately in the time leading up to the trip, two things happened to get in the way of successful travel. First, my oldest daughter who is mentally ill had to be admitted to a long-term residential program. She was originally supposed to come on the trip with us but now this would no longer be possible. There was also the added stress of needing to be near by her while she was hospitalized and my anxiety about traveling during this time. The second event was a back surgery, desperately needed, scheduled for my husband just twelve days before we were set to depart. He had his surgery and it went well, but he developed a hematoma and was in terrible paid. Despite this, we decided we didn't want to miss out on this opportunity. My oldest daughter was disappointed she couldn't go, but we promised her a makeup trip and she felt better. I was able to visit with her right before we left. We drove to Orlando and rented my husband a motorized scooter to get around. Despite his discomfort, my husband agreed that this vacation was well worth it. It was such a joy to see our four year old girl enraptured by the magic all around her. It was Disney's most crowded day of the year and we were under a heat advisory but we kept a positive attitude, made the best of a bad situation, and had an amazing time."
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"Celebrated my son's birthday at the Woodland Park Zoo. Had a great experience with the lion. Came home and opened presents."
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"July 15th, 2019 Today we celebrated my yougest son's 4th birthday. We decided to take the whole family to the Woodland Park Zoo near Seattle, WA. We arrived early, before the crowd, and it was a beautiful day. My son loves all animals but was specifically excited to see the lions. We got lucky. The lion was a huge male with a big mane. He was up and walking around which is something we don't often get to see. He even gave us a couple of roars which was thrilling for my son but scared my 1 year old daughter quite a bit. We had a picnic in the middle of the zoo and then my son got to ride the carousel. We continued our day at the zoo and got to see many of my son's favorite animals. After the zoo we headed home, grilled some burgers and hot dogs, and had cake and ice cream. We then got to let me son open presents. He was thrilled to see that he had got many of the animals he had seen at the zoo in one of his gifts. He was also excited for the Nerf Gun and bubbles he opened. My son got up the next morning and asked if he could have another birthday!"
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'It is important for a high school student to make a detail plan on his preparation of college application. It is better for a family to arrange the school campus visit for their kids more earlier prior to their application dates.'
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'Two months ago, I drove to a few cities in the east coast for a summer campus visit with my kids. My kids are ready going to their college in next a few year. We scheduled for 9 university information sessions and the corresponding campus tours during this trip. We have greatly enjoyed this impressive and informative trip. We directly contacted with the teachers and students from these universities and learned a lot of new information about our interested university. This was a very important visit for my kids to prepare their university applications later on. As their parents, we also felt this visit was very helpful for us to prepare for the coming important events. We learned how to start the preparations for the promising universities earlier. My son has been aiming on his dream school, MIT, because his friends went to this school. I helped him to sort the candidate majors out and went through the admission pages carefully. After talked with the teachers and students there, my son recognized what were his strengths and weaknesses. He said he would start preparations of his standardized tests more earlier. He have made a detail plan for the next 3 years for this endeavor. I thought that it would be better for a family to arrange this kind of campus visit more earlier, i.e. 3 years prior to the university application. This kind of activities obviously encouraged my kids to be more active on their studies. As parents, we also could help them in more specific manors instead of non-focused ways. Through these visits, my kids had their direct experiences with the university campus life. We learned more detail about their interested majors in the candidate universities instead of just numbers such as accept rate and university ranking. We would narrow down the school list and re-visit some of them in the future. In summary, this trip was a very important for us to help the kids to prepare their college application in the coming years.'
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'We adopted my niece and had to go to court to make it official. It was an emotional day for all involved.'
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'I can remember the day as if it was yesterday, so vivid and still so emotionally draining. I couldn\'t sleep the night before our court date and neither could Sandy. We sat up most of the night asking ourselves will we be good parents, will she love us, will she be happy, our minds were simply a blur. Our alarm went off at 6 AM that morning but we were up before then having some coffee since neither of us could really eat that morning. Once we arrived at the courthouse we sat in the car for about 15 minutes still asking ourselves are we doing the right thing, will we be able to give her the best life possible. We went in and saw her in the hallway before court, I knelt down with outstretched arms and she ran and jumped at me and squeezed my neck so tight it hurt, but it was such a good hurt and I will remember it all my life. We weren\'t allowed to go into the courtroom when the judge talked to her, only a few people were there so she wouldn\'t be intimidated or afraid. They said she was such a bright and articulate child and knew exactly what she wanted. We were then brought into court, our niece was not there as the judge talked to us. I have to say that my emotions got the best of me and at some point I cried like a baby. I think I told the judge our biggest fear was not being the best we could be for our niece at which point I can remember the judge saying "From what I see your love for her will take you through all the hard times as well as make many great times together". We were told then that the adoption was final and we could now take her home, to her new home, ours. On our way home we stopped by our local bakery to pick up a cake for the celebration that we had planned. Our niece waited in the car with me while my wife ran in to pick up the cake and my niece asked me if there was a chance she could get a puppy. We knew how much she loved dogs since my sister, her mother, had one before she passed and my niece pretty much grew up with a dog around her. We wanted it to be a surprise and had a little cocker spaniel puppy waiting for her when she got home, her new home, ours.'
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'I travel to Vietnam where I had trouble getting into the country. After I was finally admitted into the country I was ripped off, followed by some salesperson, and had a random five year old girl try to hold my hand.'
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"This was the weirdest trip I have ever taken. 4 months ago I booked a trip to Vietnam. I couldn't wait to go. It is somewhere I have always wanted to see. After a long plane ride, I had very high expectations of the country, however, those were shattered pretty quickly. After getting off the plane, I had trouble with entry. They didn't think the picture on my passport looked like me. So I stood there arguing with them for a good 20 mins. Finally after that headache, they let me know. The first night I was there, I was walking around trying to find a place to eat, and a salesperson approached me. He never left me be. I was scared because he started to follow me to the restaurant. Once in the restaurant I looked back and he seemed to have left, but I made a note to try and eat as long as I can so when I left he wouldn't be there again. The second night, I was walking about a park and this little girl came up to me. She looked at me intently and I tried to ask her if everything was ok. I guess she didn't know what I was saying because she smiled, looked at my hand and grabbed it. When I tried to take her hand away from mine, her grip got tighter. Looking around for her parents, I didn't see anything. Finally, grabbing hard without hurting her I got her hand loose and quickly walked away. Since I was here a week, the day before I left, I got ripped off. I handed some money to a merchant after I bought a neat necklace, and wasn't handed any change back. I figured I miscalculated and moved on. At the next place, the same thing happened. At this point, I realized they were stealing from me. I felt so stupid, yet I was afraid to do anything."
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"My family and I went on a trip to Korea. It was the best vacation I've ever had. We learned about each other and made memories that I will never forget."
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'My family and I went on a vacation for the first time in several years to korea. It was the first time that we ever went on a vacation where we focused on ourselves and relaxing. We usually would go on trips to visit extended family so this was a time we could be indulgent with our time and money. We rented a car and went all across korea. It was amazing. My family bonded very closely there. We talked a lot, laughed a lot, and made a lot of memories that I will never forget. I learned more about my parents and their story before they had me. It transitioned us to this new phase in our lives where my brother and I are no longer children but adults along with them. We took a lot of pictures also. We made an album from it. We have it playing on repeat in our dining room. We look at those pictures as we eat and remember fond memories. My grandma also went with us. She talks about the trip every time we call her. It was a great time for us to remember.'
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'I visit the hospital to welcome a new baby of a relative. In longing for a baby, and making a list of things I must do before that can happen, I become overwhelmed and envious. My husband helps to calm my heart.'
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"My husband and I have been married for 10 years. During these years we have discovered that it will be nearly impossible for us to conceive a child naturally. This was very devastating new for us. My family and his have been hounding us for grandchildren. We play it off coolly, because we don't feel it necessary to involve them in our fertility issues. It's our business. After several years of failed fertility treatments, it because more and more painful to see my family members and friends experiencing births. A week ago, my sister-in-law gave birth to her fourth child. It was extremely upsetting for me as my sister-in-law indiscriminately has children with no means to actually care for them. My husband is a great support system for me during this time. I can't help but be resentful and envious of the people out there having children that they don't even care about, and those who choose to abort. Being a mother was at the top of my list of what I wanted out of life. Now a have a brand new niece to rub my nose in the fact that it was probably never happen for me. I could not bare the weight of these emotions without the constant support of my husband. I keep hoping that we will find some treatment that will work for us. At this point though, with our age advancing, we are beginning to consider adoption."
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'Had a new born child and wanted to take him to visit my elderly grandmother. Made the trip to see her and she was just smitten with him. Was offered lunch and we ended up having ice cream for lunch.'
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'Back in January my wife and myself had our first born baby boy. Fast forward to September, we intended to make a visit to my 88 year old grandmother but did make the trip yet. We finally felt it was the right time to introduce her to our son. I called up my grandma on the phone and asked if she would be open to us stopping by on Saturday. She said that would be great and would love to have us. So, we got up early around so we could be on the road by 8 am for the 2 to 2-1/2 hour drive. I told my grandmother we would arrive between 10-10:30 am. We made it exactly to her house at 10:30 am, which my grandma mentioned "when you say you will be her at 10:30 am you meant it." I thought that was cute because I know she was anticipating the visit so much. When we arrived you could tell her face lite up. It had been at least a year since I saw my grandma and I felt guilty. I feel like I could visit more often and call. It is hard to find time between work and having a new born but none the less I feel like I can do better. Anyways we sat down with here and she had many questions about our baby. We also asked if she would like to hold him and she was hesitant. She said she didn\'t want to drop him, but she said yes anyways. We took some cute pictures of both of them together. After we visited for about an hour, she asked if we would like lunch. We said no thank you, trying to be polite. But she didn\'t take no for an answer. She started to set the table with bowls. I was confused at the moment on what she was planning on serving for lunch. As I watched she went to the refrigerator and grabbed a gallon of ice cream out of the freezer. She asked for help from my wife to scoop the ice cream since it was frozen. We had ice cream, potato chips, cookies and grapes for lunch. Then we left shortly after.'
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'I got very sick because I had not eaten in six days: I had *no* appetite at all. As a result, I was taken to the hospital where I was admitted and spent three days. I am now on a medication that gives me an appetite so I can eat regularly.'
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"On June 20th of this year, I woke up and had a hard time getting out of bed, but I forced myself to. I hadn't eaten in about six days--I just had *no* appetite at all. As a result, I was very, VERY dizzy and felt like ... garbage. I called my best friend in New Mexico and she told me I should call 911. So I did. Then I sat outside my place on the stoop and waited for the fire department to arrive. They arrived about 15 minutes later (although it felt like much longer). They immediately started checking my pulse, my blood pressure, and all that stuff. They also hooked me up to a drip-bag of saline solution. About half an hour after that an ambulance arrived. The ambulance took me to the nearest hospital--fifty miles away because I live in the middle of the Mojave desert--and the hospital admitted me after checking me out. I was in the hospital three days. I felt better but was worried that what just happed to me would happen again. The last two days at the hospital, the doctor's gave me 20 millimeters of a medicine that give me my appetite back. The medicine worked: on the hour drive back home, I stopped at an AM/PM and bought--and devoured--two cheeseburgers. And that night at about 10pm, at home, I ate an entire can of chili. So I'm much happier now. I'm still taking the medicine every day, and I'm happy to tell you ... I'm eating regularly now."
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'the story captures the death of my young sister who succumbed to death due to an illness that she has been suffering from a while now and it was very painful watching her die without knowing what to do to help her'
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"My sister passed away after a long battle with cancer. I am glad she is now at peace. I miss her so much. Watching her slowly wither away was the worst of it all. I watched her go from a beautiful flower, so full of life, to a wilted plant close to death. At her funeral they made her up to look beautiful. When they placed her in the ground, she looked just as beautiful as I wanted to remember her. I hope this is the way she feels now that she is in heaven. Every day is a battle. I miss her so much. I know she is at peace now, but I can't help to be angry. Why would God take her away at such a young age?? Why is someone as sweet at her dead, while so many others who are terrible people are still alive?? My heart is broken. I don't know what I am going to do. I feel like part of me died with her. I try to think that she is in a better place. She is free from pain. But how do I know for sure??"
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'After the death of my sister I was lost. In the midst of my Moms health crisis I became me again. I became empowered through exercise.'
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"The most devastating thing that ever has happened to me was the death of my sister in 2017 from cancer. After she died I felt empty and just didn't care about myself anymore. I stopped taking care of me. In May of 2019 my Mom was hospitalized and then had to go to an after hospital rehab. She was there for 18 days. I stayed with here the entire time, she was contagious so I could not leave. It was during this time that I had what I think of as an awakening. There was not much to do and I knew that I had to do something to keep myself strong. I started to exercise. Gradually I began to move. I did consider stopping but I pushed through and each day began to feel better. I also did word puzzles and had a book to read to try and stay mentally sharp. I helped my Mom with her exercises and we had long conversations. But all the while I exercised. While I was just sitting in a chair watching TV, while she was sleeping in the afternoon, I fit it in everywhere. By the time she was released I felt like a new person. This experience saved me."
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'My husband and I celebrated our 10th year wedding anniversary. We had a day full of surprises. We celebrated as a couple and also chose to include our children later in the evening.'
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"My husband and I have been together for over ten years now. We decided to celebrate the occasion. We made a whole day out of it with different activities. We spent some time to ourselves. We also chose to spend some time with our children as well. We see them as an integral part of our family. Our children are what shaped our family into what it is today. That is why we felt it was important to spend time with them on that day too. They are our world. My husband and I also spent some time reflecting and thinking about our last 10 years together. We have been through many ups and many downs. We have always come out together in the end. We support each other. I feel as though we have a strong relationship and have each other's backs. Making our 10 year wedding anniversary a celebration was important to remember that. I can't wait to see what the next 10 years has to offer us."
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"My mom who is my best friend was diagnosed with breast cancer. There were many emotions that I've felt about it. I have decided that I will stand behind my mom and all of her decisions."
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"Two months ago, Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. I think we all took it as a shock, but I felt as though it hit me harder as I consider Mom my best friend, and we spend a lot of our time either hanging out together or talking with each other. Mom has always been there for me, and I decided right away that I need to be her saving grace in this time of need. I took me a while -- that day I went on a long drive after Mom told me she needed time alone to reflect. On my drive I pulled over on the coast, taking some time to watch the sunset and think about times past and how I need to be moving forward. It was sentimental, a few tears were shed for sure, but this was the moment I realized what I believe today and what I'm writing about. That is, I want Mom, no matter what happens, to feel the love everyday of her life. I want to make sure that everything I do for our family takes into account her wishes. This week I think I've done well to do that for Mom. Hell, we went skydiving two days ago! Ha, it was a blast, and it's not like her cancer is terminal, but it could be and I want to make her feel like we support her every step of the way and want to see her happy, as we always have. It just gets a different type of perspective when things like this happen. Since Dad passed last year, I feel it us kids' job to be there for her, and I know she just wishes she had him back to be by her side. We are trying our best, but most importantly it is about her. I will stand by her no matter what happens, she is my rock."
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'The story of an accident that occurred in August 2019, which was memorable due to the impact on my mind and my life. The accident has consumed my mind for many months, in a negative way, which includes: losing confidence, worrying more and completely reduced my trust in people.'
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'On August 5, 2019, the one thing that worries me each day, has finally happened. I am heading home from work when I was hit from behind in my car by somebody not paying attention. This was always a possibility, with driving for work each day, but I always thought my defensive driving strategies and confidence in my abilities would be able to avoid it. But, sometimes, other factors play a role in my life experiences. The damage to my car was heart-breaking to see, because I knew what was to come. The accident caused my car to be totaled, along with my confidence on the road. The driver was not helpful, he did not care and lied to my face and to the police officer. This made me angry, and lowered my trust even further in people, which is already very low. The funds, I had been saving would now need to be used for a car, which was not part of any plan. All the time and effort spent on saving, seems to have been for nothing, and once again I feel like a failure due to this financial situation. Then, my luck seemed to change, the car was quoted by an insurance agent and I received a lot more money then I thought for the car. I was happy again, but that withered away as I began searching for a replacement car. I was forced to take on more bills and even more worry. On the plus side, I finally have a decent car that is nice and dependable, but my confidence and anxiety are in a rough place. I am now even more worried about driving, and damages to my new car that I have to pay a lot money for many years. The confidence I had in my driving has still not come back, and this makes me feel like I lack ability and weak-minded. I hope this passes, because I do not like feeling worse about my life. I will have to work on getting my confidence back, and reducing the amount of daily worry I have. This was not a great day or experience, and has definitely impacted my life each day since August 5th, but I think it will pass soon and I can have finally my mind and confidence back.'
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'My friend tried to kill himself because of depression. I had to spend an evening talking him out of it and convincing him to get the help he needed.'
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"About like a month ago my friend called me crying saying that he was suffering of depression. I immediately grabbed my keys and jacket and ran to his house. When I saw him he was laying on the floor grabbing his legs crying , I hugged him and asked him what was going on? . At first he didn't want to talk , so I just hugged him and waited until he felt comfortable enough to start talking. After like twenty minutes he told me that he have been suffering from depression for a while now, he been feeling super sad and he does not know why is it, because he has in life everything that he could ask for. But the past few days the depression have been making him think weird things , like taking his own life, that's why he has not been answering no ones call. I told him not to worry and that I was going to be there to help him in everything that he needed. Later that day he said that we wanted to tell me something but that he felt ashamed. I reassured him that I was his friend and the last thing I would do is to judged him. So he confessed me that earlier that day he tried to take his own life, I got super scared I didn't know what to say or how to react, I stood quiet for a couple of seconds , and then realized that the best thing he could have done was to tell me because in that way I could help him to get the help he needs. I told him how brave he was for telling me , and how happy I was that he trusted me so much for talking about something that is not easy to say, I told him not to worry about and that there is a lot of people in the world dealing with depression and how there is a lot of help available for those that want to get better. I told him that I was going to stay there with him and that I was not going to leave him alone in this journey. We decided to rest and eat something and how we planned to call some psychology doctors at the very next day. At the next morning I woke up very early to do some research and see who are the best doctors to take care of this type of problems. I found a couple I made couple of calls and found one that could work perfectly for him , I made an appointment that very same morning since I explained them how important it was for my friend to speak with someone that had experience. I woke my friend up , and told him to get ready to go and see the doctor."
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'My husband lost his job unexpectedly and we are racing to get a new business up and running. We need to start bringing in money before we run out.'
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"It was near the end of June when I received a life changing phone call from my husband. He had recently started a company with the dream of running his own business in the next year or two but we were not prepared for that to start immediately! His boss discovered his new company and fired him on the spot. No two weeks notice, no time to prepare. Thank God he had some vacation time saved up so we weren't completely screwed financially. Many concerns crossed my mind. How will we afford food? How will we pay our mortgage? How will we send our kids to the private school that they love and thrive at? My husband and I both worked diligently over the next few weeks to get everything set up for the business that we thought we would have a year to accomplish. We opened a bank account, fixed up the website, created a LinkedIn account, and started emailed companies looking for work. He also attended a conference to try to make some connections there. Many people were interested in his capabilities but it takes time to get a contract officially signed. My husband created his first blog post and it quickly received a significant amount of attention from the tech community. He has great ideas and would be a huge value to anyone willing to work with him. We know that there is great potential in our new endeavor and we are confident in our eventual success but we need to start bringing in money soon."
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'It was a little summary of my familys outing to six flags. It was a great trip with funny stories and great adventure.'
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"I wanted to spend more time with family. I am trying to my best to be my own person. I really just wanted to feel loved and accepted. I think with time, that can certainly be possible. It's hard to do something for myself. My family wanted to go to Six Flags almost a year ago. We had to drive there as the closest one wasn't so close. We just wanted to spend some time as a family. The funniest aspects of the journey was just on the way. We shared stories and just tales of a life gone by. It was sobering in a way. The end destination was awesome but for me it was a chance to spend time with family. It was a reprieve away from my problems. It was one that I don't take lightly. I don't think I'll ever forget it."
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'My cat died so I wanted to adopt a new cat a few months later. I looked into adopting a new cat. One saturday, a cat appeared and adopted me and my son.'
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"Me and joe were neighbors and school mate. We studied together till 8th grade. After that we joined the same college. We spent weekends also together. Due to his fater's job transfer, he moved out. As a parting gift, he got a persian cat. It was chocolate brown cute pet. I just loved it. It was always with me. It would eagerly wait for my arrival at the door step. It will brush against me, if i neglect petting it. It will keep its tail erect when there is an urge for it go out to poop. It was a well behaved pet. It was with me during my marriage. It was there when my child was born. When my son was 8 years, it died due to old age. We were all very badly traumatized by its departure. We missed it every moment of the day. We finally decided to get a new pet kitten."
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"There is no treatment for secondary progressive MS, I will continue to worsen rapidly if I don't change my lifestyle."
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"Since I first received the news that I needed to quit my job, which I loved, I have made many changes in my life. First, I quit my job the day before Thanksgiving break. I cried when I talked with my friend in HR. I FINALLY purchased my rollator. This was a huge act of acceptance, as I had fought doing this. The rollator sat in my truck for 2 weeks, never used. I refused to bring it into my home. I felt I didn't need it inside. I simply did NOT want to use it. One day I fell twice inside my home. That same day I was so out of balance, bouncing around, hitting walls, etc. So, I asked my husband to go get it. Eagerly, I began to use it that day. I was okay with it as I definitely needed this aid at the time. A few days later when I wasn't as out of balance I stopped using it. Then my balance went crazy again. I bounced around, not using the rollator. My husband put it in front of me. Now, I can happily say I am using my rollator in my home whenever I need it. I view this aid as my friend now. Once I order a basket for the front, it will be even more useful to me. I have been stubborn about using this, but now I am at peace with it. I've accepted what I need to do."
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'A kitten us found in a parking lot, covered in ants. I cleaned the kitten and drove home with it in my lap. I fed it with a syringe every two hours and stayed up all night keeping it warm.'
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"I was coming out of the grocery store and saw something black wiggling in the bushes on the edge of the curb in parking lot. I thought it as a duck at first, so I didn't pay much attention, except that maybe I would move it after unloading my groceries so that it didn't get run over by someone else parking at the store. I put all my stuff in the back of my trunk and got in my car. All of sudden, I remembered about the baby duck, turned the car off, and got out to go move it to a spot farther away in the parking lot, closer to the canal on the west side of the grocery store. I was shocked it see it was not a duck, but rather, a baby kitten covered in ants! I grabbed a Gatorade bottle that I had just bought and in a panic dumped it on top of the kitten to wash off some of the ants. The kitten didn't have his eyes open and was crying loudly at this point. A person in the parking lot saw what was going on and ran over with some paper towels that were in her car. Neither of us could find a mom cat or any other kittens. I held the baby close and kept picking off ants. They weren't biting me, so at least I knew they weren't fire ants, but there were thousands of them crawling over my arms and stomach, as well as on the baby kitten. I decided the only thing I could do was wrap the kitten in an extra shirt in my car, put it on my lap and bring it home. I have bottle feeding experience and knew I needed to feed him right away. Shelters will euthanize a kitten that cannot feed itself. Asking for help from a rescue group in my area is pointless. I knew no one else would help this kitten, so I did the right thing and brought him to my house. I was afraid to bathe him at such a young age, but I had to get the rest of the ants and Gatorade off of him if he was going tot have a chance at survival. I stayed up all night feeding him goat's milk from a syringe every two hours. I kept him warm by placing a sock filled with uncooked rice that I heated in the microwave every 30 minutes or so. It was a long night, but he survived! I was so happy!"
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'My toddler learned how to verbally exercise consent and said "no thank you" for the first time. It made me happy and sad and I can\'t wait to see whats next with my parenting journey.'
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'My daughter is 19 months old and is just learning to talk right now. We snuggle and share affection together frequently. We open our arms wide when we hug and we say "no thank you" instead of "no" in our household to promote politeness and to soften the negativity you can feel with a basic no. Last week, I opened my arms wide and asked her for a hug. She gave me a coy smile and said, "no thank you!" and ran away. My heart simultaneously burst with pride for her understanding of body consent and broke because she rejected my affection. I could tell she really understood how telling me no would make me feel and she enjoyed having some power in our dynamic. This was also the first time she had ever said "no thank you!" at all. She is so smart! I am so happy she feels safe to tell me no to touching her person and the physical affection we share will be more special than ever because it\'s going to me made up of touch we both want to give and consent to. This was a milestone I wasn\'t expecting and I haven\'t been able to stop thinking about it since it happened. I\'ve told the story to every important person in my life. I am just so proud of my baby girl and I can\'t wait to see whats next in life for her. Parenting has been such a wild ride- so bittersweet! And also so full of surprises but I love watching my children grow and imagining the women they will be someday.'
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'I met a homeless man named Casey at the bus stop. After talking to him, I offered to let him sleep on my couch that night if he wanted. We ended up becoming friends, watching Netflix, and talking as he shared his story, a conversation that changed my perspective forever.'
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'3 weeks ago, I was walking down a busy street. I realized that I soon had to catch the bus, so i stopped and waited at the bus stop. At the bus stop, i met a man named Casey. Casey was a young homeless man. After talking to him, I had great pity on him. Casey lost everything in the financial crisis, and he had no family left. After talking to him for a while, I realized I had to do something. I offered Casey money, but he would not take any. I decided I should invite him back to my place. I live alone after all. I told Casey he could sleep on my couch that night if he would like to. Casey came back to my house, ad we watched Netflix for a good while. As he shared more about his story, I felt my entire life perspective change. I realized that i took so many things for granted. I told Casey that he had changed my life in that moment. To this day, Casey and I are close friends.'
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'This story is about me going back to college. Through hard work and determination I learned a lot along the way and became a better person because of it.'
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"I went back to college to get my degree in science. It was hard because of my disabilities but I managed to get through it. I worked hard and studied a lot. I almost gave up in the middle of it but I pushed through remembering why I was doing it in the first place. To be a working member of society instead of feeling sorry for myself with my disabilities. Even if my disabilities become too much of a problem at least I could be proud of finishing college. Finishing college has always been a dream of mine. Even finishing the first semester would have been enough for me a long time ago. However, after getting high grades the first semester I knew for sure I could pursue this dream entirely. I had understanding professors. Which helped a lot. The subjects weren't too hard. I am now in my second semester and it's become a little harder but a little easier too since I've learned so many studying habits from the previous semester. I think this experience has made me grow as a person very much. I am lookig forward to what happens next."
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'I started speaking to a therapist about issues that have haunted and weighed me down for years. I had never been able to talk about things fully with anybody without judgement before. It was an experience that I will never forget.'
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"Two months ago I finally made the call. After doing some research and getting recommendations from friends I called the highest rated therapist I could find. I was very nervous about this experience because I have never been able to share how I truly feel with anyone. I always worry about them judging me and no one in my life has really truly understood. I have had a lot of hardships as a child and I don't want to share all of them with people I have to see on a day to day basis. Finally the day came and I had my first therapist appointment. As I walked up the steps to the therapists office I was deep in thought. Was this the right choice? I was so nervous. I slowly began to climb the stairs. On the third step my deep concentration on the talk to come distracted me from my climb and I fell backward down the stairs and hit my head. Pain burst through my scalp and my head immediately began throbbing. I reached to the back of my head and felt wetness. I yelled for help. The therapist came running out of her office and called 911. I was rushed to the emergency room and diagnosed with a minor concussion and got 3 stitches for the cut in my head. So much for my first therapy visit. After a week of rest and recovery I once again returned to my therapists office and this time I carefully used the railing as I climbed the stairs. Today I safely made it in to the office for my first official appointment. The first appointment went ok. I was a little nervous but the therapist was kind and I decided to come back twice a week at her suggestion. Since that day I have been seeing her twice a week and I have been able to share many difficult feelings. The more I see her the more I trust her and the more I am able to share about my experiences. Sometimes details that I have not thought about in many years come to me between visits so it is very useful to be able to return later in the week to discuss again. My therapist has become an amazing support in my life and I will never forget my first therapeutic experiences."
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'My mom was diagnosed with a mental illness. It has caused distrust and alienation among the family members.'
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'The most recent memorable event was learning that my mom has a personality disorder call Narcissist Personality Disorder. It explained so much of my youth and adult life living with her and interacting with her. My siblings and I were never encouraged to be together, to congratulate each other, to help each other by her. We were only told of the negative things that each one had supposedly done and that we all had some type of grudge against each other. Therefore we all grew apart and did not trust each other. We were not a close family or even a fake family. We all basically just knew of each other. Learning that she has the disorder put a lot into perspective but does not allow for resolution or closure with her. Even with her diagnosis she does not admit anything. She still wants to be the "pit stop" among the children. Unfortunately, I see the same pattern in my siblings and myself. At this point I cannot communicate with her. She has a great burden about me from my childhood that she has not yet acknowledged. So I am always-in her mind-trying to retaliate. She tells this to the family and they do not know which is truth and have chosen to believe her. I am leaving them and her alone as it will do no good until someone else is on the receiving end of the vitriol.'
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'We were homeless and didnt have anywhere to go. This explains the homelessness journey in so many words.'
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"We were homeless not too long ago , didn't have anywhere to go. Went from house to house , shelter , car & outta state. Being out of state was depressing and lonely. But that's where we had a roof on our heads. Still didn't have a place to call home though. Recently.. literally like 3 weeks ago we moved back to our home town. We found a house within that first week. We moved in this past Monday and it's been the happiest we've ever been. Only thing is now we have the roof over our heads and no money to take care of everything. I'm hoping everything continues to go good from here and on out we only deserve the best. It's been a long journey. Scary, sad, happy, confusing and much more. We've been through a lot. Hell and back literally. This is our time to shine."
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'I helped organize and participated in a birthday party of a family member. The candles on the birthday cake produced a large flame that the birthday person had to blow out quickly. Overall the party was very enjoyable.'
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"A family member needed help doing a birthday party. I ended up helping. The decor was already bought. Mainly, the help needed was to just put up all the decor. It involved many ladders and tape. We got it done in time and it looked good. Many of us didn't like the chosen decor but it wasn't our call. Overall everyone helped a lot and we had a blast. When the cake was brought out, everyone noticed the crazy candles and how the flame was quite big. The candles needed to be blown out quickly so they wouldn't burn the cake. All of them were melting quite fast. I think is was because they were so close together. The candles were luckily blown out in time. Nothing bad happened. Good food and friends."
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'Today I had one of the best workouts of my life. I set a personal best record while bench pressing. I was able to successfully lift 200 lbs for 5 reps!'
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"About two months ago I decided to start an exercise routine. I decided to work out for 1 hour a day, 3 days a week. Today I just hit a record! During my work out session I was really feeling it. I have been more motivated during my workouts because I have an event to go to in two months where I have to look good. I usually alternate my work out routines. Today was bench pressing. I always document my work outs and what I have accomplished for the day. I hit a record for personal best! Today I successfully lifted 200 lbs for 5 reps! I couldn't believe it! I am usually only able to do 200 lbs for 2 reps, but I tried my best today and it paid off! I am so proud of myself. I really hope I can continue this streak during my next work out. I think I'll be able to do it."
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"My baby girl was just born recently. It was a smooth and positive experience. She's perfect! She has a ton of hair for a newborn, and is so tiny even though she's big for her age. I guess anything's small when you have a toddler wrestling with you all day! HA"
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"Our baby girl arrived today! After all the time spent waiting, she's here, happy, healthy, and beautiful. She's absolutely perfect! Everything went smoothly for the most part, and her mother is resting comfortably. I could not have asked for more. I'm so thankful for every blessing I have been given. After 9 long moths of waiting, we got to meet our baby girl. She is the sweetest most adorable baby girl I have ever seen, but I may be biased! After having a toddler that's 100% boy, and can destroy things with great ease, I hope she is a much more calm experience. At least until her teens, then there's a whole-nother set of problems to worry about. I look forward to the future to see what they'll both become. You never know what life has in store for you. As I write this i think about how short life really seems when you get to my age, and that all you want is to see your family be happy and successful. Time to go now. The little one needs me!"
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'Over the weekend of the Fourth of July, I visited a friend in his hometown of Ormond Beach, Florida. We did a number of activities, but the most memorable was a walk along the beach'
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"Last year, I moved down to Florida to begin working towards my PhD. Over the course of the year, I made several friends, one of whom invited me to visit him in his hometown of Ormond Beach over the Fourth of July weekend. We left on Thursday and arrived later that night, taking in a fireworks show before retiring for the evening. The following day, we visited a friend of the family at his home just out of town. He owned a fairly large amount of property which he used, in part, as a gun range. While neither my friend nor I are particularly pro-gun, my friend studies World War II history and owns a number of historic weapons that he wanted to operate. So we spent much of the day there until poor weather forced us indoors. Once the storms cleared out, we went back outside to take in a private fireworks show of questionable legality. The following day, we spent some time exploring Daytona Beach. We visited a few shops and my friend showed me a few of the more interesting sights. Later, we returned to Ormond and checked out the Rockefeller house. That night, we went to the race at Daytona Speedway. My friend's family owns property near the track and consequently has some connections, so we were able to tour the raceway prior to the race. Unfortunately the race was rained out, but it was still a memorable time. The following day, we returned to Gainesville, but prior to leaving, we decided to visit the beach. I spent almost my entire life in Ohio, and Gainesville, while obviously much closer to the sea, is still landlocked, so this marked the first time I got to see an ocean. We walked and chatted along the beach for an hour or so. There was nothing particularly remarkable about the experience, but getting to see the Atlantic for the first time was quite memorable."
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'I decided to relocation to another state. The move was difficult physically, emotionally and financially. In the end I made the best choice and look forward to each and every day.'
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"I have lived in Connecticut my entire life, 48 long years. A beautiful state convenient to the east coast beaches as well as the cities of New York and Boston. The fall foliage is amazing. There are so many quaint towns to visit, many with historical significance. The state parks are wonderful to visit, many with beautiful rivers and lakes. These are some of the positives but there are also many negatives. Including extremely high taxes, outrageous home prices, cold winters and abundance of people I like to call uptight. Wanting a change of scenery and financial status I decided in June of this year to relocate to North Carolina. The weather is fantastic, taxes are low and the overall cost of living is much cheaper. It was the best decision of my life, I absolutely love it here! There are beautiful beaches, lots of activities and the people are so down to earth. The packing was hard work and very emotionally taxing. It's not easy to change your entire life. The move was also and continues to be a financial hardship but things are getting better. It has been 4 months and I wouldn't change a thing. I have a job, I am saving money and enjoying my life. I do miss my friends and family members but they are all welcomed to visit. I am close to Myrtle Beach and would love to take them to see some of the attractions. I'm sure they would enjoy it here as much as I do."
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'I took a job with the promise of a promotion in the near future. That promotion actually took about five years to materialize and made me almost leave. In the end my hard work and patience was rewarded.'
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'I took a job about five years ago that came with the promise of a quick promotion. The job was a step down for me at the time but the promotion would have been a large step up. Supposedly the job I actually wanted was going to be free in the next six months. The person who held that job was supposed to be retiring. Well six months turned into a year, and then another year. It was somewhat frustrating but I made the best of it. I got a raise and more responsibilities and began to take on more of the tasks that I would eventually inherit. I did start to get frustrated though as I had been promised one thing and given another. It seemed like the rumor of retirement was just that a rumor. Every six months I was told that he would be retiring soon. This went on for almost five years and I was taking on more and more of his tasks without the corresponding pay. It got to the point where I was actively seeking a new job. I made it known that I was not going to wait any longer and then it finally happened. After five years he finally announced his retirement. I was told to stick around for a bit longer and the job was finally mine. It took a lot longer than promised but in the end worked out ok. I got a large pay raise and promotion and have a place where I will be for a long time.'
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'We finally closed the family estate which was a grueling process. My father passed fairly recently and it has been a very stressful time. After over a year of hard work, the nightmare was over!'
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"My mother and I recently closed out the estate. My father passed over a year ago and we have been working diligently since that time. There has been an endless stream of paperwork and a lot of contact with lawyers. My mom was unable to handle most of it so I was put in charge of the stressful aspects. Frankly, it has been an ongoing nightmare. So, I was somewhat relieved yet still stressed when I had to deal with debt collectors a few months ago. I don't like dealing with them and there was a lot of pressure on me. Thankfully, I was able to strike fair deals with them. After that, our lawyers had to handle the final paperwork. We were grateful in that there was a few thousand left over. We had thought that the estate was completely insolvent. All in all, it was the most difficult experience of my life. When our lawyers finally did the final accounting and worked the court, they called us to let us know it was done. We had a nice conference call and got together to celebrate. I still can't believe it's over!"
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'My obese brother who lives in a balloon tripped on his wedding day. He farted. People were horrified and temporarily vacated the premises. All in all it was a fairly successful wedding.'
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'My brother was fatty and he lived in a balloon. On his wedding, he goes not reachable and peoples who came to attend his wedding go confused. Some people were taught that the groom got abscond. I travelled long for his wedding and I tried to reach him. In this crazy moment, people vacate the premises too. On this rush and confusing period the groom has reached in the church where the wedding was held. We peoples every one surprised when he reached on time. This wedding scenario became a most thrillful wedding I ever go. After some horrible experience, that wedding done the best way. Every one in the premises for wedding ceremony got excited when that wedding done. Even after this two weeks we mocked him. But, not for his fatness, for this abscond. What happened is happiness. But, we experienced some new wedding moments. My friends and our cousin still call me asking about my obsessed brother.'
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'I feel and hit my head at home, my parents called 911 and I was taken to the hospital. I ended up being fine outside of a lot of lightheartedness, although I had to stay in the hospital overnight. I spent the next two weeks recovering.'
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'At this point this incident happened around twelve months ago. It was the first time in my life that I had ever suffered any kind of major injury before. I was at home and walked from the living room into the kitchen to go and get a glass of water. I tripped on the tile floor and fell. I ended up hitting my head really badly. Apparently there was a decent amount of blood and I was knocked out cold for a few minutes. Luckily, my parents were home at the time and called 911. I was taken to the hospital via ambulance. When I came to my parents and other family members were there. Luckily, I ended up being fine outside of just being a bit out of out and being really lightheaded. I did not have any broken bones or a concussion or anything like that. I did have to stay in the hospital overnight, just to make sure that everything was okay. I ended up going home the next morning. It took me about two weeks to recover in terms of not feeling lightheaded and to take all the pills I was given for the pain. I also had some short terms memory issues for a bit but those subsided in that time frame also. Nowadays I am a bit more cautious when it comes to walking on hard floors.'
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'My boyfriend and I had a misunderstanding. I was trying to tell him that I miss having my family and friends close by, and he took that to mean that he was the one making me unhappy. I was sad and surprised that I had made him feel that way.'
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"While I was living with my boyfriend, I got nostalgic, thinking about the times that I had with my family and friends. At first, everything was going well and we were living happily ever after. I found it exhilarating to be out and away from my familiar surroundings, as I would have to rely on my boyfriend to figure out how to get around. I soon noticed things about my boyfriend, as I have phases where I think very critically of people. More often, though, I have many phases where I see things that attracted me to this person. But, while thinking critically of my boyfriend, I noticed that he has certain moments where he gets very relaxed, during these phases, he takes things for granted. He is ok with laying on the ground to do repair work and sometimes urinate out in the open and he doesn't mind my seeing his private parts. He sees himself as a handyman and he doesn't like a lot of critical thinking that is required to solve problems related to mathematics and the physical sciences. He tends to or appears to get envious of me, when I want to talk about solving problems, so, when it comes up, he likes to switch topics. Over time, he either wanted to dominate conversations or not have talks at all. He likes to order me around, probably not fully realizing what he's doing, and, I have to depend on him for transportation. I would need to rely on him to get me back to my past living location, where I'm familiar with the area and have family and friends. When a confluence of things came together, I realized that I wanted to get back to familiar surroundings and around my family and friends. But, my concern about how he would feel about such a request made me hesitate to tell him that I'd prefer to be getting back around my friends and family soon. But, my critical mind kept me thinking about these features that he seems to have more and more, as time went on. So, out of mounting frustration, I came on him light and hinted that I would rather return some place to be much closer to family and friends. When first mentioned to him, he brushed it off, so, soon, I became more assertive, as required. So, one time, I was very abrasive and direct with him. He became sad, after being surprised that I really meant what I was saying. Thus, when he finally agreed to bring me back around family, friends, and familiar surrounds, things were such a relief for me, even considering his surprised and sad demeanor. I was so relieved, when I got back, in all honesty. But, after having a few days and weeks to consider our parting day, I started to become more and more considerate of his feelings. So, I started to communicate with him again, after some weeks and he was nice, relieved, and happy to be hearing from me again. I thought about the qualities that I liked about him and I wanted to ease back into a close nit with him, but, I would also still need some distance to be with my familiar surroundings. Things would have to grow on me and I would need to adapt."
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"After months of waiting, I finally moved into my first apartment with my boyfriend. There wasn't much of an urgency to pack up my things until the day before the move since it didn't feel real. It was difficult to fathom that I would be living in a different space and away from family."
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"It has been one month since I moved in. It still feels unreal to be living with my boyfriend, but it happened. This is the first time I have been living away from home for such an extended amount of time. I am totally surprised though. After the challenges of getting me to move in here, I find that we actually work really well together. My boyfriend was so mad when I told him that I wasn't packed and ready to move in the day before I was to move in. I had to sit down and really make him understand that I was just nervous. I was definitely taking the move seriously. I just could not fathom leaving everything I knew and was used to for the unknown. It took some time, but we talked it out and now I've been here for a while. It was a big adjustment at first, but I am actually glad that I went through with the move. After a month of getting to know each other better, and seeing how we are during a variety of challenges I felt like our relationship has blossomed. My boyfriend must feel the same way. He had been acting suspicious for the last few days and finally on our date night this weekend I found out why! We went to a really expensive restaurant for dinner. And guess what? He popped the question! Yes, THE QUESTION! I'm so happy right now!"
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'My cousin came down from his military base, and we got tipsy and went to a nearby graveyard. Along the way, we heard a coyote howl near us, and saw bats flying around at the graveyard.'
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"I have a cousin whom I see only a few times a year, but we get along well. About two months ago he had some time away from his military duties. He wanted to enjoy himself. And so we spent the early part of the evening enjoying some alcoholic beverages. Perhaps we had a few too many. The next thing that I remember is that we were in a graveyard. Along the way I heard a coyote's howl. Then in the graveyard, some bats flew by. It was like something out of a cliched horror film. The drinks were messing with me head. I felt freaked out. But in the end, I would say that it helped me build a bond with my cousin. When I was very young, I embarrassed myself in front of him. I'm not sure he ever had real respect for me after that. I worry that it's always in the back of his mind that I was that pathetic little kid."
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'i was rejected from my line of duty.i was hated for no reason by my leaders in the line of duty.i felt incomplete and unuseful to my self and to the world.i was deny the chances of saving lifes which was my prior.'
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"I was mistaken for a woman because I am a man with long hair. When I turned around the look on the guys face was sheer terror. I was embarrassed that he made the mistake. I also feel like I could change my hair style now and my clothing as a result. This is a day I will never forget because it changed the way I think of myself. I. would like to represent my myself as a man more as others would perceive me. I am also considering my mannerisms more carefully. It's I interesting to think that this all could be a coincidence as well and maybe I am overthinking the whole experience. Is there anything I cold have done differently outside these changes that could bring me into a more complex version of what a male is considered to represent in our world in this day and age. Has anyone else gone through this and how did they view themselves. Why did the man just walk away after realizing I wasn't a woman. What does this situation represent for women and how they must feel being hit on? I think I should have said. Something else after they walked away. Im just not sure what I could have said."
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"I was promoted at work. I became the leader of a work project group after the previous supervisor left. I'm now in charge of decision making for the group."
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"Four months ago I was promoted at work! I was not expecting this at all. After the previous supervisor left I knew they were looking for someone to fill the void, but this did take me by surprise! I know my boss has a lot of confidence in me and this promotion confirmed it. My colleagues took me out to celebrate this great occasion! I got a nice raise and I feel I also have more prestige in the company. I also feel I have a lot more responsibility, which is something that I like. I am now in charge of my group's decision making. We all get along well, so this is a group effort. Once in awhile we have a little disagreement, but usually thinks go quite smoothly. Last week we had to come together to consider what kind of advertisement campaign we will come up with for an important client. We had so many creative ideas! It was exciting to see what everyone brought to the table. After a few meetings, we honed it down to four choices. We looked at all the positives and negatives of the ideas. Ultimately, I had to make the final decision on this project. We presented it to my boss. It went very well and he was pleased that we did such a great job. I feel like this could take me pretty far in this company and I can't wait to get busy on the next project. I may even get to a higher position if I keep this up!"
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"My father passed away after many years of working and always wishing he had the time to garden. So you know what I did? I made my father's dream a reality and I went and grew that garden he always wanted and will never have!"
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"Six months ago I planted the most beautiful garden. Planting this garden was a very important event in my life because it marked the anniversary of my father's death. My father always wanted to plant a garden but never had the time and died a lot earlier than we planned. What my father had planned to do was plant a garden in his retirement, which he never made it to. In honor of my father's memory I planted the best garden I have ever seen! It had everything. I planted green beans in in the northeast corner, my fathers absolute favorite! I even planted some garlic so I could make his favorite dish, all with ingredients right from my garden! There was everything. More colors than you could imagine. The reddest of red tomatoes. The yellowest of yellow peppers. And the most purple purple you have ever seen could be found right on my eggplants! And oh boy was it green! Every shade of green from the darkest to the most pale found it's way onto the leaves of the plants growing in my garden! Now that the summer has died down I am enjoying the fruits of my labor. Not just the many vegetables I have grown, but there is something extra special. Something that is only ready when the harvest begins to come in. That's right; pumpkins! Big, bright, orange pumpkins, of all different sizes; I must have grown over a dozen of them! And let me tell you this; they faired much better than the watermelons I tried to grow this year! Some may say my garden might have been a little over ambitious for my first one; but you know what? My dad would be proud. It was his garden, whether he was here to enjoy it or not! I bet he looked down on me while I was working on it smiling, just glad he didn't have to do all the work!"
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'Surprise birthday party/dinner, drinks,cake,gifts,It was colorful!. I was in awe and close to tear(joyful one)'
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"The memorable event was my birthday which took place last month (September).I am one of those who prefer to remain in silence and celebrate occasions with a few close ones, but this particular one, I got a surprise birthday party from my siblings and boyfriend. I wasn't in anyway aware, It was a great celebration and one I can't easily forget. There were plenty of drinks,foods and cake chocolates and loads of blessings, wishes and prayers from friends and family. My friends came over,most of them with different beautiful gifts, some with drinks. I got a beautiful black dress as a gift from my boyfriend, I changed into it, had some makeup on, jewelry, and a beautiful diamond shoe. We took plenty beautiful pictures, danced, games, we really had fun. Its been a really long time I had a party, I was glad to be surprised with this particular one. I got a big frame of myself from my siblings and also a diamond ring from my partner. My boyfriend proposed to me with the diamond ring that very night, OMG!.My joy knew no bound, we partied all night. I was grateful having such great and beautiful people around to celebrate me. The event is so fresh in my heart. The decoration was colorful and beautifully arranged in the colours I love so much. I will be glad to have more birthday parties in subsequent years. My engagement will probably be the next great event I will be witnessing soon. Having people around you is a real deal."
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'My daughter and I went on a bus/train trip to visit my sister and her husband in another state. The trip lasted 52 hours. I described half of the trip and the adventures that she and I experienced during it.'
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"Yes. This trip with my daughter from the South to the West of the United States was a wonderful and memorable journey. This trip was exciting because I had never ridden a train before. I felt as if I was participating in an adventurous Harry Potter side-story (I am chuckling to myself). My daughter and I took a trip to visit my sister and her husband at around the end of May, 2019. My daughter and I started our trip off on a bus. The interaction between the middle-aged bus driver and a young male passenger, who sat opposite of but directly behind her, had me !cracking up with laughter! because the young male passenger kept blurting obscenities during his telephone conversation and the bus driver kept interrupting him with dialogue that was firm, but a polite reminder to the passenger that he is choice of words were not appropriate for her ears. As the hours got later, the bus driver started to swerve a little. She was obviously tired. To keep herself awake, she would hum to herself. Her humming got progressively louder and louder. Because my daughter was tired from the not sleeping well the night before our trip, she had become very annoyed with the bus driver's humming and swerving. My daughter assumed that she would be able to get a good nap during the trip. All of the antics going on during the trip didn't stop me from taking a nap. My daughter and I finally stopped for our transfer from bus to train in Indiana. Our six hour lay over happened in the wee hours of the morning. We finally boarded our train and had another lay over -- it only lasted half as long as the last -- in Chicago. The bag check attendant was hilarious! He teased my daughter about jumping inside of her suitcase and stowing away with us; my daughter's previous national and international travels would explain her huge suitcase. The customer service attendant was amazing, delightful and sweet. After checking in our bags, my daughter and I ate a good, hot lunch in the bus/train station's food court, and admired the architecture of the station."
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'I was able to put up the string lights after a lot of work. The preparation was good enough so that I did not need to go buy more materials. The ladder was not tall enough.'
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"Ah the joys of putting up lights. I'll never understand how or why this became a thing for us to do. Sure, if you prepare things it can be nice and easy. However, if your lights are tangled, have bulbs that have gone out, or aren't put away properly it is so much work. Luckily this time I had everything ready. This meant I didn't have to go out and buy things. Last time I had to go out and buy materials I had to hit a half dozen stores just to find what I actually wanted. Thank god I saved myself that hassle! However, once I had everything set up, was feeling proud and ready to put up the lights. I realized much to my dismay that the ladder I had was not tall enough. I could hear the womp womp womp music playing in my head. I improvised. Putting the ladder on something taller (kids don't try this at home) and finally after much cursing the lights were up. Shame I'm going to have to take them down again in a few weeks. Though it will probably be less work which I guess is a good thing. One of these years I will actually NOT put up the string lights."
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'I trained hard to compete in an adventure race. After a careless slip on the course, I was unable to finish and may not ever be able to climb again.'
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'Race day was approaching and I had worked so hard over the past 6 months making sure everything was just right. I changed my diet, was following a strict training schedule that consisted of cardio and strength, and made sure my equipment was in good working order. I read books on the course and on the transitions through the course. This was going to be my first adventure race but I felt prepared. The morning of the race I arrived at the starting line and stationed my equipment at all the aid stops. I knew exactly where I should be and was ready to time each move. I knew when to eat, when and how much to drink and what areas to slow down or avoid. I felt like I was nervous but on top of the world. The gun shots rang out and the racers started to move. I followed the crowd into the woods and watched everyone spread out in different directions. I grabbed my compass and head for the river crossing. Everything was going great until I reached the climb I had been so worried about. It took me almost 2 hours to navigate to the top but it was within my sights. I rested for a moment and dug in the stake as I went to take another step. Suddenly the rocks shifted and I could feel my hands let go. Everything went black as I laid motionless on the ground. When I came to, I was surrounded by people trying to position me on a gurney. I cried out as the gurney was jolted but my tears were from the pain of not being able to accomplish the goal I worked so hard to reach. I had devoted so much time and effort and one small mistake was going to take all that away from me. The doctor looked at the images and said I will heal in time but my dream of finishing that race may not ever become a reality.'
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'I needed to drive my parents to and from the hospital over the course of several months. My dad was being evaluated for heart surgery. The drive was long each time, there were many delays, and we all managed the stress poorly.'
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"It's been two months since my father's heart surgery. Driving him and my mother to and from the hospital (and to and from the months of tests preceding the surgery) were stressful, but ultimately bonding. We do not normally travel well together, under casual circumstances. So, the trips with my father's health in question only added to the possibility of argument and tempers. I felt in the role of caretaker during these trips and waiting room experiences, being the only one who could manage their stress adequately enough to manage the one hour of interstate traffic both ways. It was a role I felt forced to take on, but I was also grateful to have some sort of way to repay my parents for times they had supported me in stressful situations. We learned to set more trivial elements of road trip stress aside. And we even went on some trips in between hospital visits to help relax. I learned that while I can handle the thought of my parents falling ill, or even dying, my mother's views on death have changed. She was the person who taught me to see death as just another part of life. But now that she's getting closer to old age, she seems to fear it. The subject is one that can't be just theoretical. I guess people don't know how they'll react until the subject is staring them in the face. For some reason it bothered me how stressed my mother got. She seemed to jump to the worst conclusions. In the end, however, dad was fine, and her stress seemed wasted."
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'I tried my hardest to become a master case scholar in the United States. My sister joked, her friend gave me confidence, and I became the best advocate.'
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'I have been trying so hard to become a master case scholar in the US. I told my sister about my effort, I love my sister very much. My Activities She Knows Four, So I told them my goal. They said, "You will not become a case scholar,They said you don\'t deserve that. I was very depressed hearing them. I told my friend about this, and he is a great lawyer. He recognized my plight and gave me hope. Some good words he said,1. Believe in yourself and you can2. There is no world in which you cannot3. You have no choice but to trust yourself4. Who cares about who you are and does not change your lifeHis advice thus changed my life and I am today a very good advocate. I have a 10 person job under me. People in my city tell me to settle their cases. But those who criticized me are in the same place, So I have come to realize that faith is always necessary in life. God is a true friend.'
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'My mother had a heart attack before surgery. I had an anxiety attack but everything turned out to be okay. My life had suddenly stopped and nothing else mattered more than where I was at that moment and how I would react to that single moment.'
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'Recently, my mother had to get serious surgery on her lungs. I was so incredibly nervous leading up to this surgery. In fact, beforehand, I had a major anxiety attack. This all occurred roughly two weeks ago. I have never been so nervous in my entire life. Nothing in life mattered in that moment than my mother getting out of that surgery OK. She had a crucial blood clot in her lungs and it was even life threatening. I was so incredibly terrified that i would lose my loving mother. I have never reacted with such a major panic attack before. It was like I could not even breathe I was so terrified. Thank God though, my mother is now well on the road to recovery. After surgery I thanked her doctor profusely. I would not wish this situation even on my worst enemy in the world. It was such an awful few hours waiting for her to get out of surgery. I am just so happy that my mother is OK. I pray every day for her health.'
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'I have two down vehicles that would each take two to three days to get repair. A bathroom that will take a week to get fixed. I just do not see any of it getting done unless I figure out how to do it all myself, because my husband just does not want to do it or ask for help doing it.'
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"I still have two vehicles down and no way to get meds, food, or just to get out of the house. The trash is now piling up and I have flies taking over the house, with sick sweetly smell. I do not know how much I can take of this. I have bothered my children in the past few months for rides and such, that I am not going to brother them any more, because there is a vehicle that just needs a transmission put in, so really three vehicle down, but I can not get him to work on that, heck he don't even gets out there till about 5 or 6 pm, and maybe works an hour. He stays in the bathroom for most of the day and night, he says he has to poop, but I think after two hours of either sleeping or playing a game on the phone, that he is not going to poop. He has not fixed the other bathroom yet either and the floor in our bathroom is falling apart, I have fell thru twice and he fell thru once last week. He just keeps coming up with that he does not have this or that, when a year ago he said that he had everything but would not work on it, now he needs two x fours and everything else. I just don't think he wants to do the work, but he does not want anyone else doing it. I just don't know what I am going to do, but I am getting sick a lot. I am thinking that I am going to have to ask son, to take me in for a while and see if that don't get things done. I just don't know what to do anymore, I am tired of sounding like a broken record or a nagging fish wife, but what am I suppose to do. I know if I go to my son's house he will be very upset with me, but he is not getting it that all he is not doing or fixing it, is making me sick. I am barely out here working, with that smell, but I need the money. I c.an not say how long I will stay at this point, I mean for the last 5 months the car's have been. The Last 6 years for the second bathroom to be down. Now the question is when is it time to leave because you are tired of it will be fixed tonight, or bathroom will be fix when kids are gone, so what am I suppose to do"
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'A few months back, I got married. The wedding went very well, and I will never forget the day. Besides my bride, having my buddy fly in from over 1200 miles away stands out as the most shocking (in a good way) part of the whole wedding.'
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"Just a matter of months ago I got married for the first (and hopefully last) time in my life. As one would expect, it was a very significant step, and a very special moment in my life. We opted to not go too overboard, and had under 100 guests total. Everything went very well, and the memory of that day will stay in my mind, and I'll cherish it for the rest of my life. Besides our immediate family, I had my best friend come up from across the country to be my best man. I absolutely love him and his family, and cherish every moment we get to spend together. I don't get to see him too often, so when I do I take full advantage and try to enjoy every moment as much as possible. Not only did he come with his daughter and wife, but his parents were there as well, as they are very important to me. I was overwhelmed with the amount of people we had there, and probably felt as loved and important as I ever have in my life on account of all the people there. The only part that was a bit bothersome was with it being a wedding, and so many people, I didn't get much time to chat with each person, as I would have liked to. I've come to realize that's just how weddings are with so many people and only so much time, that it's part of the gig. But beyond that, it was an amazing experience, and I enjoyed myself a great deal. My wife looked gorgeous (as usual), and I am overly thankful to spend the rest of my life with her. The photographer did an excellent job, and I helped her out by being a joker and keeping people laughing and smiling which helped with pictures. It was a great day, and I am still ecstatic that I got to share our special day with such great people. The caterer did fantastic, and the venue we used was absolutely perfect, and extremely affordable. It did rain a little bit, but we managed to dodge the brunt of it, which was good as we had planned and hoped to have it outdoors. We did have a backup plan if we would have to move it inside, but we were hoping that we could keep it outdoors. All in all it will go down as one of the most memorable and enjoyable days of my life."
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"I had a mini stroke from a subdural hemotoma. I was able to walk to the hospital. It was so close, I didn't want a 500 dollar bill for a few blocks. It was from a old fall from a scooter."
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"I finally got out of the hospital. It all started in the evening 3 nights ago. I was watching TV and started feeling confused. I reached over to grab my remote to change channels,, and I couldn't keep a hold of it. I tried with 2 hands but then I couldn't push the buttons, and forgot what channel I was changing to anyway. I started thinking it was a stroke. I grabbed my tablet to look up symptoms and within seconds forgot the word stroke. I live alone so I started speaking out loud and I couldn't talk correctly. I found out I could walk, so I walked the 15 minutes to the VA hospital which is on my street. I had a hard time communicating at the desk but finally got in to see a doctor. I couldn't communicate with the doctors. I tried to write but words would disappear from my head. I also couldn't hold the pen, so it was moot to even try with my left hand. They finally did a CT scan and I had a old subdural hemotoma, which I determined was about 6 months before,it was just above my left ear from a fall off a electric scooter. The doctors ruled out a normal stroke, It was called a mini stroke and after a few days cleared it self up and I was about 95% and was finally discharged."
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'Four months ago I was depressed and my new boyfriend spent time helping me to feel better. I was surprised when he gifted me with a laptop and an internet connection for my home. When we met I expressed to him that I have always found that using the internet brings me out of depression and it did.'
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'So with coffee (made to perfection I might add) in hand and my favorite comfy sweater on I start to peruse the internet. It has been a while since I had a computer, and since I didn\'t have one, it made no sense to have an internet connection. I had thousands of emails to catch up on and friends to "friend" on Facebook. When I am depressed, I have no desire to see what friends are doing especially if something wonderful is happening in their lives like getting married. Knowing that marriage is so far for me, I can not relate. But if I were to be totally honest, I am jealous. Jealous that they, seemingly, have normal lives. Some days I can hardly get our of bed because of the depression. My boyfriend has been so patient with me. He is a great friend and is always there for me when I can\'t be there for myself. Surprisingly, we met at Barnes and Noble. About 6 months ago, I was in the self-help section and he was looking for a book for his graduate studies in psychology. I did not notice him at first but smelled cigarettes and followed my nose to a thin man with a beard. I gave him on of those once overs, starting at the flash of red hair (oh how I love gingers). The beard was slightly more brown than his hair and his eyes were bright blue wearing tortoise shell Raybans. Moving down I noticed he was quite muscular despite his smallish stature. I stand 5 feet on a good day and he was a few feet taller. Wearing a white V-neck and perfectly fitted Levis, he somehow intrigued me. I moved a little closer to see if I could detect, through the cigarette smell, the cologne he was wearing. Yep, there is was, Aqua de Gio. My favorite and one that totally turns me on. I am getting slightly turned on now as I am writing this. What surprised me most was when he noticed me and asked me how my day was going. I blushed a little and said "Great, now". He asked me to have coffee with him in the Starbucks at the book store and as they say..."the rest is history".'
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'I was leaving my family to go to university. they would miss me plenty it was very emotional. i got anxiety on the way there but once i arrived to sf, i felt calm.'
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'High school was over and my next step into the world was about to begin. About four months ago I left my childhood home to go to the university I has always hoped I would attend. It was across the state, and I would be moving out and living in an apartment with complete strangers. This was scary to me because I am an introvert and it is hard for me to reach out and make new friends. I knew I would miss my family a ton and my younger siblings were going to miss me. I shed a few tears that day that I packed my bags into the car, and so did my family. But I knew this wasn\'t a goodbye forever, it was just a change in my life, a normal change that many people go through. I felt excited and nervous at the same time. I hopped into my car and said my final goodbyes and started the 4 hour drive to my new home. My heart started racing as I drove and was left to the pounding thoughts of my brain. I had so many "what ifs" scenarios rushing through my brain. The anxiety started to take hold. Finally, I arrived at my new apartment. I opened the door and a familiar face greeted me! It was my cousin who lived across the country. I had no idea she was going to the same university as me. We hadn\'t seen each other in several years. At that moment, I felt calm. I knew that this was going to be a great year.'
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'Having discovered that my Patreon income was taxable, I went to a tax accountant to file amended returns for four previous years. I was relieved to find that I could pay back-taxes in affordable installments.'
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"Last March I went to a tax accountant. I needed to file amended returns for the Patreon income from four previous years. I'd been under the impression since I set up my Patreon account that it was gift income, and therefore non-taxable. But gradually it became my primary source of income and I shifted to self-employment as a freelance writer. And the more I looked into it the more I began to suspect it was taxable after all. I feared getting into serious trouble. In July of last year I concluded that it was indeed taxable. So I made plans to see an accountant and file for back taxes. According to my research on Google the IRS was required to allow installment payments I could afford, but I was still quite apprehensive in the months leading up to the meeting. In March I met with the accountant, gave him documentation of the additional income, and paid him $400 for preparing four years' amended returns. This was considerably cheaper than my worst-case estimate, and was in itself a significant relief. And he confirmed my information about making installment payments. In the months since, the IRS sent me a bill for back taxes and I arranged a modest $64/month installment payment. I also subtract 15% self-employment tax. It's a total tax burden I'm able to bear relatively easily, and a great load off my mind."
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'This story is about the most memorable experience of my life so far. This is about the day that my daughter was born and the day that I became a father.'
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"After going back and forth on the idea for a few months, my wife and I decided that we were going start a family with our first child. Our only child. In a shorter than expected time afterwards, my wife informed me that she was pregnant and just like that it was time to start preparing. We decided not to tell our family the gender until the baby was born. This turned out to be a nice thing for us to keep for ourselves, but was also hard to deal with prying family. Leading up to the birth of my daughter I wasn't very nervous until the month that she was due to arrive. It started to feel more real. I was going to become someone's dad. That's when it really hit me and the panic started to set in with all of the questions like: am I actually ready for this? Will I be a good dad? From the day my wife started labor and when my daughter was finally born was both the longest and shortest day of my life. It seemed like she would never come, but when she finally started to come everything became a blur and in no time she was born. From the moment I first held her all of those questions faded away and I was just in awe of her and amazed that I had become a father. It was the most amazing thing to happen to me in life so far and I wouldn't change it for anything. It's a cliche to say you felt an instant bond with your child, but I can attest that for me it was as real and cliche as it gets."
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'Two months ago I had a situation while at work that a hospital thought initially might have been a stroke. In the end though I feel it was likely a panic attack.'
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"Several months ago on a Monday morning I had a scary incident at work in which I seemed to have issues speaking and using my hands. At the time it was very worrisome so I ended up asking my boss for the rest of the day off. I then picked up a couple things from my car and ordered a Lyft to take me to the hospital. When I arrived there they had me take a seat and explain what was going on. I remember having issues being able to explain myself. They then checked me and wheeled me over to the triage station. There the doctor did several tests involving balance and strength. After concluding all the tests he said that he didn't want to scare, but it was possible I had conditions of stroke. After that they took me to a room with a wheelchair and several people rushed in. They began monitoring my signs and the first thing they noticed was that my blood pressure was really high. After they put a sleeve on my arm, hooked up an IV and gave me a blood infusion. That helped to really settle me down. Once I was stable they then asked a bunch of questions to see what the issue was. Later they took me down to the radiology lab for several tests. That took several hours, but in the end they said that all the tests came back as negative so it was good news. Finally, later that night at around 9:00 I was finally released and got a ride to pickup my car at work. Overall it was a stressful day, but could have been worse. In the end my thought was it was possible it was just a panic attack because a couple of stressful things had happened that morning."
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'A story of when my dog and I were approached by strangers at the part on a routine walk, which ended in a fight.'
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'I was taking my old boy Jake for a walk at the park. He\'s an Australian Shepherd, 14 years old, and just the goodest, kindest boy. I try to take him early in the mornings when it\'s quiet, because something from his past makes him nervous around other dogs. Unfortunately, there happened to be someone else there, someone who didn\'t realize we were, and had left their young dog off leash to run around. It\'s not legal, though I can understand energetic dogs do need lots of exercise. The pup sprinted to us, eager to play with Jake, tail wagging, barking and bouncing. Jake wasn\'t very pleased with the sudden stranger, a ball of noise and energy, running up to us uninvited. As the owner ran over, shouting his dog\'s name, Jake grumbled at the puppy. The younger dog did not like Jake\'s defensive nature, and barking escalated between them. Eventually, the pup got too close, and Jake lunged for the bite. Once dogs start fighting, it is impossible to deter them. No amount of yelling, throwing water, or pulling on the leash will snap them out of it. We both had to grab our dogs by the midsections, lift their hind legs and drag them away from each other between bites. Luckily, there were no wounds, only trails of saliva and continued barking. "Nice dog," the man said to me sarcastically as he dragged his puppy away, trying to finally affix his leash. I know it shouldn\'t have hurt, I know it was a throwaway comment from an idiot of a stranger, but those words wounded me. Jake was only protecting me, protecting himself from what he perceived to be an unwanted intruder. He\'s been through abandonment and attack, and despite being a big, black, old dog, the very stereotype of the "mean dog," he made it through the animal shelter system, and into my home where he\'s been a dear and loyal friend. I don\'t care what anyone else thinks. Jake IS a nice dog.'
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"The mental illness I've struggled with for many years now was kicked up a notch a few months ago. I fell into a deep existential crisis and therefore was rendered almost totally disabled."
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"Well, what immediately comes to mind is an event that occurred on the 1st of May. At around 6 o'clock in the evening, I suffered a massive panic attack and fell into a state of intense emotional crisis. I've been battling with EXTREME anxiety and depression for near a decade now. This disorder developed as a result of a traumatic experience with a very high dose of psychedelic mushrooms in late 2010. In order to cope, I eventually turned to the realm of spirituality. Practices like meditation, yoga, and self-inquiry helped me to better manage the immensely dark feelings that I would encounter on a daily basis. But my relationship with spirituality changed overnight on the 1st of may this year. The panic attack centered heavily around my spiritual practices and this gave the crisis that followed an existential theme. Other themes were present as well such as identity and metaphysics, but they all fit neatly under the umbrella of spirituality and an inquisitive mind. I've since sought out medication and counseling which has allowed me to slowly regain a sense of normalcy. Giving a description of how emotionally scarring a true existential crisis can be is virtually impossible as no words can do it justice. It shook me to the core and persisted for weeks and still persists to some extent to this day. I was practically bedridden and totally paralyzed with fear and anxiety for hours at a time, day after day. As gloomy as this sounds though, I firmly believe that good can absolutely still come of it. If handled properly it can lead to a dramatically improved mode of being."
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'I live across the country from my family. I got a phone call that my mother had fallen and it was not good. Flew "home." She had a stroke and got sent home to hospice care. She died with only me in the room'
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'Three months ago, I got a scary phone call. My mother had fallen. I flew back home to meet her. She had gotten a stroke. She was sent to hospice care. It was a painful day that day. She died in the room. I had a big cry and needed to punch a wall to get the anger out of me. I remembered the good times with my mom. I remembered my first day of school. She gave me a big lunch to eat that day. I remembered my graduation from college. She gave me the same lunch as a gag and a cruise. I remember her always cooking good food. I loved the cooking and I will never enjoy that again. I hope she is resting well now.'
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"I had attended my grandfathers funeral. I wasn't familiar with how the service was going to be done as it was not a traditional one. I spoke a tribute to him that I had prepared the night before."
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"I remember being so unsure about how appropriate it was or wasn't to speak up. I did not know much of the details in how the funeral service was going to be performed. Basically, the man that attended my grandfather's funeral did so in a somewhat unusual or non-traditional way. I respected it and appreciated it, of course. I personally did not know him, but my grandfather did. But, anyway, once he finished speaking - he did not ask if anyone else had any words to say. Everyone was getting up and stirring about as he just walked away. I then immediately walked towards the front, and then I spoke up and said I'd like to say something. I was so afraid that I was being inappropriate, but I really wanted to honor him. After I said my words, many people immediately ran up to me and started to thank me and I felt so relieved. I loved him so much, and I miss him. I think about him every single day. For the first few weeks, he was the first thing I thought of immediately when I woke up every day. I am glad that I was able to honor him. Had I not, I would have always regretted it."
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'This is a story about my recent cancer diagnosis. It is about my plan to fight and win the battle against this deadly disease.'
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"approximately 5 years ago. I get fever. That was not like normal fever. That was high fever. I can't able to bear that fever. i get tired on anytime. i can't do any work. even i can't sit properly. i was always slept on my bed. i went to hospital for checkup. The doctor said i am affected by cancer. That is very serious disease. I get shocked .and i was admitted at hospital for 3 months . i take many treatment. after the struggles. i fought the disease. i am perfectly cure after 3 months. i am become very happy. I thank to god. i thank to the doctor. actually i was fear. even i think i will die soon ."
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'I reconnected with a family member recently. My cousin visited me after we had been apart for 17 years. I was happy to reconnect and to meet the new additions to his family, and catch up with them.'
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"My cousin from switzerland came to visit. I had not seen him in over 17 years. The last time that I saw him, he was getting married. Now when I saw him, he has 3 kids (2 girls who are twins, and 1 boy). They are 16 and 14. It was really amazing to see him after all this time, and it was great to catch up with him about what he had been doing since I last saw him. It was a significant event for me because I was reconnecting with a family member that I hadn't seen in a long time, but was very close to while growing up. The most surprising thing was getting to meet his kids and seeing how much they had already grown up. He caught me up also on news about his parents. He also told me about what his sister, my other cousin had been up to. He told me what was going on with his work, and it was good to learn about the success he was having. I felt a little bad seeing him because I hadn't done a good job of staying in touch. We made a point that we wouldn't let that happen again. Going forward we are going to try to catch up at least once a quarter. We don't necessarily have to do it in person, we'll just have a call or something once every few months."
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'My child birthday celebration in our home with my friends and relatives. A special event for our family. and friends too.'
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"It was a sunny day, unseasonably warm. What a great day for a birthday party. We had planned to host the party inside, using the garage as the big room for the pinata and party games but it was so glorious out that we moved everything to the yard. The birthday boy was eager to see all of his friends and cousins from up north. We planned to start the party at 12 pm but of course, the day started much earlier than that. We had to get up early and put the final touches on the decorations and I went to the bakers at 10 am when they opened to get the custom cake we had made. We decided on a space theme for the party since the birthday boy loved amatuer astronomy. The cake was a gorgeous representation of a fantasty sci-fi spaceship. The pinata was the planet earth. And some of the party favors were glow in the dark stars, along with the typical candy. The main colors were blues and blacks, which doesn't sound super festive but when we had put it all together looked glorious. Soon it was time for the guests to arrive. Aside from the family, the first guest was his best friend, of course, those two were inseperable. I loved seeing them going through life together, helping each other and celebrating the good times. The party went off well and the birthday boy enjoyed every minute of it. Sometimes I worry about throwing lavish parties for the kids, because it becomes an issue of how to re-create the excitement from previous parties, but also life is short and the good times should be celebrated. For my birthday I want to relax on the beach."
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"My dad dying alone in an assisted living facility for people with Parkinson's and other chronic mental issues."
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'April 17, 2019Dad died today. I know it was for the best, but I still can\'t help feeling depressed about it. He died in an assisted living facility for people with Parkinson\'s and other chronic mental issues. He wasn\'t getting any better, only worse. He was diagnosed a couple of years ago, and had become immobile in the last six months. The last time I visited him, he couldn\'t move or speak: he was frozen in a clenched, tense state, and his face literally looked like Edvard Munch\'s "The Scream" (I kid you not!). He looked so empty. It was so depressing I never went back and secretly hoped he\'d pass away sooner rather than later. Now that he has, I feel very depressed and a little angry that none of us were there for it, and that there isn\'t a more dignified way for us to leave this world. I don\'t understand why when a person reaches that state, his family can\'t choose to plan his death so that they could all be there to say goodbye one last time. I mean, he was like a plant: they fed and bathed him, washed and changed him. No one could even tell us if he was still understanding anything we were saying. It just seems more just to me to plan his exit: pick a date so we could all be there for the entire day with him. Then, at some point, the doctor could just give him an overdose of morphine or something. But I guess that is inhumane, unlike letting someone slowly waste away in a strange place with no family and trapped inside a body that no longer works. Some things just make no sense. I just hope when my day comes that if it isn\'t quick and sudden, I still have enough wherewithal to take care of it myself-- because no one else is going to.'
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'My cousin came down from his military base, and we got tipsy and went to a nearby graveyard. Along the way, we heard a coyote howl near us, and saw bats flying around at the graveyard.'
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'A few weeks ago my cousin came to visit us. He came down from his military base up north. We have a tradition of drinking a bottle of wine each every time he comes to visit. This time we decided to hike to the nearest graveyard soon after he got here. This time after we both drank our wine bottles. So around 2am or so, we both sneak out of the house and start walking towards the graveyard. The graveyard was pretty far, around a mile or so away. There is a shortcut through a wooded section that saves a little bit of time, and we decided to use that. It was very dark and quiet in the woods. About half way through the shortcut, we heard a coyote howl that sounded pretty close. Needless to say, it made us both jump and we picked up speed to be out of the woods quicker. After getting outside the woods we slowed down again. When we got to the graveyard, there was several bats flying around making chirping noises. It was really cool seeing them out like that. I remember we both enjoyed it a lot.'
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'My husband and I went on a vacation to Jamaica without our children. It was the first real trip we had taken since having our oldest child four years ago.'
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"My husband and I took a vacation for just the two of us to Jamaica. We left our children with my parents and were gone for about 10 days including our two travel days. We had so much fun relaxing in the pool and by the beach. We also had the opportunity to indulge in drinks and food whenever we desired. We stayed at a Sandals resort in the Jamaican town of Ocho Rios. It was so incredibly gorgeous. I loved our view of the ocean from our balcony and the room was huge, clean, and beautiful. We had butler service while we were there and I really grew to love our butlers who I consider friends now. The first day of the vacation I drank a little bit too much while enjoying the pool. I decided to utilize my butler service to it's full extent so while drunk, I used the butler phone to call our butler on duty and asked for some snacks to be delivered to me at the pool. In just a short while, he pulled up in his golf cart and handed me a tray of cheese and crackers. They were so caring and kind and never seemed bothered by any of my silly requests. While we were there, we went zip lining which is something that we had been talking about doing our entire relationship so that was a really fun and special experience for us. We even booked our return trip while we were still on resort! We are so excited to return that we have already started planning our daily activities while we're there."
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'I made an innocent stop at a local gas station before running some errands. At the gas station a situation outside my control, a man escalated an argument and maced several people.'
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"It started as an ordinary day. I was heading out for the day to run some errands. Once I pulled out of my driveway, I noticed my gas light was on, and decided I should pull off and get some gas before I started. I pulled into the Walmart Gas Station, just a few blocks from home. I pulled up to the pump, and put my car in park. I got my wallet out of my purse and began to pull my money out to pay. As I was pulling a twenty dollar bill out, I began to hear arguing, and yelling next to me. I looked up and out my passenger window and noticed an older man and a younger man screaming at one another. Both men were very aggressive, and I was a little nervous by the scene. I sat frozen in my seat, watching the confrontation. Suddenly, the older man went to his car and opened the driver door and reached inside. As I watched, he pulled a can of mace out of the car and proceeded to spray the other man in the face with it. To my left side, a person came out of the door of the gas station. This person was apparently unaware of the altercation, and was the next person to be maced by the angry older man. I was stunned, and still safe inside my car when I saw a few people run to the older man, get sprayed and attempt to take the mace from him. Once I saw the mace was out of the older mans hands, I got out of my car to help the gentleman that was maced leaving the store to turn the hose water on to rinse his hands and face. Someone had already called the police and at this point they were pulling onto the gas station. The older man was arrested, I was asked to give a statement, as were the other witnesses. I was so happy that I didn't get out in the middle of that situation, or get maced."
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"Don't like or want kids. Held my nephew (brother's child) for the first time. Realize I need to change my opinion."
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"I had always thought I didn't want kids but I think after yesterday I may have changed my mind. My brother brought his kid over to to introduce me, he's only a couple of months old. I was kind of apathetic to the whole thing but I figured I would humor my brother and be a good uncle. When he brought that little guy over, the first thing I noticed was the smell. Diapers had always been a big turn off for me and kids always just seemed like useless bags of flesh to me, not something I could really have much affection for. But when I held him in my arms, he smiled at me with such a warm smile it melted my heart. All those preconceptions I had about him before were gone and I suddenly realized why people love babies. They're so warm and untainted by all the things that ruin people as they get older. In a way they're like animals, just consciousness in its purest form and I find it really remarkable and sweet. I believe in the future I'll try to have kids if I meet the right woman. In the mean time I'll enjoy playing with his son and getting to know him though. I hope that I like the toddler stage as much as the baby stage. I hear that they can be a real handful at that age. But for now, he's a little bundle of joy and I look forward to seeing him again. I'm especially looking forward to taking him to his first sporting event and seeing how he reacts."
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"Everyone invited to my youngest daughter's birthday part had a great time, even though it was cold. They got to play with a sugar glider and see it jump on my oldest daughter's head. My youngest daughter (the birthday girl) surprised everyone by take a few steps in-front of them."
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"My family is very blessed with three wonderful children two beautiful girls and a boy. My oldest daughter Jennifer is a very troublesome girl, i guess its maybe the adolescent age creeping in that makes her act a little out of control sometimes but in a nutshell she is an adorable angel. My second child is Jason my sweet little boy, he likes to think he has grown but i still call him baby just to piss him off sometimes. especially in front of his friends. my little mermaid is Anabel she is adorable as any child you would ever see. she has this aura that is just welcoming and so amazing. she is beautiful, smart and charming. On her birthday I and my husband decided to make it memorable one for her and the kids by buying a sugar glider to surprise on her birthday. she had always a pet the kids had all been yearning for a pet. so six months ago we started preparing for her big day, we bought cakes, drinks and lots of stuff so the children that came to celebrate with Anabel would have fun. On the day of her birthday it turned out she had a flu due to the cold that season, so she was not really in a great mode. the other children were expecting to see a vibrant and playful Anabel, but she was dull and moody. so we decided to make her feel better by showing her the surprise we had for her. when she saw the sugar glider she was so excited that it felt like she was not even sick in the first place. Everyone invited to my youngest daughter's birthday party had a great time, even though it was cold. They got to play with a sugar glider and see it jump on my oldest daughter's head. My youngest daughter (the birthday girl) surprised everyone by take a few steps in-front of them. She showed them how to pat the sugar glider properly. It was an amazing party."
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