We didn’t plan on getting a dog. It just kinda happened. Ten years ago, we were driving back from a camping trip, tired and cranky, when we spotted this tiny,…
AFTER 15 SURGERIES, MY DAD IS FINALLY READY TO LIVE THE LIFE HE DESERVES
My dad’s body has more scars than I can count—some from accidents, some from illness, and some from doctors just trying to keep him going one more year. Fifteen surgeries….
MY SON IS OBSESSED OVER HAVING A PET SNAKE—ALL BECAUSE OF HIS UNCLE
If you had told me a year ago that my sweet, freckle-faced boy would be begging for a snake, I would’ve laughed you out the room. This kid used to…
I THOUGHT ALL COPS WERE THE SAME—THEN I MET OFFICER DANE
I used to think I knew exactly what to expect from a cop—short words, no time, eyes always scanning past you. Just do the job and move on. But Officer…
MY WIFE IS GONE—BUT HER SISTER GAVE UP EVERYTHING TO HELP ME HEAL
Losing Mariel felt like getting the air knocked out of my lungs and never catching my breath again. She was my compass. My calm in the chaos. We did everything…
MY WIFE GOT SICK—AND THAT’S WHEN WE BECAME STRONGER THAN EVER
We’ve had plenty of hard seasons, but nothing prepared us for this one. The doctors didn’t sugarcoat it. The words were heavy, clinical, sharp. I could barely focus on anything…
MY GRANDMA IS 98—AND HER LAST WISH IS TO SCREAM AT ONE MORE FOOTBALL GAME
She’s 98, stubborn as ever, and swears up and down that the referees in today’s games are “softer than warm butter.” That’s my grandma Ruth. She raised five kids, buried…
MY AUTISTIC SON IS OBSESSED WITH CHRISTMAS—SO WE CELEBRATE IT EVERY SINGLE DAY
Some kids grow out of their holiday phases. Mine? He’s doubled down. Carter is eight, autistic, and completely, unapologetically in love with Christmas. Not just in December—all year long. If…
MY DOG, KYLO, CHOSE ME TWO YEARS AGO—AND NOTHING’S BEEN THE SAME SINCE
I thought I was just looking. That’s what I told myself the day I walked into the shelter—just looking. I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t “dog person” material. I barely had…
MY 10-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER WANTS TO BE A SCIENTIST—BECAUSE SHE’S TRYING TO SAVE HER MOM
She says she’s going to find the cure herself. She’s only ten, but when she puts on that little blue gown and those oversized gloves, you’d think she was already…