Metro

As I moved from room to room of my childhood home, the pictures my Mom had scattered on the shelves and walls over the years caught my attention in a way they never had. There were photos of me in youth sports, school pictures, my senior portraits, and decades worth...

Once upon a time, parenting meant letting your kids play hide-and-seek outside with the neighbors while you did the dishes in the kitchen. Do that in front of the wrong set of eyes today, and you best prepare yourself for a full-blown police investigation and visit from DCFS. One thing’s...

“I went on my daily work walk. Today I went alone… as sometimes that happens.I headed down the street and as I’m walking, I see this young man on the other side of the street. Actually, I heard him first… he was singing and rapping, and I thought man he...

What you see here appears to be a photo of some old friends. People who have known and loved each other for a very long time. Debbie Baigrie and Ian ManuelThe truth is, this is the first time that Debbie Baigrie and Ian Manuel have seen each other in more...

Yesterday I went from celebrating an 11-year-old boy’s birthday party with my brothers and sisters at work to responding to the absolutely tragic death of two babies.This is the other side.The raw side that nobody talks about.The side everyone who isn’t in law enforcement doesn’t realize happens to us… but...

-year-old Seven Bridges tragically took his own life Saturday morning after enduring intense bullying from classmates over his colostomy bag. Seven was found hanging in his closet by his mother, Tami Charles, who had just returned from shopping when she made the soul-wrecking discovery. His dad, Donnie Bridges was attending...

“On April 2nd, 2019, two days short of being 38 weeks pregnant, my daughter Goldie Rhiannon’s heart had stopped. My womb had turned to a tomb and I had to deliver my beautiful, perfect, silent baby. While many parents going into labor dream up who and what their baby will...

“I have been hesitant to talk about my son through all of this. I did not want to use his blackness as a platform. Being an adoptive mother of a black son, does NOT give me any first-hand knowledge or experience of what it is like to live in black...

It’s no secret that grocery shopping is the definition of an adult CHORE—especially since COVID-19 times have hit.The only way I can get my husband to push the grocery cart for me in a pleasant manner is by bribing him with food both before and after.Ashley Jordan is no stranger...

It’s no secret that body image struggles are an epidemic that plague the female population.According to Now.org (National Organization for Women), by age thirteen, 53% of American girls are “unhappy with their bodies.” This grows to 78% by the time girls reach age seventeen.With these deep-rooted insecurities being ingrained in...

“Hi, my name is Kate and I am 36 and I’m having a serious case of lost identity. Or maybe it’s a midlife crisis. Or a little post-partum depression. Or maybe I’m just tired, overweight and mentally drained. Who knows which one.I have three boys, a husband, a home, and...

“I felt RAGE.Rage.I’ve been working more hours, struggling to get everything done.Cleaning more, trying to juggle everything with not one freaking minute to myself. Can these kids not just go the heck to sleep?I was angry. I got up and stormed over to the hallway. I growled at the door...

The day I found out I was pregnant I became a mother. Instantly my life was no longer my own and I was elated! We had a baby on the way! Wow. I felt honored I was chosen to carry the little life that was growing inside of my womb....

With COVID-19 shutting down businesses, restaurants, and schools for the sake of safety, there has been much controversy in regard to “when” and “how” the reopening of society as we know it should unfold.As a part of that mix, complaints from parents frustrated with schools opening too soon have certainly...

“Remember your grandmommas? They showed up on door steps with casseroles and side dishes and they stood at sinks that weren’t theirs and they washed dishes. They stood in gaps.Remember your momma? The same casserole she made a thousand times in her kitchen? She would let you stir and you...

Love is what matters? You’re absolutely right. But what is love? It’s an action word, it requires more than just saying it. It’s a hug, nursing the sick, crying tears of joy and it’s adoption. Adoption is love. Fostering is love.I grew up in the inner city of Richmond, Virginia,...