Sarah Rutledge

i’m not a regular mom, i’m a cool mom || youth centre director || grew up on veggie tales and MTV-

[Unfiltered @quotesdaily100]

WHAT ICU NURSES KNOW ABOUT THE LAST HOURS OF LIFE THAT FAMILIES ARE NEVER PREPARED FOR:

1. Hearing is the last sense to go. Many patients can hear everything being said in the room long after they appear unconscious. Nurses know this. Most families do not act like it.

2. The body does not shut down all at once. It withdraws blood and oxygen from the extremities first, working inward toward the heart. The cold hands and feet you notice are the body making a final decision about what to protect.

3. A sudden, unexpected improvement in energy and alertness hours before death is not a good sign. Nurses recognize it immediately. Families almost always mistake it for recovery.

4. The sound called the death rattle is not pain. It is simply the throat relaxing and losing muscle control. But no amount of medical explanation prepares a family for hearing it for the first time.

5. Most people do not die during the night. The body has a biological rhythm and many deaths occur in the early hours of morning, between 3am and 5am, when the nervous system is at its lowest.

6. Patients often wait. Nurses have watched people hold on for days until a specific person arrives, or a specific word is spoken, or permission is quietly given to let go. It happens too consistently to be coincidence.

7. The words "we did everything we could" are sometimes true and sometimes the most painful half-truth a family will ever receive without knowing it.

8. Families who are not present at the moment of death carry guilt that no counselor fully resolves. Nurses see this guilt begin forming in real time and cannot always stop it.

9. The face relaxes completely at the moment of death in a way that is impossible to describe until you have seen it. Nurses say it looks like the person finally put something down they had been carrying for a very long time.

10. Many ICU nurses privately believe that the most painful deaths are not the ones with the most physical suffering. They are the ones where the patient dies surrounded by family members who are fighting with each other.

11. The thing families almost never say, but almost always should, is simply this: it is okay to go. Those four words, spoken out loud, do something that medicine cannot explain and nurses have witnessed more times than they can count.

12. Nurses grieve too. They learn the names, the histories, the family dynamics, and the small personal details of every patient. They cry in break rooms, in parking lots, and on drives home. Then they walk back in the next morning and do it all over again, because someone has to, and they chose to be that person.

[Chi @__Poisonivyyy]

Kids today will never know how big of a deal it was to go to the computer lab

[songs that changed history @iconiksongs]

29 years ago, backstreet boys released 'as long as you love me' https://t.co/TUkNgaFroE

[throwbacks @solelynostalgia]

25 years ago, ‘lizzie mcguire’ premiered on disney channel, becoming their flagship series and launching hilary duff into stardom

[2000s @PopCulture2000s]

20 years ago, troy bolton & gabriella montez met for the first time on new year’s eve

[Crazy Vibes @CrazyVibes_1]

“I own a small bakery. Business has been slow. Rent is up. I was thinking about closing. Last Friday, a teenager came in. He looked nervous. He counted out change for a cookie. He was short 50 cents. ‘It’s okay,’ I said. ‘Take it.’ He ate it at a table, looking at his math homework. He looked stuck. I used to be a math tutor. I walked over. ‘Quadratic equations?’ He nodded. ‘I don’t get it.’ I sat down and helped him for 20 minutes. He got it. He left smiling. The next day, he came back with two friends. They bought cookies. The day after that, five kids came. Apparently, he told the school: ‘The lady at the bakery helps with homework.’ Now, my bakery is the after-school hang-out spot. It’s loud. It’s messy. There are backpacks everywhere. But yesterday, I found a note in the tip jar. It was wrapped around a $20 bill. ‘Thanks for helping my son pass math. - A Mom.’ I’m not closing the bakery. I think I finally found my purpose. It’s not cookies. It’s community.”

Anonymous participants / Facebook

[Simons @Simon_Ingari]

“Can I bring my baby to the interview?”

The message came in at 11 PM:

“Hi, I have an interview with you tomorrow at 2 PM. My childcare fell through. Can I bring my 8-month-old? I understand if you need to reschedule.”

Old me would have rescheduled.
Unprofessional. Distraction. Red flag.

New me replied:
“Absolutely. See you tomorrow.”

She showed up with her baby on her hip.
She apologized three times before even sitting down.

Ten minutes in, the baby started crying.
She tried to soothe him while answering questions.
She apologized again.

I stopped the interview and said:

“Hey. You’re managing a fussy baby, answering complex questions, and staying calm under pressure. That’s literally the job. Handling chaos while staying professional. You’re already proving you can do it.”

Her eyes filled with tears.

We hired her.

She’s been with us for a year now.
The most reliable team member we have.

Why?

Because when you’re used to handling a screaming infant at 3 AM and still showing up to work the next day, workplace stress feels like nothing.

Working parents, especially mothers, are some of the most organized, efficient, and resilient people you’ll ever hire.

Yet we lose them because our hiring processes are built for people with zero caregiving responsibilities.

If your interview process can’t accommodate a parent facing a childcare issue, you’re not filtering for professionalism.

You’re filtering for privilege.

[The Husky @Mr_Husky1]

I’ve been a cop for 15 years. I pulled a guy over last night. He was doing 85 in a 55. Weaving. I walked up to the window ready to write a reckless driving ticket. Maybe even take him in. When he rolled down the window, he wasn't drunk. He was shaking. "My daughter," he gasped. "She's at Children's Hospital. The chemo isn't working. They called... they said I need to hurry." I looked at his eyes. You can’t fake that kind of terror. I folded my ticket book. "Follow me," I said. I got back in my cruiser, flipped on the lights and sirens, and I escorted him the 20 miles to the hospital. I cleared every intersection for him. We made a 30-minute trip in 15. He ran inside without looking back. I waited in the parking lot for an hour. Just in case. He came out later, saw me, and walked over. He looked hollowed out. "Did I make it?" I asked. "Yeah," he whispered. "I got to hold her hand while she went. You got me there." He tried to shake my hand, but he collapsed into my arms instead. Sometimes, to serve and protect means breaking the speed limit.

[Kimiko Shibata 🦋 @ESL_fairy]

Influenza is taking down a LOT of elementary educators this week across #OntEd. If you need to leave something for a supply teacher and have limited time to plan, grab something from this folder (sorted by subject area) and focus on feeling better! https://t.co/RAv9wiBVOn

[Crazy Vibes @CrazyVibes_1]

I was just in Walmart and overheard this guy telling his girlfriend he needed a winter coat but couldn’t afford it right now because they had just bought their kids new coats.. It’s been sleeting here and freezing! So I stood there thinking about the good coat laying in my trunk that I’ve been meaning to donate anyway. I didn’t want to embarrass him or make it seem like I was pitying him, so when I saw his girl step away for a second, I quietly told him, “Aye bro, I gotta coat in my car that’s too big for me. If you want it, it’s yours..no pressure.” He tried to turn it down at first and I respected that, but I told him I’d bring it inside and leave it on his cart. If he wanted it, cool. If not, no hard feelings. I grabbed it from my car, dropped it off, and kept it moving. A few minutes later, I saw him walking around wearing it. He looked at me, nodded, and mouthed Appreciate you.

Didn’t cost me anything but it made somebody’s winter a little easier. Sometimes helping another person doesn’t take money! Just respect and understanding.

[Thrilla the Gorilla @ThrillaRilla369]

Netflix had enough cash to buy Warner Bros., but cried poor when we shared passwords with our mom.

[Pop Base @PopBase]

Official teaser trailer for ‘Camp Rock 3.’ Releasing Summer next year

[Sarah Rutledge @sarahlear_]

@JDaredevil2 Last year my water broke at 22 weeks. no amniotic fluid. after some back + forth I landed in the hospital on bed rest for a month. Gave birth via emergency c section at 31 weeks. Spent 128 in the nicu. our boy is happy and healthy (and working on getting off a feeding tube!) 🙏🏻

[Mr PitBull Stories @MrPitbull07]

My tenant has been renting from me for 5 years and she has NEVER given me a problem. Rent always on time, she keeps the house spotless, and anytime something breaks she gets it fixed and just lets me know it’s taken care of. She’s really been a blessing as a tenant. Today she called me crying, saying she’s been sick and had to go on FMLA. She doesn’t qualify for disability, so right now she has no way to pay her rent. I told her not to stress and gave her 90 days rent-free. I’d rather lose the money for a few months than lose a good, respectful tenant who has always handled her business. Sometimes it’s not about profit it’s about compassion.

[Science girl @sciencegirl]

Street art giving the illusion of motion

This is incredible

[Kris Pangilinan @KrisReports]

It’s officially 2am at Rogers Centre and there are still fans hoping for a win! #WantItAll @BlueJays

[Shuv Majumdar @shuvmajumdar]

Paper plates?

Not fentanyl. Not secure borders. Not stopping illegal guns from coming into our country.

Paper plates. That is the most important border issue of the day for the Liberals.

[vids that go hard @vidsthatgohard]

They gave us the POV we’ve been wanting since kids 😮‍💨

[Sarah Rutledge @sarahlear_]

@Daynation4 Honestly if Mickey wanted her 10k followers she shoulda went live 😂

[Cory Xenos @CoryX182]

Vince all season #bb27