Modern Love publishes reader-submitted micro-stories on family and friendship

The New York Times Modern Love column published a set of reader-submitted “tiny” stories on Jan. 21, 2026, presenting memories of no more than 100 words that touch on parenting, friendship and family. In Alexander Lau’s piece, a toddler named Leon knocks bacon and potatoes from his high chair; the narrator yells and slams his hand, and Leon’s face crumples.

Lau writes that the anger "drains into shame," he says "I’m sorry," his wife takes over, and that moment changed him; now, as a parent of two, he no longer sees the challenges of parenthood as burdens but as an opportunity to be a father. Rachel Weinhaus Yarkoni describes rushing to a friend after learning the friend’s 8-year-old cat was diagnosed with cancer and the friend was having a severe alpha-gal syndrome flare; the narrator texts, "I’ve seen you look worse.

Remember? I knew you at 13," then drives over as she used to. Stephanie Pett recalls moving to Charlotte without knowing anyone and later learning that Willow had been praying for a soulmate, which made the move feel meant to be. Susie Polden writes of a conversation with her youngest adult child about the children’s father’s death in 2024 and a fraught four-year relationship; the child says, "Maybe the true love affair now is just us," meaning her siblings and mother, and Polden realizes they will be OK.

Key Topics

Culture, Modern Love, Charlotte, Alexander Lau, Rachel Weinhaus Yarkoni, Stephanie Pett