Rearranging Life

Rearrangements Thing1 returned home from college today, saddled with the knowledge that he won’t be going back until September. He’s in the same boat as millions of other college kids around the country who are rearranging their futures right now. Thing1 has spent the past few years rearranging his future thanks to his chronic illness, … Continue reading Rearranging Life

Walk With Me

It’s my second week of being bed or chair-bound as my foot recovers from a total overhaul. It’s been really inconvenient, but, ironically, it’s give me a chance to take a different kind of walk with one of the best people I know. This time last year I was still writing mostly about Thing1’s journey … Continue reading Walk With Me

Living in Lessons

I don’t tend to be a mourner. I shed a few tears, maybe a sob here and there, and then the person I love lives on in my memories and, if I’m lucky, in the lessons I’ve absorbed from them. I’m blessed to have been born with a small army of Great Aunts. I don’t … Continue reading Living in Lessons

Yes, at the Dinner Table

Denial isn’t a river in Egypt. It’s a pitcher of Kool-Aid, and as the heatwave wore on into its fifth day on Thursday, Thing1 and I were sporting faint purple mustaches, reality about to crash through the walls — again.   Heat advisories all week had included warnings for people with chronic illness. The advisories … Continue reading Yes, at the Dinner Table

The Living is Living

Summer camp hasn’t started yet, so the boys are enjoying the fully unscheduled portion of summer. They go to bed, mostly, when they want. They get up when they’re done sleeping, lately, only time to binge watch Avengers movies together until friends call or dinner time. This morning Thing2 was finishing up the umpteenth viewing … Continue reading The Living is Living

The Truth about the Group W Bench

  One of the great things about going into a manic season is there are more ideas budding than you can possibly explore in a lifetime. It’s also one of the crappy things about mania.  I’m heading into one now, filling up disk space with posts and pages for a book about chronic illness while … Continue reading The Truth about the Group W Bench

The Scattered States of Thing2

Thing1  was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder almost 2 years ago now. We knew the diagnosis would come with big changes to his life, and this winter we really got to understand what it means to live with and care for someone with a chronic illness. We were still somewhat prepared for it. What we … Continue reading The Scattered States of Thing2

Wednesday Storm

It’s been about two weeks since I made the decision to resurrect a creative routine. The decision was the result of a webinar hosted by a friend, but the fuel to keep it going beyond the first day or two came from an unwelcome source. Saturday morning we rushed Thing1 to the emergency room because … Continue reading Wednesday Storm