Tag Archives: self care

It’s Mother’s Day, FWIW

It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of Mother’s Day. I always struggled with it as a younger adult because I didn’t have kids, didn’t want biological kids, and felt inherently that Mother’s Day was the world’s way to point out that I wasn’t the “ideal woman.” Ideal women prioritize reproduction. Once I becameContinue reading “It’s Mother’s Day, FWIW”

Disabled, officially. For now.

I’ve written before about my health struggles (see here). In sum, I have psoriatic arthritis and ulcerative colitis – both of which are autoimmune diseases – and fibromyalgia, which is an issue with the pain system of the body. The good news is I’ve been awarded social security disability, for now. It’s been a twoContinue reading “Disabled, officially. For now.”

Acting up in public

Last weekend my husband was working, but I fearlessly plowed ahead and took Sunny and Sprout to the Finger Lakes Chapter of Little People of America’s holiday party. Let me start this by praising this organization. I’ve written about them before regarding a baseball game we took the girls to during the summer. Being surroundedContinue reading “Acting up in public”

The joys of chronic illness

How it’s been going: As most of you know, I collect autoimmune diseases. I’ve been diagnosed with seronegative rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ulcerative colitis. Who knows which of those diagnoses is accurate, but the upshot is that my immune system likes to run amok and damage healthy tissues. The result is pain, stiff swollenContinue reading “The joys of chronic illness”

Healing as a “Not Working” Working Mom

There’s no secret that my time working at a law firm was painfully difficult for me. I am smart and a good researcher and writer so that part of the work was good. I wrote some kick-ass legal briefs in my time there, and won some difficult cases in part because of my research andContinue reading “Healing as a “Not Working” Working Mom”

Working hard, but not Working

Work is where it’s at… or is it? I’ve worked since I was about 15. I first started as a receptionist at my family’s church, plus some babysitting gigs. Then I switched to working at the rare books department of the nearby university. I worked there summers for years, including while I was in college.Continue reading “Working hard, but not Working”

Summer Heat and Fun… with a Side of Fatigue

So far this summer I have taken one or both girls to: A carnival with rides and fireworks Swimming at a local lake Swimming at the local pool Wading in a stream at a nearby park looking for crayfish On a boat ride along the Erie Canal To the MOST (the local kids’ science museum)Continue reading “Summer Heat and Fun… with a Side of Fatigue”

Gloriously Unemployed

I’ve written a little bit about my work history previously here. If you don’t feel like reading the old post, in short, my work story is as follows: I went to Cornell Law School, and went straight to a law firm of roughly 65 attorneys where I worked for 15 years practicing environmental and zoningContinue reading “Gloriously Unemployed”

Parenting while perpetually exhausted

I’ve been talking solely about the kids in this blog, but one of the things that affects them is me, and my health. So I’m going to talk about that today. I don’t think my story is unique. In fact I know it’s not. For a lot of women in particular, we struggle with chronicContinue reading “Parenting while perpetually exhausted”