Tag Archives: work

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.”

The state of my house

My spicy 5-year-old had the chutzpah to announce this morning that she’s been telling her friends and her teacher that our house is “dirty.” There’s lots to unpack around that. First, she comes from a truly dirty house. Her Mama is not a good housekeeper, unfortunately. So though Sprout was referring to our house (IContinue reading “The state of my house”

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”

“Oh, that’s cool, I guess.”

I flipped through my memories the other day on Facebook and came across this one: Overheard, man and woman talking in the elevator.Woman: How old is the baby now?Man: 5 weeks, and she has lungs like an opera singer!(conversation ensues all about the man’s baby.)Woman: Did you know I have a baby now? I’m aContinue reading ““Oh, that’s cool, I guess.””

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”

Neurodivergence Part 2: Autism? Really??

We already talked about ADHD, now why is there a blog post about autism in a blog about foster care? Still partly because it’s my blog, and my story, and I feel like sharing. Boom. It’s also because there are plenty of neurodivergent kids in foster care too, so this might help a foster parentContinue reading “Neurodivergence Part 2: Autism? Really??”

Neurodivergence Part 1: An Adult Diagnosed with ADHD

Why is there a blog post about ADHD in a blog about foster care? Partly because it’s my blog, and my story, and I feel like sharing. It’s also because there are plenty of neurodivergent kids in foster care too, so this might help a foster parent understand a kid they’re caring for a littleContinue reading “Neurodivergence Part 1: An Adult Diagnosed with ADHD”

Battening Down Life’s Hatches

Alternative title: “I’ve heard people say their bodies start to fall apart in their 40s, but this is a special level of ridiculousness only I could achieve.” I am mentally trying to batten down the hatches for the next month or two. Here’s what’s up: 1. Depression meds 💊 I was long long ago diagnosedContinue reading “Battening Down Life’s Hatches”

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”