Sometimes life is trash. Grief, loss, pain, disappointment and blocked goals abound throughout our time on earth. We’ve all dealt with some level of them and all will deal with more before our time here is done. If you have read this blog for any amount of time, you’ve journeyed through my valley alongside me.…
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Warmth
Gather round, all, and I shall tell you a tale called “Warmth.” It began innocently enough with an alligator cleverly disguised as one of our NICU babies. As this alligator began to gator roll, he dislodged his feeding tube. This change was unbeknownst to me, as I was more concerned about keeping his body safe,…
Kenny’s First Birthday
You may consider it weird that I took a day off of work to celebrate the “birth” of my bionic foot. Kenny was the chosen name of the cadaver bone that now resides in my heel. This once-patella-now-calcaneus wedge of bone is having a second life… and so am I. My foot was irrevocably shifted…
My Words of the Year for 2022
I always spend an immense amount of time journaling and planning for my words of the year. But I am thankful that I do because for the past decade of years, my words have provided an anchor when life was challenging. I reflect on where I’ve come from and plan for where I’d like to…
Humbling & Healing
If I had to summarize my experience in 2021, it would be both humbling and healing. I was humbled in ways I have never been before. Post reconstructive surgery, I needed help to drive, to get to appointments, to shower, to wash my clothes, and to remember what day it was. I am fiercely independent…
Merit Badges
2021 was not my best year ever. But I ended it better than it started… and slowly my playfulness is returning. I decided that if life was going to be this challenging and require this much work, I should at least have something to show for it. So I started earning Adulthood Merit Badges. I…
Bittersweet
Lately life has seemed to be a complex jumble of emotions. I rarely feel pure joy or pure sadness or pure anger, but rather a mix of different expressions of each all at once. I’ve loved the move Inside Out since it was released. Maybe you’ve seen it. It envisions a “headquarters” in the brain…
Game-ifying Adulthood
Yes, I made up a new word. No, I’m not sorry. Yes, it is required for this situation. Yes, you can use it too! Adulthood has been remarkably hard the past few years, for me, and likely for many of you as well. I have felt the relentless waves of stress, trauma, loneliness, and fatigue…
Mental Health Mishaps
I’m fighting for joy, but life has felt very heavy. I am struggling. This year has dealt me hard challenges back to back to back. I have fought my very hardest to maintain my physical balance, strength, endurance, and coordination through therapy and exercises. And I’ve had to do the same with my mental health……
The Comeback Tour
Kenny* and I have been venturing out little by little. We have to plan ahead, pack a bag of supplies, and ensure we have time to mosey instead of sprint. But we’re doing it. Together. Kenny is hesitant, cautious, persnickety, and demanding. I am adventurous, playful, and courageous. We’re working on our relationship. It has…