Broken Lives Matter

Good evening lovelies! I've been scrolling and came across a very fun little tidbit to take us into a happy, healthy, inclusive new year:) Let's learn ASL with Debbie!: https://www.facebook.com/reel/3247738968863492 Happy New Year to All! Celebrate Wisely:)

After every single therapy session, or even just a dramatic moment of introspection, I find myself exhausted, in need of a nap:) It's because of this. Because it takes so very much out of a person physically to expose their beating heart in words, when it's been hidden for so very, very long. Indeed, I am continuously surprised that I even still HAVE a heart that beats for anyone other than myself. I have seriously thought for YEARS that those days were over.

Merry Christmas, Lovelies! We've entered the final countdown. Won't be long now, and you see signs of it everywhere. Miss Molly Burke has been posting reels an videos promoting different products EVERYWHERE, giving her own unique rundown on precisely how each item resonates with her and why, and I have to admit it IS wonderful. She does an admirable job. However, the following reel gave me pause. Speaking as a member of the community Burke sees herself as a part of, wherein I wholly accept her, of course, I have one thing to say about the cute little novelty item featured in her latest video. https://www.facebook.com/reel/357174180236257 Here's the thing. Advocating for the Able community, of which I know and love many, many members--Santa goes down the chimney. That is the story perpetuated, that is the accepted reality and the story told to countless children for hundreds of years. Why introduce a wheelchair into the situation? And furthermore, even if he DID manag

Hello Lovelies! One of the reels I follow on Facebook has just added content! I've included it here to brighten your day as it did mine. Music is oh so important to me, as I hope you can tell, and as much as the purist in me repells the notion that this is "the last Beatles' song"--because it was generated only through AI and conjecture--the sentiment is genuine. I love that the kids in this video dedicated the song to their dad on his birthday, and that they worked so hard to show their dad how much he matters to them. I hope my own father knew... This is the link to the reel: https://www.facebook.com/stories/107006014914542/UzpfSVNDOjkwMTU2MjgzODE5NTcyNw==/?view_single=1 Here is the link to the video: YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZsd6gx2d-M Hanukah has ended, but there are still celebrations yet to be had this season! To those I say happy holidays, and I'll see you soon:)

Hello Lovelies! My what a long time it's been. What a busy season it's been! For me at least, though I can't speak for everyone. The following link leads to a Facebook reel that reminds me how difficult--nearly impossible--it is for other people in my community to get around, during a season when honestly, with decorations and twinkly lights and familiar carols-sometimes sung in professional choirs by people you know, you REALLY want to get around. Toward that end, I have recently gotten over my own restricting fear of the ride share service. Until about a month and a half ago, I'd been staying away from said service (in all its variations) and using only one set up by my city through the grid bus service--kind of as an after-thought/ADA-mandated provision. This meant that A) they operated on a sliding scale so that the Disabled buying blocks of tickets for them subsidized the city bus service that Able people used, and NOT the service included specifically for the

Good Morning Lovelies! I've just seen that my last little entry got more views than usual, which has made my day:) Let me present the following in hopes that we maybe even surpass the last number of views! As a side note, my favorite Christmas songs are "O Come Emmanuel" and "2,000 Miles" by The Pretenders. Here is Bitty and Beau's latest, festive ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvlvfGZf-3A And here is Matt's favorite Christmas song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlR0MkrRklg Lastly, here is a link to my favorite modern Christmas song, as it is by now a few years old and a bit on the obscure side--so might not ring a bell with some people: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvlvfGZf-3A Enjoy, everyone! I haven't felt "in the Christmas spirit" until I listened to "2,000 Miles", now I'm feeling joyous:) I'm sure I'll blog before the big holiday, but in case I don't, for those who celebrate, do have

Hello Lovelies! Just sharing something cute I found. I didn't become the happy face realizing that trauma rewires your brain until much later in my healing journey. I hope that this finds someone who hasn't realized it yet, but is now that much closer--at a much younger age:) https://www.facebook.com/reel/969370487663776

Hello Lovelies! On the way out the door, ready for the impending holiday and looking forward to the many happy days of celebration to come. Since it has been a long time, once again, I wanted to send us all on our happy way with a wonderful bit of inspiration. I have always loved watching ballet, though physical grace of my own--is elusive:) Maybe that's why I DO love it. Watching the video below, I am reminded how I use my own arms for whatever grace and balance I can muster:) So the strength in this beautiful lady's legs must be impressive, to keep her so perfectly balanced and on pointe at all time. The use of the "e" at the end of point was very intentional, by the way. Also, notice how she stands even pre-show, in an elegant 3rd Position with one foot flat in front of the other, ready to dance.

Hello Lovelies! This entry is also about an image, but there's more to it than that. The picture I chose is of a wheelchair-bound concert goer with an intense expression but obviously challenged by CP or maybe something else--having a great time. He AND his wheelchair are being hoisted above the crowd to do a little surfing:) The caption reads: "Also Heavy Metal Hard Rock." As in, there are no requirements to what celebrating the music looks like. As in life, there are no requirements for the "right" anything. It is what it is. I've seen this meme before--may even have posted it here once. But I will never stop loving it, nor will it ever stop being relevant. I commented on the post: "there is so much heart in metal." As in life, there are those who look like everyone else at the concert and rock out in their own ways, and there are those who break the mold but are lifted up.

Hello Lovelies! Here we are again after just one day:) I decided not to allow myself another long time-lapse before adding content, an I really enjoyed this young lady's take on her own challenges. Very self-aware. I know I was certainly not that poised when I was younger! My generation (at least from my perspective) was all doing the best it could, but struggling to grip the walls of the slippery under-ground river of life we navigated. That was my impression, anyway! And I found it most relatable how "Actually Izzy" has trouble reading tone. Myself I find it hard to "stay with" jokes. Not so much that I miss the point, just that I kind of dissasociate. I assume that the sarcasm applied is rhetorical, as if it WOULD be hilarious, IF it happened, but not that it has. Thus, I miss out on a lot of punchlines. I assume they either don't apply to my current situation, or the joke actually being told, or that they have come at the wrong time in the story. En

Hello Lovelies! I know it's been a while...AGAIN. But I have my reasons. Healing AND finding a recognizable version of myself is a messy business. And I have to do it all while remembering not to expect too much of my balance, trying to maintain flexibility in my joints (ever tight now that the weather is colder, so I have to stretch more often), and maneuvering my walker through a world that isn't always built for it, meaning I have to work harder, which is exhausting. I also have to try to keep my energy up when most of the time my sleep schedule is hopelessly inverted, because darn it, I hate going to bed where it's dark and lonely. All this to say I know we've all got our struggles; I'm not trying to diminish anyone else's. In fact, I recently came across a visual representation of "the struggle" as I see it, that says to ME that the problem is even bigger than I imagine, that every single one of us doing the internal work to become aware of our

Hello Lovelies! Along the lines of this "not all disabilities are visible" track I've been on lately, I've blogged about a number of fascinating mental/psychological/emotional challenges people face in this world--and I've learned a TON! Or as the subject of the following video might put it because David Gray-Hammond is British, I've learned LOADS:) Unfortunately I couldn't find this man's precise location, and I'm just assuming based on his accent that he IS from the Isles, so it's possible, in the interest of full disclosure, that I am wrong:) But I'm going to proceed for the purposes of this entry as if Gray-Hammond is British. That is said with all love and respect; no matter the speaker or his location, it's the message that matters, and this guy is being tremendously brave an vulnerable putting himself and his own perspective out into the universe for dissection. And there will be dissection here, but it will also be with love an

Hello Lovelies! I don't know if any of you have seen the movie "Me Before You" from 2016, but I wanted to talk about it. Personally, I have mixed feelings about the premise. Sam Claflin's character in the movie has only become wheelchair-bound and paralyzed "recently" in the movie. I'm thinking that makes the disability and his immobility more digestable for general audiences, butI do have problems with it. For one thing, why not portray an individual who's had to deal with life in an inaccessible world his whole life? Why is it so much "kinder" to have an injury or illness to blame for disability? Does EVERYTHING have to have a reason? A "palettable" reason? Which leads me neatly into the second issue I take with this movie, that the paralyzed man falls for his able-bodied caretaker. Yes it's probably very likely that the guy needing help would develop feelings for the girl who cares for him. God knows my own fiance was a p

Hello Lovelies! Today I wanted to share a little personal glimpse. This is from about...a week ago maybe? And it involves a couple little boys who visit my neighborhood often to see THEIR family, and who I've seen before. It was still in my neighborhood but it was under different circumstances, and I wasn't alone then, which would have been nice in this situation as well. It's handy to be able to stay quiet in a conversation that makes you uncomfortable, and just allow the other person to answer all the questions you don't know how to answer off-hand. Alas, as functioning "adults" in the world today we can't always be accompanied in every instance, can we? Sometimes we just have to "boss up" and handle our own business all by ourselves--yea though it isn't easy:) So I was out talking to my neighbor briefly; I had dashed outside to avoid missing him, which I always seem to do, and I didn't miss him! In fact, we had just finished our co

Hello Lovelies! It's not exactly gentle, but it is the reminder we all sometimes need. Particularly those of us struggling in silence, fighting battles we never hint at, feeling like a failure every single day...ahem. The takeaway for all of us is wonderful news--we're not failures! Most often, the struggle is not our fault. We've been dealt a hand and we must play it. I enjoy this image because it is as blaring as some of my own demons and self-doubt over things I didn't ask for and challenges nobody prepared me for.

Hi Lovelies! I can't believe it's been a week since I wrote. It's been busy, but let me also say that I've been struggling to get over depression. Life gets heavy quickly when you're doing everything yourself. But I am still here. Still getting content, trying to work through it. Below is a clip from 3 years ago (by his timeline, but new to me) from Chris Morton. Have I shared him here? I can't believe I haven't--if I haven't. He's amazing. The first man with a hearing impairment to walk across the U.S on his own. And as if that weren't inspiring enough, he heavily documented all of his trials and triumphs; before, during, and after. This one is somehow among my favorites. For all its tragic beauty, it is relateable. When I broke a bone in my hand, though it is a comparitively small break, because I too am labeled a "fall riak", I was given a huge, puffy cast of fiberglass wrapped multipe times in an ACE bandage. And although Chris&#

Hello Lovelies! This warmed my cold-weather-come-early heart. The wind outside is blustery, it's basically been raining for the last two days, but this made all of that go away. I love how in response to his brother's question of what the sheet is, Gabe replies like a Minion from the animated movies--and you totally understand him, the same way those little yellow dudes are understandable:) "Mucomb" could easily be "costume", right? You get it. Which gives me new appreciation for "Minions" movies both standalone and otherwise, in terms of representation. They show people who think that vocal expression can only be one way--that there are other ways. You don't have to understand the words to know what they're saying. Such a simple thing, but look how it affects us! And representation isn't the only good thing about Minions. They are presented as workers, with purpose and drive and things to contribute. Such is ANY disabled person,

This just spoke to me. Not that I'm about to be a doctor or a nurse (of which I am privileged to know a few), but because of my recent post stating this very thing, that I am broken, and how we can heal each other.

Hello Lovelies! Back safely from my quick trip to visit family and make memories. The trip itself was shortened, but extremely sweet. I spent a lot of time with all my favorite people, and then the crawling trip BACK was also enjoyable! This is a bit of a surprise, considering it started with a 5:30 AM wake-up, continued with a 5-hour layover, and ended with an arrival home at exactly Midnight. I want to share this happy post from Facebook as encouragement. Prior to my adventure I had felt lost, searching for myself and kind of just stumbling around in my little circle of the world flirting with everyone and trying to find wholeness from the distinct disadvantage-point (is that a word?) of a traumatized adult with large, barely closed emotional scars. This meme assured me that I'm exactly where and in the condition I need to be. I am not, in fact, AT a disadvantage at all:)

Hello Lovelies! Sharing some deep thoughts from a much better poet than I currently am:) Though back in my glory days I was quite a skilled composer of word symphonies, in the intervening years between then and now the skill has fallen from my grace. Not to mention that it can be so difficult to define preccisely what motivates or doesn't motivate us. I like the following poem because it strikes a particular chord; I frequently pare down my explanations to make them more palettable to other people--what I call "sensitive audiences." People who don't know how to relate to my reasons because they can not relate. But if I know my lovelies, you know me, and no further explanation is needed:)

Update on MY mental health status: all better! I made it out west and life is pure joy. Seeing family, having fun, learning new stuff! Indeed I did a momentary search for a song called "Happy", thinking Pharell Williams' famous incarnation is all that would come up, and I got THIS new-to-me hit. Isn't it amazing what music will do for one's soul? Have a lovely day, lovelies!

Missed the train; it was a soul-crushing disaster. Rescheduled and there was an upcharge, but whatever. I want to get away and see the peope who love me.

Hello Lovelies, I'm not running out the door, as I thought, just yet. All day yesterday I thought it was a day later! So it turns out I've got another day to capture my thoughts on digital paper, as it were, and I thought I'd continue the slightly sad track I've been on lately. Maybe this is just to get it out of my system before the adventure and thrill of an all-day train trip and a week in the embrace of my family. I look forward to that with breathless excitement, and I'm deep in the process of getting my house ready for another long absence, the likes of which only July knows:) Before I head out, I have some processing to do, and it has to do with loss. Particularly the exquisite loss of the unnamed--what am I mourning? Why do I miss what I can't define? Why does it hurt so much? I've had so much experience with loss in the last 20 decades. First was my dear dad, then the man I told myself "Dad" had picked out for me to marry and cherish u

Hello Lovelies! I thought I'd share the very coolest thing I've seen recently, this time to do with our friend Molly Burke and her physical challenges. The lady is certainly living her life to the fullest, and enjoying every second of what it has to offer! In the process she's teaching all of us, including me, an I thought I'd pass it along. Just look at her joy! It's amazing to see. And such a delight, as an art-lover myself, to know that she has this available. https://www.facebook.com/reel/214935851358826 A little online investigating, and I wasn't able to find the name of the exact gallery, but I found that immersive galleries are a huge thing right now, particularly in the bigger cities. My own medium-sized town had the Van Gogh exhibit not long ago. I had the chance to go but it was on a day much windier even than this, and it can be quite a challenge to navigate the walker through wind. I often feel like I'm fighting for an inch of purchase on th

Lovelies, I'm broken. Every day is a fight against myself standing in my own way. At 40-freaking-One, here I sit and struggle to get through every day, scared to death. And this fear makes me broken. Afraid of failure, but VERY afraid of success. What would I DO with success?! How would I handle it if things suddenly WORKED OUT? Very little in my life to this point has ever worked out. I've gotten used to keeping my head down and striving only for the finish line, not to make a splash while I'm striving. And therein lies the rub. If I don't get out of my own way, I never WILL succeed. But I will also never be happy, yea though I completely expect to fail:( The trick of it is to get comfortable taking risks, like I did in 2020 when I moved. That was the last BIG risk I've taken, and the time since has absolutely flown. But I've felt absolutely stagnant:( Enclosed is a video addressing some of this fear--the feeling of inadequacy, the negative self-talk that p

Hello Lovelies! This weekend's weather has been amazing, though for me there have been waves of sadness. There have also been pools of joy! One of them is this beautiful video of (an attractive) man signing the first few lines of "If You Could Only See" by the band Tonic. This song was somewhat of a cult favorite in its day, so you'd be forgiven for being unable to place it:) For ME though? I was a huge Tonic fan, and this song was in heavy rotation at all the hockey games for the home team, which in my case played just across the river from this band's hometown, in Canada! There was nothing like hearing it in a sports arena, and watching this guy's movements and emotion while signing is ALSO a sigular experience. How beautiful. https://www.facebook.com/reel/520838176916239

Hello Lovelies! I'm so flattered to see the views of my little posts going up:) I have been trying to add content more regularly than I used to; it's quite easy to find. Below I've included a Reel that made me smile. As a twin myself, I used to hate it when my parents dressed us alike, but the joy and genuine pride on THIS pair of faces when they "twin"--warms my heart. I thought we should all see it, since it reinforces an idea I think we all need to get used to. Number one, there is no "standard." We're all individual, we're all special, nobody is a perfect mirror. Number 2, that's wonderful, and we need to celebrate it. https://www.facebook.com/reel/864088035345839 Update! Facebook saw my assertion that we are all the same and raised me a Bible verse:

"What if the word victim could be redefined into something closer to hero, Amelia? Recognizing that the path some tread spares others from the same? Amelia saves the day, again - The Universe" Isn't that wonderful thought, my Lovelies? All we endure because of physical, mental, or psychological challenges render us superhuman. And we didn't even have to get bitten by a radioactive spider like Spiderman:) Received from an affirmation service I've followed for YEARS; here's how you too can join! Just add them to your contact list on your email server (google, hotmail, cox.com, etc...)Ensure delivery of your TUT emails: Add theuniverse@tut.com to your address book. PLEASE NOTE THEIR WARNING: This email address is not monitored, please do not reply. Visit our Contact Us page.

Lovelies! Let us examine another source of our divergence or disability--something that makes it harder to face this world that was not meant for us. It's also something that the majority of Americans have dealt with at least once in their lives, and that's not counting the incidences of long-term (complex) PTSD that can mess us up for life, constantly resurfacing in different ways we don't notice. According to https://www.ahchealthenews.com/2018/11/29/70-percent-of-u-s-adults-experience-this-at-least-once-in-their-life/, these "reactions" can be the developement of COPD, heart-disease, high-blood pressure and cancer. I wasn't aware of ANY of this! But how much sense does it make--I mean--SERIOUSLY? The stories most of us have grown up with are "hopeless alcoholics" or drug abusers who have buried their own trauma under years and years of self-destructive behavior to escape their emotions after a traumatic event, or to provide a little relief

How amazing is this? "Differently-Abled" where? All it takes is for somebody to decide to do it. This world needs more people who don't see themselves as the world sees them. https://www.facebook.com/stories/109715777626156/UzpfSVNDOjY4MDM2NTkzNzI1MDgzNw==/?view_single=1

It's the natural inclination of the ignorant majority: "If I don't understand it, there's something wrong with it." Perhaps this would come as a shock to them, but there are those of us who pivot from misunderstanding to accepting on one thin dime:) And that's what I think needs to be emphasized in this cruel world. Don't stare, don't question, don't spend a day trying to make it all make sense in your head (as I have, with other things, but only because I'm overthinker)-- love and embrace. Full stop. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=150850391401729&set=gm.3759272607633935&idorvanity=3257344684493399

Hello Lovelies, happy Sunday! It's gorgeous and sunny, which reminds me that recently remarked to a friend: "too much sun depresses me." Once my doctor told me that too much sun IS one of the depressors listed as possible for people nowadays. So I guess that tells me what I wanted to know, but I'm gonna ask it anyway. Does too many beautiful days in a row bring you down? Do you fight the urge (as I am currently) to draw the curtains, crawl back into bed, turn off all the lights and sleep until the moon comes up? JUst now I found myself worrying about all the plants in my front yard, thinking I need to get out there and water them. But I know from experience that it's better to do even THAT after the sun has gone down. I guess the take away is that EVERYTHING is worth waiting until the night time to accomplish. Or that I'm nocturnal. If you could see my skin tone, lovelies, that would be the first thing that came to your mind:) There's just someth

Hello! I have a little note to share that I'm sure all of you suspected already. Indeed, I myself have known it a while. But I also know that in the depths of personal turmoil it can be hard to remember what used to make us happy:( Because of course when we're despairing, it seems like we'll never be happy again. My point in sharing the following meme is that yes, happiness WILL return. And there are things we can do to make it return faster:) Keep your chin up lovelies; no mood is forever.

Hello Lovelies! Found this while scrolling, and it got me thinking rather deeply for the first day back after the long weekend. Am I even supposed to be here? Are ANY of us lovelies? Maybe the reason I feel out of step with the way things are is NOT because I don't belong, but because the WORLD was not meant for me. Or any of us. We're supposed to be somewhere else. We're supposed to be somewhere higher. We're supposed to be home.

Lovelies! It's been so long! I am sharing this for the love of those young people (and myself) with "mild" disability that apparently disqualifies us from sympathy or empathy in a world that metes it out only on a case by devastating case basis, as it sees fit. But I also wanted to add that the opposite reaction can be true-- AMONG those who love the disabled. They fight amongst each other over who is most deserving, and I'm sure those of us who know this is true--REALLY know. We've had to defend ourselves against the ignorant, providing our diagnosis to garner sympathy, or just basic understanding. As if the use of medical terms alone makes a situation more pathetic. How wrong is that, lovelies? Why should I stand there with my walker fighting over the big stall in a bathroom because some other woman without an aid thinks she deserves the room to spread out--more than I deserve to have mobility? View this post on Instagram A post shared by S

Hello Lovelies! As you know, not all disabilities are visible, which got me thinking. If mental health struggles constitute divergence, i.e. mental challenges...then I've known these people all my life. And the thing that blew MY mind that has been in survival mode for most of my life and thus filtering out everything that didn't really matter--there has not always been a DEFINITION for these mental challenges. As far as I can tell, the term "neuro-divergent" hasn't been in regular use before the last five or ten years. My apologies to those of you who've known about it and used it for years before that; either I didn't know you well enough to know your lexicon, or it was never really used around me because it was probably assumed that "neuro-divergent" was too technical a term to throw into regular conversation. Ha! One conversation with me would have allayed all your assumptions. I use what I call "heightened English" (that's

Hello Lovelies! A "glimmer" is the opposite of a "downer" moment in our day to day lives--some little thing that makes our day, several times a day. Sometimes it's seeing a fluffy bumblebee or a hummingbird collecting pollen from one of the flowers outside my window. Sometimes it's something I hear about on the news, sometimes it's something a friend says in a text or message that makes me smile "for no reason", at random intervals, throughout the day. Today I would even include this gusty breeze coming in through my open window; it's so reminiscent of Fall! Or even Spring, which is actually my favorite season. Today I thought I would bring another talent to your attention who is surely a glimmer moment by himself every day of his life to those around him. The signs and the talent of my beloved Disabled Community are literally EVERYWHERE; you just have to be willing to see it. Allow me to open your eyes to Trent! Trent is a Tik Tok figu

Hello Lovelies! The following kept coming up in my social media reels and I simply adore it. Talk about using your voice to speak for the voiceless! This amazing individual is using the voice he doesn't even have-- to bring awareness and humor to Cerebral Palsy, and speak for those who've always been quietly dismissed. When I say Ahren Belisle Comedy is using a voice he doesn't have, I mean it with absolute respect and love. I don't mean to make light of his situation or the challenges he faces. I commend his bravery and brilliance with an awe-struck silence of my own. https://www.facebook.com/reel/609797228011754

Hello Lovelies! Just wanted to share another feature of an impressive soul. His videos and photography have been appearing frequently in my social media feeds, and I wanted to make everyone aware of this guy, if he hasn't already made it to YOUR feeds. On top are his latest family pictures, followed by a (presumably drone) video he took, and a little more information about this Australia-based badass. I'll admit I'm still learning his whole story myself, but I love that it follows what I've said before about all of us doing what we can in different ways, to express ourselves and speak for those of us in the disabled community who can't. And I may add, Jaimen's tricked-out chair with the sand-friendly wheels reminds me of Molly Burke's reel regarding Braille automatically on prescription pill bottles in France. America is just as surrounded by water as Australia is. There's sand at intermittent spots throughout the country! Why has't this country jum

Hello Lovelies! I've had this saved for a while; I wanted the right moment to share it and my thoughts. It is so powerful. Below is a reel from a dance competition show that speaks loudly to my favorite topic--inclusion. And not just inclusion, immersion. The entire theater is invested in this performance. The show's hosts are fighting their emotions, the judges sip water--look at the way one man is backed into his chair to stave off the reaction he knows is coming--nonverbal cues are ABUNDANT. Nobody watching can deny the resonance. I imagine that in person, it felt like the very walls of that performance venue were vibrating with these women's viracity. And indeed, truth and realism are boiling under the surface of every disabled person. Some of them can't "dance it out", to show the world in a way that it understands. Some of them aren't able to articulate their emotions in the most socially acceptable way. I HAVE ENCOUNTERED THIS:) While I am fortuna

Hello Lovelies! Look at this really wonderful idea for inclusion! People with mobility issues can better handle a much lower entry edge. And they could keep their mobility aids in the vehicle!! The only problem might be the exclusion from a family tent staked into the ground BUT...maybe they could keep the family dog with them? Or at least a baby monitor or two-way radio to decrease anxiety. As a personal preference, I would not camp. But I'm entirely certain there are those out there who would love it. Maybe it reminds them of a disability-free childhood spent outdoors among nature. Or maybe it would introduce them to a whole new world of experiences they've never gotten to enjoy! In case you don't know, to view this reel, copy the link and paste it into the browser window:) https://www.facebook.com/reel/1542103372864249

Hello Lovelies! Just learned I am a functioning overthinker:) My mind goes wild over every possible outcome for every possible situation. All. The. Time. I cannot turn it off. I have the hardest time sleeping or even wanting to go to bed. Way too many secrets in the darkness. If I'm asleep I'm at my most vulnerable. What if someone texts me an emergency and I don't hear the notification? What if I DO?!! See what I mean? I'm a fuctioning overthinker in that I get things done, but not without a LOT of thought. Every thought. I'm starting to wonder if it's actually a disorder:( Inherited from my father, but ever-present nonetheless. The following popped up in my feed on social media, and I think it's a good visual reminder that I need to try to live my life functioning. Not JUST as an overthinker, but as somebody who doesn't exhaust herself thinking.

Hello Lovelies! I've been sitting here reflecting on the concept of strength. Strength and weakness, more specifically, and what exactly seperates the two. I've heard it said that weakness MAKES you stronger, and if you ask me, this is entirely fact. Toward that end, I always used to point out to a former neighbor of mine that "women are stronger"--and he would get quiet. The way you do when you don't believe some one. My friends, he was a piece of work. The kind of person you associate with because of proximity and because you feel like you SHOULD--in your early 20s--but not the kind of person who sticks. But it has always given me a reason to gloat when I see a woman breaking a barrier in her career or completing a task that some man somewhere found "beneath him" or too distasteful to be bothered with. I.e; it scared him. Like those tee-shirts that say "if it had been 3 Wise Women..." and then list how they would have brought food, cleane

Hello Lovelies! I'm pretty sure I've shared Molly Burke on this blog before. If not, I've followed her for a while and I'm sharing her with you now! She amazes and motivates me; we are a community growing strength and visibility in this world thanks to people like this lady. The reel I'm sharing is Burke bringing attention to something the US has casually ignored as much as it can: the need for inclusion in a medical situation. I mean. Access to medication. Medication, folks; kind of important that we not keep it from people. No matter what their challenges, no matter how little they are thought of, they NEED to be considered. Exclusion kind of implies that society would rather they not exist. The video speaks for itself. Enjoy! https://www.facebook.com/reel/1811198689295395

Hello Lovelies! I've just been across the country, this time NOT on the train. But it was a wonderful and perspective-gaining trip. The following bit of levity is from weeks and weeks ago, but I choose to post it now. It's about how much it means to us when we're included. Loved, accepted, truly enfolded in all that's going on. My favorite part is how touched the comedian seems to be that what he THOUGHT might be a cause for conflict--was received with love. This is what we should all strive for, in my opinion. Because it turns out, Lovelies, that everyone in the world. Every. Single. One. Needs to feel included, accepted, seen, appreciated, heard, respected and loved. I made a comment on this reel about how the Disabled love to be treated like everyone else, that there's something about it that touches our very being. It was liked by the comedian himself (I like to believe), and that touched ME like nothing has in well over a year. Turns out I'm teachable, ev

Good Saturday, Lovelies! It's taken me a while to settle on a topic for this entry; there is so much out there I could comment on. so many things I could raise an opinion on. Life charges forward irrespective of how prepared we are. This entry is a bit longer than the last few; keep reading! I worked really hard on it for you:) I realized something about one aspect of life affecting another, and I have a lot to say about it. There is a song from 2015 called "Four Five Seconds" by the artist Rhianna, with featured guest singers Kanye West and Paul McCartney. I found a surprisingly detailed description on Wikipedia, which also listed a number of males as having contributed to the writing of the song. Wikipedia says: ""FourFiveSeconds" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna, American rapper Kanye West, and English musician Paul McCartney. It was written and produced by McCartney, Kanye West, Mike Dean, Dave Longstreth and Noah Goldstein with additio

Good Evening, Lovelies! I was just scrolling and came across a wonderful article about a performer I admire very much but knew nothing about. His name is Lewis Capaldi and he's Scottish, which surprised me, and also he has Tourette's Syndrome, which floored me. Also some mental health issues, but one might imagine they'd follow a debilitating condition like Tourette's, right? Wouldn't you? Take it from someone with reduced mobility and increasing pain--it messes with you. So again this proves my theory--there IS no "normal", and we're all fighting. For your late night perusal, I present to you this little news item. I hope you find it as inspiring as I did. Did you catch the video of Lewis performing when the crowd took over for him? I did, and there were some things left out in the video coverage I saw. It didn't mention Capaldi's physical challenges on top of his mental ones. Watching this story added to my apppreciation for this performer

I've got an illustration for you! And I would argue this is not "a day in the life of a PWD". It's "several times a day in the life of a PWD". We literally deal with this type of thing from sun-up to sun-down. For example in the comments somebody wrote that asking for a smile first is the bigger issue. In other words, exploiting the woman's disability WASN'T an issue. With that, I take issue. It exemplifies the problem we have in this society where the only problems people of privilege is are their OWN problems. Yes, being a woman and being belittled or objectified is an issue that must not be ignored. However, this woman in particular was already in a more vulnerable possition, being physically lower than her harasser. Furthermore, she couldn't easily deflect this man's comment--she needed the elevator! And finally, as I have run into myself, if she DID flip this guy off in response as one could absolutely forgive her for doing, would he ge

I don't want to say much about this, but I wanted my lovelies to see it: https://www.facebook.com/groups/feistyquotesforsavagesouls/permalink/3599783946918602/

Hello Lovelies! This morning my mind is on my schedule, as one would expect it to be on a Monday. BUT I'm not thinking about time in a regimented, linear way, like the majority of people I know. Since I was an infant, spending the first 3 months of my life in an incubator in a hospital, I've been DYS-regulated; my schedule has been to eat and sleep and be productive whenever I felt the time had come:) This makes it particularly difficult as (technically) an adult. I can hardly call myself "part of normal society--" at least not for many, many years. Until my late 30s, I stuck to my non-routine. I ate and slept and worked as I saw fit, and took pains not to worry about what other people, particularly my peers, were doing. I hated the question "what fills your day?" There was no good answer. I had no set schedule at all. If I thought about it too long, I'd end up getting down on myself for not being at a certain life stage, or having accomplished a cer

Well Lovelies, It's been almost a week since my darling Papaya and I said goodbye for now:( She was 18 and had been doing poorly for several months; the week of her euthanization she and I both knew the time had come. I called up the vet the day before, so I could arrange transportation and so my P. Nut and I could have one last night of cuddles. We spent the rest of the day in Papaya's favorite room of my condo, the living room, watching TV while she slept in her "little pink house"-- a cozy domed nook I got for her before I'd even adopted her. I supplied her with lots of fresh water with CBD gummies disolved in it, and all the food she asked for. Her one remaining tooth hurt her so badly, as did her failing kidneys, I didn't even bother looking at dose recommendations. What my baby wanted, my baby got. The morning of, as early as I could stand to see her go, my poor sweet Papaya's meows were so much quieter than usual. She was very, very tired. Eighte

Hello Lovelies! The following popped up in my social network feed a few days ago, and I am obsessed. Not just because there are two beautiful actors and one is playing a woman with Parkinson's and Jake Gyllenhaal is playing a man who doesn't care. Not just because this scene is the kind of enounter I've dreamt of having, and conversation I've imagined my entire life. But because it addresses what many people in this world seem not to know: people with diabilities can love. And they can love impressively well. http://fb.watch/ky4wD-gxbA/ I know you lovelies don't have trouble imagining someone like me with a fully functional heart; I've shown you mine. You know they exist in others like me because one exisists in me. But with upsetting frequency, I've noticed that there are a lot of able-bodied people who seem to think that just because one part of you doesn't work right, NOTHING else does. And to be fair, after the loss of my beloved fiance Michael t