The Time Traveler's Wife Made Me Fall Back in Love With Fiction and Reading
“When I was young I didn’t understand, but now, I know, how absence can be present, like a damaged nerve, like a dark bird.” ― Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler’s Wife.
Read full storyA New Meditation - Tapping My Way to Tranquility
I’ve been in therapy for almost ten years now, and over those years I have tried all sorts of things to help with my anxiety and negative thoughts. Meditating, guided meditation, grounding work, deep breathing, mindfulness, you name it, I’ve at least heard of it, but none of it has really worked for me in the moment when I’ve needed it to stave off panic.
Read full storyWhy Having a Routine is Great for Writers
I finally started treating writing like it’s my job. It’s hard for me to even think ‘writing is my job’ but since it’s the only form of real income I have right now, I guess writing is my job, huh?
Read full storyHow Freelancing Can Ruin Friendships
In my brief year-long stint as a web designer, one of the projects I took on was a website for a friend’s organization. At first, I was happy to get her business because I knew she had money to spend and I’d rather her spend it on me than use some boutique business way out of my league.
Read full storyDon't Tell Me What to Cherish - Every Parenting Journey is Different
“Oh, he’s just precious. You need to cherish these times while they last.”. That’s what I heard an old woman say to a struggling young mother yesterday when I went to bring my daughter to pick up her new pair of eyeglasses.
Read full storyKeeping Up Momentum is the Key to Writing
I had this whole thing going with my writing for the last ten days and everything was working out great until one day I changed up my routine, and now I feel like I’ve lost my momentum.
Read full storyIt's Always OK to Ask For Help - Even if it Exposes Your Vulnerabilities
The other day my daughter came to me and asked me for help with her math. I’ve been homeschooling her for almost two years, and she does her math with an online program and often doesn’t ask for help because she really doesn’t need much of it.
Read full storyYou Don't Need an Explanation to Say NO
Sometimes I just don’t want to do anything. Sometimes I want to sit on my butt and watch TV like a lump and not be bothered by anything or anyone, and to me, that is totally okay.
Read full storyThirteen Going On Eight - Trying to Reconcile My Daughter's Disabilities
My daughter will be turning thirteen next week, but some days it feels more like she will be turning eight. She’s on the autism spectrum and is Intellectually Disabled, so she is much less mature than other kids her age, and the older she gets, the more it shows.
Read full storyEven Stephen King Abandons Projects
Once in a while, when I am feeling particularly like a failure as a writer, I like to take some comfort in the company of my favorite author, Stephen King. We meet sometimes on YouTube, where there are videos of his talks and interviews which I can watch and remind myself that sometimes dreams come true for people and miracles are possible.
Read full storyHomeschooling Fatigue is Real - Here's How to Get Through It
Homeschooling is hard, and sometimes you'll think you're a complete failure at it. That’s normal. I don’t believe in supermoms who are able to get through homeschooling their kids day in and day out with all smiles and laughter and joy — no matter how great a parent you are, homeschooling will test your strengths in all new ways, and really show you what you’re made of.
Read full storyDid You Skip Two Days of Writing? (You're Actually Skipping Three Months)
A few months ago I read something that was simple but rather life changing, and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since. If you skip two days of writing a week, you’re skipping fifteen weeks of writing.
Read full storySometimes You'll Fail at Homeschooling
As a single mom homeschooling a disabled tween, I do my best, which, for the record, probably isn’t as good as a lot of other homeschooling moms. Most of my job as my daughter’s teacher is helping her stay on task and making sure her work gets completed.
Read full storyGetting Struck By Lightning Kind of Ruined My Life
I was on my computer when the thunderstorm began, and like any smart girl would do, I shut the thing down because I didn’t want it to get fried in the event of a lightning strike.
Read full storyDealing With a Bully's Mom
“I really wish you would have come to me instead of going to the administrators,” the bully’s mom said to me as I tried desperately to keep my jaw from flapping open. Where I come from, the world of decent people in an acceptable reality, that’s not how this works.
Read full storyPublic Education Failed My Child
There are a lot of things going on the world right now that have me enraged on a daily basis. I think most of us can agree that things are double plus ungood right now, and while I worry about things like not having any savings, not having steady income, whether I’m doing my best as a mom to a child with disabilities, there is one terrible thing that I have been able to make better in our lives: the public education system.
Read full storyNo One Cares About Your Writing
When it comes to writing, sometimes I feel like that guy looks in the picture above. Like I am screaming into a void where no one listens or cares, like I am frustrated as hell that I put in so much work and have so little to show for the time and effort I put in.
Read full storyHow Freelancing Can Ruin Friendships
In my brief year-long stint as a web designer, one of the projects I took on was a website for a friend’s organization. At first, I was happy to get her business because I knew she had money to spend and I’d rather her spend it on me than use some boutique business way out of my league.
Read full storyWhy I Support School Uniforms For All Kids
It was only the second day and despite picking her outfit out the night before, this morning my daughter and I were already arguing about what she was going to wear to school. There’s nothing fun about fighting, bleary-eyed before coffee, about wearing a pretty floral shirt with a striped, grungy hoodie. You just. Don’t.
Read full storyHow to Relieve the Worst of Your Stress
As I write this, my stomach is in a bundle of knots, my heart is racing, my palms are sweaty, and I feel very much like I’m going to have a panic attack. Because I have a huge test at school tonight and I don’t feel prepared, even though I’ve studied and studied until my brain has been fried.
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