Columns

Holidays are a point of contention for many people. Most of us spend the month of December attending holiday parties and family get-togethers, watching television commercials, and humming along to Christmas carols on the radio. My personal care attendant (PCA) and I were saying just…

In the midst of all the hustle and bustle that is the holiday season, I sometimes feel an overwhelming wave of nostalgia engulf me. To an extent, I imagine we all feel this way during this time of year. December sings a song of good tidings and dances…

I try to be thankful every day, but at Thanksgiving, I try extra hard. A couple years ago, my grandma had our entire family write things we were thankful for on plastic pumpkins. While my cousins wrote what seemed like a paragraph on theirs, I simply wrote, “Ibuprofen,…

Ella received an invitation in the mail for a birthday party. The parents called earlier in the week asking us if a dance party would be something Ella could participate in. We told them that she would be able to participate if one of us goes…

The holidays are when I spend time with family and friends, put off Christmas shopping until the last minute, and relentlessly make fun of Hallmark movies. While it’s true that Hallmark flicks aren’t as remarkably terrible and cultlike as 1978’s “The Star Wars Holiday Special” (…

A few days ago, my parents and I were reminiscing around our dining table. I’m not sure how we got onto the topic of ambulances and hospital visits. Maybe I mentioned my brush with anaphylaxis a few weeks ago and how weird it was to…

I’ve spent a considerable amount of time trying to come up with a topic for this week’s column, and it has been rather difficult. Actually, writing in general has been a struggle. Brain fog is the real deal, friends. And today’s column is brought to you by lack…

Ava started junior high school this past fall. It’s the first time she’s attended a different school from her brother, Henry, and her sister with SMA, Ella. She made the transition smoothly, waking up before everybody else to catch the 7:15 a.m. bus, navigating the halls of her…

Between smartphones, artificial intelligence, and social media platforms that allow people to post cat memes and political ramblings, it often feels like we live in a never-ending episode of “Star Trek.” Things that were once science fiction are now components of our everyday reality.

A few weeks ago, I attended one of the National Institute of Mental Health state conferences to fulfill a class requirement. It was an all-day affair, with tote bags and name tags and a catered luncheon. It was all very professional, and as a result,…