Junk Drawers

November 19, 2025.Reading time less than 1 minute.

I’m attending Restorative Yoga classes. It is yoga positions totally supported. Relaxing. Focus on breath and on releasing tension. We do something called supported fish (I think) – lying face down with a bolster under our hips. “Our junk drawers”, the instructor says and I almost laugh out loud. The last time I went for […]

Chronic Illness vs Depression

May 14, 2025.Reading time 2 minutes.

“How do I know if I am depressed or it’s just the exhaustion of ME?” I asked my therapist in the early days of being bedridden with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. “It’s simple,” she answered. “With depression, you lose interest in the things you usually love, so you don’t bother. With chronic illness, you want to engage, […]

Inevitable

November 20, 2024.Reading time 1 minute.

Still consumed with tests and medical appointments. Thought we had come to resolution on one issue, but the treatment didn’t work, and so we start again with another biopsy. Likely as frustrated as me, the doctor is now pointing fingers at other medications as being the culprit. Trouble is that I need those treatments to […]

A Change of Venue

September 11, 2024.Reading time 1 minute.

The biopsy was July 12th. My follow up appointment was not until September 4th. Having been through many of these, we concluded that there was no diagnosis that would disrupt travel, so went ahead and planned. We would fly out on the 7th. After seeing the specialist. Turns out there was a concern with the […]

Packing

August 21, 2024.Reading time less than 1 minute.

We’ve decided, after five years of being homebodies, to try travelling again. He’s making reservations, while I make to-do lists and try to decide what to pack. Excited by the possibility, he draws up ambitious itineraries, and I’m feeling reality close in. What won’t fit into any suitcase, I gently remind him, is the promise […]

Prolonged Illness and Isolation

April 10, 2024.Reading time 1 minute.

“Isolation is seldom listed as a symptom of chronic disease, but it certainly is a component. The need for human interaction is very real, in fact, psychologically, I would say it is essential. Making a conscientious effort to reach out to others, balancing social activity with limited energy, and valuing myself enough to keep the […]

Re-emergence

June 11, 2023.Reading time 3 minutes.

Hard to pinpoint when it all started. Was it the night before, when I pushed myself to finish that knitting project even though my eyes were so blurry that I had to feel my way through? Was it the day before, when I noticed that my breathing was compromised? I do know that I awoke […]

Chronic Illness

November 30, 2022.Reading time less than 1 minute.

The Eight Year Road

August 15, 2022.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Moments

August 12, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

The trips along the river have decreased, replaced by ongoing texts and emails. A family of cardinals, newly hatched, line our windowsills, their curiosity endearing, yet; my camera remains on the desk. My health has taken a plunge – not unexpected, but despairing. I’ve been locked away inside fighting the sludge. August the 23rd, our […]

The River

There’s a river runs between us,you and I.Our thoughts, like tears, are liquidcarried effortlessly by the current. But you and I,we stand on the banks, oblivious;ignoring the connection,proudly touting our individualism. Still the river flows,and all you’ve suffered,and all I’ve suffered,or dreamed, or imagined, or hoped,flows with it. Step into the water with me,feel our […]

Flock

Blossoming

It may be foolish of me, at my age and in my current condition, but I hang on to the hope that the pain of this effort is leading somewhere: renewal, new purpose, or at the very least, a blossoming.