I'm now at the one-week mark of my current captivity. More like a week and a half, actually, since last Saturday's reprieve was so brief—more a tease of what I hadn't had for days (and haven't had in the time that's elapsed between then and now) than anything else. Counting from part one of the … Continue reading Plowing Through (No Thanks to a Plow)
I check all the boxes for an ideal sucker for Duolingo, the glorious language "learning" app that feeds on my need to achieve all the things. Within an hour of waking each morning, I complete the three daily quests that Duo, the eerily dictatorial cartoon owl, has assigned me. I know exactly how long it's … Continue reading Streak Freeze
Last night just after 10:00 PM EST, I wheeled through the door, had a third dinner, unpacked because I'm constitutionally incapable of neglecting a bulging suitcase for more than thirty minutes, took a long bubble bath, then slept for eight hours straight, unheard of for me. I woke up disoriented in my own bed, half-expecting … Continue reading Same Same but Different
I’m writing this (and publishing it, if I manage to finish it quickly enough) while on a plane bound for Victoria, BC. It’s been six years since I last visited the city in which I was born and grew up. The long separation hasn’t been by choice; until now, my health’s made the trip unfeasible. … Continue reading Go West, Young Wheelchair
It was an unusually long summer and fall in Toronto, a period marked by eerily comfortable temps that lingered well into November and delayed the inevitable freeze of an Ontario winter. As much as I'm alarmed by what T-shirt-in-October days might signal, I was pretty fine with leaving my parka in the closet until weeks … Continue reading Trial by Snow
I resolved many years ago to stop with the New Year's resolutions and instead set and reset goals when it makes sense to do so. It's an approach that usually works for me, and it certainly served me well in 2024. New Year's nonetheless remains an obvious point at which to evaluate the previous twelve … Continue reading On the Eve of 2025
By this time last year, I was in my usual full-on, over-the-top Christmas mode. My apartment had been garishly decorated for weeks, my cards had been written and put in the mail, and my Spotify algorithm had figured out that all I listened to was Christmas music and thus suggested nothing else. I had a … Continue reading Having Myself a Merry(ish) Little Christmas
My husband and I woke up early last Thursday morning, puttered around the apartment, and took a cab to the airport. Several smooth hours later, we landed in Boston. Next was a drive to New Hampshire, where we visited friends for the weekend, going to Maine both Saturday and Sunday. Monday we spent in Boston; … Continue reading On the Road Again (Again)
Every six months or so, I decide to put more effort into managing and maintaining certain aspects of my appearance. Self-care of the physical sort, if you will. I have a wobbly track record in this department. It's not that I don't want to care about what I look like. I do—want to care, that … Continue reading Self-Caring
As a great celebrator of many holidays, I understand, admire, and, frankly, am a little envious of those who make a big deal out of Halloween. I’m not among them. At first glance, it’s a day that seems designed just for me, a person whose love of theme parties, decorating, and distractions in the form … Continue reading No Treat for the Tall Girl
De Morbo Sacro: Life and/with Epilepsy 