(NOTE: I'm diverging a bit from my usual blog topics to share what I've actually been working on these days. My life is increasingly oriented toward education—on a small scale—and the home, occasionally peppered with the opportunity to make things by hand.) I've worked with children in different capacities for many years (nannying, teaching, tutoring,… Continue reading Adaptive Activities for the “Rainbow Fish” Book
I have a lot of clothes. I wouldn't call myself a clothes horse, but when I tally up the items in my wardrobe, I'm sure it's a lot more than most individuals owned throughout human history. Globally, the average person owns about 148 items of clothing. And that average doesn't represent disparities between—and within—countries when… Continue reading Exploring Compostable Clothing
Everyone gets tired sometimes. Some people get tired more than others—shift workers, people with babies, people with chronic illnesses. I've been in the last category for nearly 10 years now, and I had a child on top of it all. To say I was very tired was a statement that touched only the tiniest tip… Continue reading I Finally Found Out Why Everything is So Hard All the Time
I'd like to say that my love of thrift shopping stems entirely from eco-friendly, frugal, and charitable intentions, but I have to admit: it's also just really fun to hunt for treasures in places where every individual piece feels one-of-a-kind. My home region, the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, is rich with thrift shops, antique… Continue reading Buying Second-hand in the Pioneer Valley: a 2023 Review of Local Shops
Degenerative, progressive, fatal. These illness-related words can inspire feelings of doom in a person learning about their new diagnosis. But what about the word “chronic”? When I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (also called Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, or collectively ME/CFS) seven years ago at age 30, my doctor was vague about the timeline of the illness. Do… Continue reading Recovery from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: It’s Complicated
Note: I began experiencing ME/CFS symptoms shortly after a bout of mono more than 10 years ago. I was finally diagnosed with ME/CFS roughly 7 years ago, and over the past 2 years I have experienced marked improvement (see Parts I and II). I’d say I’m about 90% recovered, or in a partial remission. Recovery is relatively uncommon… Continue reading My ME/CFS Recovery, Part III: What’s Working?
Before you read: I began experiencing ME/CFS symptoms shortly after a bout of mono more than 10 years ago. I was finally diagnosed with ME/CFS roughly 7 years ago, had “moderate” ME/CFS for about 5 years, and over the past 2 years I have experienced marked improvement. I’d say I’m about 90% recovered, or in… Continue reading My ME/CFS Recovery, Part II: GET, CBT, and “Brain Retraining”
I’ve had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (also called Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, or collectively ME/CFS) in varying levels of severity for almost 10 years now. For the past two or three years, I have experienced gradual and nonlinear improvement in my health. I can never be sure if my improvement is permanent, but what I’ve experienced along my ME/CFS journey… Continue reading My ME/CFS Recovery, Part 1: Everything that Didn’t Work
[Note: This article was originally published on Medium, but I've begun migrating all of my content to this blog.] When I developed Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (also called Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, or collectively ME/CFS) over eight years ago, I assumed it would be a brief detour in my life, and I’d soon be back to saving the world with… Continue reading How to Fight Climate Change When You’re Tired All the Time
Winter is a good time for me to stew in my own ideas, after the holidays are over and the cold weather really sets in. Well, sort of. This year it's been a mish-mash of cold and warm, with not much snow and lots of ice and rain. But still, the ideas were bubbling. I'm… Continue reading Join Me in a Challenge: The Climate Artivism Cycle
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