I have always been allergic to musical instruments. As a teenager, I was an enthusiastic singer, but I could not bear to touch an instrument, let alone attempt to play one. I avoided instruments like the plague. The reason for this was my lack of coordination. I was accident-prone. I was constantly walking into things, […]
A Mother’s Comfort
“As a mother comforts her child, So I will comfort you. You will be comforted in Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 66:13, The Message.) This year, Mother’s Day has turned my thoughts toward God. Odd, you say? Yes, for me too. Do not worry, I am not about to embark upon a feminist-fueled rant about the relative merits […]
Lupus Is Easy
I’m pretty annoyed as I write this. Actually, I’m livid. It is not every day someone makes a comment that gets me this riled up. Except for a doctor who minimises my experience of chronic illness. I have been avoiding finding a new GP. But last week it was necessary. My chronic illness flared up […]
Keep Calm and Keep On Writing
Non-writers make strange comments sometimes. When I tell people I am currently writing a book about Surviving Childlessness, they often say things like, “That must be wonderfully cathartic.” “I think you misunderstand me,” I do not reply. The catharsis theory is a popular one. It presupposes that writing is inherently therapeutic. I guess that it […]
Childless at Easter
So we are about to head to church on a Good Friday. One of the most celebrated, heavily attended, child-focused days of the year. And we do not have children. I am trying to identify this feeling I have about going to church today. It is not quite dread. Nor is it exactly apprehension. I […]
Lamentations Song – 1000 Views Special
No-one was more surprised than I was to see Lamentations Song pass 1000 views on YouTube this week. In honour of this momentous occasion, I feel it is time to review this song again. (I have already blogged about it before, but why not blog about it again?) There are certain unwritten rules when it […]
Too Picky?
A reader recently commented on one of my blogs about singleness, saying they were told to just pick someone and marry them because “anyone will do”. They were told, unbelievingly, to stop being so fussy. This story struck a chord with me. During my painfully single twenties, I was regularly asked if I was “picky”. […]
Badge of Honour
The place is a disaster zone. Furniture overturned. Rubbish piled high. Chaos and disorganisation as far as the eye can see. Yep, I just moved house. It is easy to see a new house as being some kind of badge of honour. Society tells us that material things are markers of success. Got the house? […]
Childless-By-Forced-Choice
I was married for two years when I was diagnosed with lupus. I was thirty-one at the time. The lupus diagnosis came after eight years of mysterious symptoms and misdiagnoses. (In that respect, the diagnosis was a blessing.) It was not a shock. It finally gave me clarity on all the bizarre, seemingly coincidental medical […]
Surviving Valentine’s Day
Red roses. Fluffy teddies. Umpteen love hearts on social media feed. Yep, it must be Valentine’s Day. I had a lot of trouble tolerating Valentine’s Day when I was single. And it was not just the pointless commercialism. It was the unsubtle message that you have to be admired by someone to be a worthwhile […]