I almost cancelled plans this week. But I didn’t. Okay, Steph, big deal. Why are you blogging about almost-cancelled plans? Because when you live with chronic illness, you have to cancel things all the time. And it gets a bit annoying. (For ‘a bit,’ read ‘extremely, muchly, grievously.’ And for ‘annoying,’ read ‘devastating.’) I was […]
hope
Care to Share?
I can’t believe it’s already that time of year! World Childless Week is almost upon us. It’s a collaborative event that happens every September, and it’s a time when members of the childless community from all over the world come together for a week of sharing, solidarity and encouragement. We share stories, thought pieces, poems, […]
Names of My Children
Here we go again: Mother’s Day. This day invariably brings up grief for the children I wanted but never had. This grief, while uncomfortable and distressing, is a natural reaction to the loss of carefully planned hopes and dreams in my life. But how to grieve for these children? There are many ways to grieve […]
I’m an Alfa Romeo
‘Sorry I don’t have better news,’ the doctor apologised. ‘But you’re going to need surgery.’ I laughed hollowly. ‘It’s okay, I’m used to getting fresh diagnoses every other day. In fact, you can put this new one on my tab!’ The news about surgery wasn’t all bad; surgery was a long-awaited answer to a chronic […]
If You’re Lost…
I can’t believe it’s March already. 2026 is galloping ahead. For some of us, we already feel a bit behind the eight-ball. This has not been the year some of us were hoping for. In fact, for some of us, 2026 stinks. It’s going in a completely unwanted, violent, catastrophic direction. And we feel left […]
Why Living with Lupus is Like a Scavenger Hunt—Part 2
Finding my Tribe It’s not easy to find support for a rare disease like lupus. But I have a few close friends with autoimmune conditions, and there is nothing quite like the breath of fresh air that is a friend who gets it. When they describe the sensation of brain fog and I say, ‘Oh, […]
Unsolicited Advice
In my solitary days of unwanted singledom, I received all sorts of unsolicited advice about how to unsingle myself. You know the sort: ‘You need to get out more.’ ‘Maybe you should be less picky.’ ‘Have you considered online dating?’ Some of that advice was pretty good, actually. Take the online dating, for instance. That’s […]
Happy Birthday, Book Baby!
‘I live with lupus,’ the lady said, ‘and when I saw in your author bio that you live with lupus too, I told myself I simply had to meet you!’ ‘I’m so thrilled to meet a fellow lupie!’ I laughed. Lupus is a rare condition and I often feel a bit alone and lost in […]
Myths of Singledom
I met my husband later in life: I was twenty-nine. OK, that may not sound like a ‘late’ marriage, but in my church circles everyone was married by the ripe old age of twenty-one. At twenty-nine, I was considered practically retired. Or a leper. During those years of singledom, I encountered some interesting myths and […]
Survival Skills: Grace in the Flames
Three years ago I became disabled by illness. I don’t know whether it was lupus or not; the illness was never diagnosed. But it was a doozy of a flare-up and I was off work for about six months. During that time, I was virtually house-bound, going out only for medical appointments. I had to […]