Columns

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind. As part of my job as a college counselor, I’m working with high school seniors to help them make college decisions. As someone who lives and works on a farm, spring is, of course, when chores multiply. May is always exceptionally busy…

I know I write frequently about my massages, but that’s because they are the only treatment available to me, and they keep my pain level under control. This is one reason I find it so frustrating that massage is rarely covered by health insurance. Because my rare disorder doesn’t…

The initial pandemic shutdowns last spring brought my family’s very busy schedule to a grinding halt. We decided to use the time to improve our emotional and physical well-being. We worked on our relationships with one another and inducted a new member into our family. During the spring and summer…

After almost six weeks of being unable to get a massage because my therapist was injured, I finally got back in last week. I really needed it, as I’ve been dealing with a pain flare from getting stuck in the mud at the farm where I live. Most of…

I haven’t been sleeping restfully this week. I’ve been doing that whole wake-up-and-roll-back-over thing seemingly a dozen times a night. I’ve been dealing with a pain flare since I got stuck in some thick, deep mud in a pasture at the farm where I live and nearly pulled my…

Last week, I went to the dentist for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. I had my regular cleaning just before everything shut down last year, and then dentists were either closed or working at reduced capacity for months. After my fall appointment was canceled, I joined…

Throughout the past week, the weather has been gorgeous. After weeks of seemingly endless rain, terrible mud that’s taken a real toll on me physically, and generally depressing weather, it’s been a true mood-lifter to see the sun and milder temperatures. I love many things about winter, such as soups…

This week has been busy. After all the rain we’ve had in the mid-Atlantic region recently, the ground is soaking wet, but we’ve finally had a few days in a row without rain, and the sun has been shining. It’s been amazing! I’ve tried…

After recently honoring Rare Disease Day on Feb. 28, I’m contemplating the obvious: A person is not defined by a diagnosis. This usually means they don’t allow a condition to limit their enjoyment of life or their accomplishments. But that’s not what I’m talking about — not directly, anyway. I’m…

This school year has been unique, to say the least. As a high school teacher and college counselor, I’ve been lucky to work at an institution that has made an effort to allow everyone to continue attending in person. We have numerous and extensive measures in place that have…