Hi Reader, Some weeks make it painfully clear that the world moves at a pace many of us simply canāt match. And if youāve ever felt discouraged by how quickly everyone else seems to juggle work, home, errands, and life in general, youāre not alone. Thereās a kind of pressure woven into our culture that tells us weāre supposed to keep up no matter what our bodies are doing. But what happens when you live with chronic illness and that pressure hits up against a body that doesnāt respond on...
9 days agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Hi Reader, Thereās something about this time of year that brings up a strange combination of anticipation and pressure. The world starts shifting into celebration mode, and even if you love parts of the season, it can still feel like the pace around you speeds up long before your body is ready to match it. Lately,a Iāve been noticing all the small ways the holidays feel different when your energy is limited and your symptoms donāt take a break just because the calendar says itās time to...
16 days agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Hey Reader, Iāve been thinking a lot about how the world talks about gratitudeāespecially this time of year. It always seems to show up in neat little quotes and posts that say things likeāThereās always something to be thankful for.āāChoose gratitude.āāGratitude turns what you have into enough.ā I donāt know about you, but when Iām navigating symptoms, appointments, side effects, and just trying to get through the week in one pieceā¦ that kind of messaging feels disconnected at best. At...
23 days agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
I used to think a couple of hours in the car couldnāt possibly wipe me out. But year after year, Iād come home from holiday trips completely drainedāand I couldnāt figure out why. Iād tell myself, āItās just a quick drive.ā But between packing, planning, cleaning, and trying to be present with everyone once we arrived, Iād run out of energy long before the holidays even began. It took me a long time to realize that I wasnāt doing anything wrong. I was just approaching travel the same way I...
about 1 month agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Hi Reader, Have you ever felt that knot in your stomach right before you tell someone ānoā? Itās not just discomfortāitās conditioning. Many of us were taught that being āgoodā means being agreeable, helpful, and low-maintenance. So when chronic illness enters the picture, that programming doesnāt disappear. It just becomes impossible to maintain. For a long time, I thought being dependable meant saying yes, even when I was exhausted. I didnāt see how often I was trading my peace for...
about 1 month agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Hi there Reader, Have you ever felt like your home is quietly working against you? Like no matter how much you pace or plan, even the simplest tasksāfolding laundry, unloading the dishwasher, brushing your teethāend up costing more energy than you expected? I used to think I just needed more willpower. That if I followed the right routine or āpushed throughā just a little better, Iād finally stay on top of things. But eventually, I realized the problem wasnāt me. It was the space I was trying...
about 1 month agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Hey Reader, Iāll be honestālast week was a rough week health-wise. The kind that reminds me that even with pacing, planning, and all the right tools, chronic illness has its own agenda. And when that happens, the best thing I can do is not push harder, but to pause. So, instead of forcing myself to crank out a new blog post, I wanted to send a more honest kind of updateāone that I think many of us need right now as the holidays approach. If youāve also been running on fumes lately, youāre not...
about 2 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 2 min read
Hi Reader, I used to think pacing was about disciplineāsaying no more often, scheduling rest, or sticking to a perfectly balanced routine. But even when I tried to ādo everything right,ā burnout still crept in. Thatās when I realized pacing with chronic illness isnāt really about plans at all. Itās about awareness. So I started doing something small every Sunday afternoon: a 10-minute self-check-in with my coffee and planner open beside me. Instead of jumping straight into what I wanted to do...
about 2 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Hi Reader, Have you ever caught yourself wondering who you really are now that your energy, pace, or capacity has changed? I donāt just mean identity in a philosophical sense. I mean the messy, day-to-day version of itāthe way you dress, how you talk about your needs, the people you choose to keep close (or not). The way your values show up in how you live... or how you wish they could show up, if your body just gave you more to work with. For a long time, I thought living authentically meant...
2 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read