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...
9 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...
16 days 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...
23 days 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 1 month 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 1 month 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...
about 2 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Hey Reader, Have you ever noticed how the hardest part of fatigue isnāt always the exhaustion itself? For me, the emotional fallout used to hurt even more than the crash. When my energy tanked, I didnāt just cancel plans or shuffle my to-do list. I spiraled. I replayed every other time Iād had to back out, every worry about letting people down, every nagging thought that maybe this really was my fault. The fatigue would pass eventually. But the shame? That stuck around. I used to think I...
about 2 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Sometimes I forget how long people like us have been fighting to be seen. When you live with chronic illness, it can feel like every struggle is new. Like no one has ever dealt with the exact combination of symptoms, doctors, paperwork, and doubt that youāre facing right now. And in a lot of ways, this path is uniquely yours. But this week, Iāve been thinking about the people who walked it first. The ones who didnāt have access to the internet or online communities. Who didnāt have language...
2 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 2 min read