Level Up Yoshi!

I mentioned in my last blog post that I'm looking into training Yoshi as a full service dog so I can feel like I can be out in public with more ease with my anxiety disorder. It hurts my heart to say that we just don't have the funds to be able to pay for…

Mental Illness – An Update, The Stigma, and The Truth

A few weeks ago I talked about my recent mental break and history of anxiety. So here’s a little update: I have a good team to help me. I already had a great therapist, my husband is the best person I could imagine going through all this with, and I found a wonderful new APRN…

Depression, Anxiety, & Psych Wards

It’s Super Bowl Sunday and I’m having what’s arguably the most fun at a Super Bowl party in years. The screen is tiny. The walls are bare. The seats are hard plastic with wide bottoms and no real legs. There are three card tables squeezed together to form a long dining table area and all…

Processing Metaphor

I just posted an entry about autistic processing and what I believe makes autistics just different enough to get that label but makes neurology such a vast and diverse thing. You can read the long entry in its entirety here. I know not everyone will actually take the time to read that massive entry, though.…

Autistic Processing

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what makes a person autistic. At the core, what makes an autistic person just different enough to get that label. What makes me autistic but my friend simply introverted or quirky? What makes me autistic but able to successfully have a family, drive a car, have a successful…

Birthday Musings

My birthday came and went on the 1st of the month. Since having my son, my birthdays feel like this odd reality that sneak up on me suddenly. Not a big scary sneak, but more like a sneaky cat that you can see moving, they just think they’re moving so slow you can’t tell. My…

Processing, 5 Year Olds, and Puppies

The other day I had one of those parenting moments where I lost my cool. I think every parent does this. I tried to keep my patience but one crazy moment of not listening after another and suddenly I’m screaming instead of using my nice voice or even frustrated voice. In this case my son…

Embracing Being Other

I have a confession. It’s an embarrassing one, so bear with me. From about the age of 9 to the age of 14 I held a secret belief that I’ve never expressed to anyone. I haven’t discussed it for fear of being institutionalized, ostracized (even further), or, during those five years of belief, a fear…

The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me! Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton