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Thriving because of technology
Your life without a computer: what does it look like? Note: This was a WordPress daily prompt last week, but it was one that I thought my readers would be intrigued by, so I’m posting it a bit late. As a writer with a disability, I’d have to say my life without a computer would look bleak. Without computers, I wouldn’t have this blog. I also likely wouldn’t be a writer. Because of the nature of my disability, it is extremely difficult (though it has gotten slightly better after years of therapy and practice) to write by hand. My hands hurt even as I type, so I’d hate to think…
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Remembrance and Honor
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Pressure and Duty
Lately I’ve been under a lot of pressure from my family as I try to put things together for my author business. It’s the beginning of October, and here in N.C. that means colder weather, fall and deadlines quickly approaching. It also means dealing with a lot of pressure and pain–colder weather affects my joints and makes it harder for me to move. I’ve also decided to start taking cranberry as a supplement to deal with intestinal issues I’ve been having that distract me from writing. I’m learning now that these things are common in people with Cerebral Palsy. According to an informational website about the disability, 32% of individuals…
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Remembrance and Honor
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Remembrance and Honor
The image above pictures a woman laying at the grave of a fallen soldier. The text below the image reads: Memorial Day – In case you thought it was national barbeque day. For those of us in the United States, today is the unofficial beginning of summer, but it’s also a much more important holiday. Today is the day that we honor those who gave their lives in the service of protecting our country. As a person with a disability, I have a particular respect for those who serve. When I turned eighteen, I got countless calls from the Marines and Navy wanting me to enlist. {Of course, they were…
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True Thanksgiving: Gratitude in Spite of Challenge
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Reflex and Reflection
Sometimes I wonder about my own body. Dealing with Cerebral Palsy, I have a lot of issues with reflexes and muscle pain. There are days when it’s all I can do to get out of bed, something I struggle with anyway because it’s nearly impossible for me to flex at the ankles. I also have a lot of other health issues that are unrelated to my CP. I’ve often wondered why it’s so hard for me to write characters that are like me. I question if I shy away on impulse because there is something I’m terrified of “getting wrong”, since there are so many variants of Cerebral Palsy, and…
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True Thanksgiving: Gratitude in Spite of Challenge
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Questions and answers
One of the things I often deal with related to my disability is how to answer questions asked of me by those who don’t know what it’s like to have cerebral palsy, or even what it is. There’s a lot of discourse happening around disability now, and the labels that are put on people who live with disabilities. According to attorney Kenneth A. Stern, a lawyer who claims to specialize in cases related to cerebral palsy, often abbreviated as CP, it is estimated that there are 764,000 children and adults living with Cerebral Palsy in the United States. Another set of attorneys, Miller and Stois, provide studies stating that in…
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True Thanksgiving: Gratitude in Spite of Challenge
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Self-investment is a risk worth taking.
Today’s daily writing prompt lends itself nicely to the wrap up of my first half of involvement in my writing courses. Deciding to invest my time in myself as an author has come with many ups and downs and it’s led me to do some soul searching. This is an answer that I think will only get better as I take further steps to establish myself and my brand. Right now, I am heavily invested in a paid writing course to help me write and market myself as an author. As someone who relies on funds from disability to live for the moment, investing in myself has been something that…
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True Thanksgiving: Gratitude in Spite of Challenge
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A Lot Can Change in Seven Days
I’m switching thigs up a bit for this week’s blog post. As a Christian and an author, one of the things that fascinated me about the life of Christ was how quickly people changed their minds about Him in the course of one week, which we now know as “Holy Week”. Most religious scholars agree that Jesus was on this Earth ministering to the people for three years. Many hold that he began his ministry around the age of thirty. But for me, it’s always been the final week of His life that was fascinating. I’ve always wondered about what happened during that week. How many people heard Him speak…
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True Thanksgiving: Gratitude in Spite of Challenge
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Disability, labels, identity: Tying it all back to writing
My phone number has been given away to several companies throughout my time with my current cell phone provider. This morning, I got a call meant for someone who had rented a car and then asked to be upgraded to a different model. Because I was didn’t recognize the number, I didn’t answer, and the call went to my voicemail. So, when I discovered the voicemail, I did what any reasonable person would do: I paused my writing and called the company, a conversation lasting only a few moments, to let them know they had the wrong number. I didn’t want someone to be stuck waiting for a pickup in…
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True Thanksgiving: Gratitude in Spite of Challenge
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Sick days (but few days off)
It can be extremely difficult at times to deal with brain fog and other issues. I’ve been sick over the last couple of weeks. [I suspect I may have caught something from a young lady at Winter Jam 2023 who was hanging all over me convinced that she knew me from a summer camp.] So, for a little less than a week now, I’ve been dealing with cough, runny nose, sore throat and other flu/allergy like symptoms. Part of my Cerebral Palsy includes having a low tolerance for pain and lots of brain fog. Most of this week has involved sleeping in, and lots of essential oils in the diffuser…
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True Thanksgiving: Gratitude in Spite of Challenge
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Traveling and balancing workload with self-care
One of the things that’s become a struggle for me lately, especially as I get older, is learning how to balance things out. This past week, I’ve been in one of my favorite places, but it hasn’t been without its challenges. Travel is the inspiration for this week’s blog, and it’s likely something I’ll touch on in more detail later. On the 11th of February, I was blessed to celebrate God’s gift of 33 years of life. To celebrate, I traveled with my parents to spend a few days in one of our favorite places: Charleston, South Carolina. As much as I love it, I think I still have a…
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True Thanksgiving: Gratitude in Spite of Challenge
Thoughts on Life, Faith, Disability and the Writing Craft from E.S. McLaughlin
