The last two weeks have been stressful for me personally and in the country. I’m trying to navigate the worsening symptoms of my chronic conditions while also dealing with the results of the elections, both of which are wearing on my nervous system. Changes in the weather, sleep patterns, and visual and auditory overstimulation contribute…… Continue reading Focusing on What I Can Control: Coping Tools
Category: Acceptance
Illness and Grief
“A Shadow of Myself” @beautifulbittersweetlife Last night, I looked at the Phoenix Film Festival website, an organization for which I’ve been a volunteer photographer since 2016. It is one of my favorite yearly events. It allows me to connect with fellow volunteers, meet people who make independent films, see interesting films that aren’t available in…… Continue reading Illness and Grief
Ghosts of Memories
Grandpa and Mike Ghosts are not scary specters but the presence of those we love who are no longer with us. I could feel them when I sat on the screened-in porch of the house I grew up in. The lower three sides were red brick, with the upper part screened in. During the time…… Continue reading Ghosts of Memories
Cherishing Life’s Moments: Navigating Family and Fragility
Copyright Jennifer Mullins I wish I could remember who said this on a podcast related to death. The gist was that some people’s lives are short stories while others are epic novels. There is no guarantee of how long we live. However, we get to choose how we write and rewrite the story throughout our…… Continue reading Cherishing Life’s Moments: Navigating Family and Fragility
Unexpressed Love
Copyright Jennifer Mullins Denial is a hard habit to break. I’ve been struggling to get a good night’s sleep for the last two weeks. I wake up groggy, and my body hurts. Sometimes, naps take the edge off, while I’m tense other times. Writing this the day before Thanksgiving reminds me that my body keeps…… Continue reading Unexpressed Love
Living With Vulnerability
Copyright Jennifer Mullins On a recent Saturday, I had just turned the corner and was within walking distance of my house when my tire made a strange noise. I got out and checked the tire pressure. They were all at the right level, and I couldn’t see anything wrong with the tires. Unfortunately, when I…… Continue reading Living With Vulnerability
Being Grateful For Who You Are
Copyright Jennifer Mullins I was looking for a document the other day when I opened this letter of gratitude I wrote to myself in 2019 by mistake. I don’t remember why I wrote it, but I forgot about it. I’m glad I found it because it showed me where I was two years ago. It’s…… Continue reading Being Grateful For Who You Are
Coping With a Chronic Illness
Vestibular Self Portrait The top three grief experiences in order are the death of a child, spouse, and parent. The pain of my husband’s death is part of my DNA. But there is other grief that we encounter. One of them comes with developing and living with a chronic condition. On May 27, 2020, amid…… Continue reading Coping With a Chronic Illness
Accepting What You Cannot Change
Just the Three of Us I switched phone carriers and then got a new phone in the last few months. Both times, I lost recordings that I can’t replace. I had to learn to make peace with the things that I could not change. My dad had called and usually left a message for me…… Continue reading Accepting What You Cannot Change
Beautiful Bittersweet Life 