When I read about Stephen Hawking’s death, I was transported to a pub in Glasgow where I once found a prime piece of graffiti: Stephen Hawking hates karaoke. I remember discussing this line with my friends and deciding it was kinda apt. My first thought on the death of genius was a tenuously linked personal memory. I went on about my day, steering Isla away from chocolate for all of her meals. I said nothing on social media because I very…
Since I’ve decided to tell it like it is about my life with a disability, I thought I might write a post spelling out my perspective of what disability actually is. This is not a general post on all disabilities. I’m aware that there are visible and invisible ones. I can only speak from my own experience as a wheelchair-user. Over the weekend, the fam and I went to a bookshop. There was a steep, but useable ramp to get…
I am a mother. I am disabled. I am sometimes a disabled mother. Isla went back to nursery school today, after mid-winter break. I enjoyed having her home for three days. I’m also enjoying being able to write this post in silence, without cartoons in the background, while she is at school. This morning we had our usual cuddles with TV and waffles before what Isla calls ‘the team effort’ to get her dressed. She’s hopping around, pulling her jeans…
And so, I’ve been thinking of a P.S. to add to yesterday’s post. I know I’m not the only person out there who deals with access issues. Here are some things I’ve actually said to people who own businesses that are kindasortamaybe or completely inaccessible. Try these next time you’re out: Could you please remove the bucket/sandwich-board/freaky-looking naked mannequin. It’s a toilet, not a bin. No, dude. I just use it for the parking. Thank you for putting us to…
Last year, around this time, I wrote this piece on my journey with anxiety, and shared it around Time To Talk Day. The official day has rolled around again. My words are still true, anxiety is a thing every day, and I’m sharing again. No one is alone on this journey. And so, last week was Time To Talk Day, but I think the point of this campaign is to highlight that it’s OK to talk about our mental health no…
