On a recent road trip with my family, I saw something that made me cry happy tears. It brought back an unhappy but somehow empowering memory. It kind of felt like a full circle moment. I was there with my husband and my child remembering the kid that I was, and making a wish for the kids of today. I shared the photo, the memory, and my wish on the internet. It wasn’t a blog post. I didn’t do keyword…
And so, last weekend we piled into the car on a road trip to get Isla’s uniform and school supplies. The kid starts Primary 1 next week, and she is the only one ready for this. There we are in the car with the heat on because we already had summer. For three days in London. I’ve been looking for ways to stall this growing up thing for a while now. Which is why we left the shopping trip to…
OK, so. Who else is a little tired of having to point out that disabled people are regular people? That ‘special needs’ is outdated, and everyone has needs that are unique to them? That person-first language is wrong? That disabled people’s stories should be written by disabled writers themselves, and that disabled characters should be played by disabled actors? That the access inclusion seeker deal sounds like some video game quest? That disabled isn’t a bad word, and it’s OK…
And so, today is Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day, which is part of Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month. Not to be confused with World Cerebral Palsy Day, which is also a thing. Another thing is this. I’m very aware of CP, thanks for asking. I will be the first to tell you that I am mostly disabled by inaccessible environments. I could also tell you that my most-asked question is ‘When was your accident?’ Sometimes, if I want to mess with nosey…
Delete ‘I can’t’ from your vocabulary. ‘I can’t’ gets five pushups. ‘I can’t’ means ‘I won’t’ No, it doesn’t. Sometimes, I can’t means I can’t. Or I’d really like to, or I’m trying. But I can’t. I can’t means don’t ask me, or ask me something else, or mind your own business. Sometimes, I can’t means I’ll do it later, because I’m hurting right now, and I’m trying. Sometimes, I can’t means I’m sorry, but I don’t want to. And…
