Category: Motherhood
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Happy Anniversary
Eighteen years ago today, my husband and I married. That’s beautiful Lake Tahoe behind us. Still in love after all these years. I love my husband most of all for being a loving father to our son. Yes, he adores me. That goes without question. He’s devoted, hard-working, good looking, and smart. I’m blessed to have…
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Migraines – What a Pain! #MondayBlogs
So, it is May – Mental Health Awareness Month, and I’m not motivated to write about mental health. Not mine, at least. Instead, I find myself drawn to write about parenting a son who has suffered severe migraines since he was a toddler. My son’s earliest migraines involved gastrointestinal symptoms, but no headaches. When he was…
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Fear of Loss
Thursday night I saw my psychologist over the disaster that was Tuesday. First I had her listen to the distraught voice recording I made that night. I told her about my son’s recurring gastroenteritis. He’s suffered from migraines with vomiting since he was a toddler, has gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and gets gastroenteritis regularly during the…
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Bad Mom – Spoken Word for Tha.Speakeasy
Prompted by an invite to Tha.Speakeasy Facebook event on April 17th & 18th, I read my poem, Bad Mom, which I’m posting here. Bad Mom Bad mom Selfish mom Ineffective mom Permissive mom Bipolar mom At times, abusive mom At times, out of control mom At times, rageful mom She’s even hit her kid She’s even…
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Two, No Three, Songs #Writing101
Today’s prompt was to think of three songs then free write about them. I came up with two. Two perfect songs. Both beautiful. Both worthy of life. Both true. Duke Ellington I love. I’ve been a fan of his for decades. Perhaps since I was a young girl as my father loved straight-ahead jazz and…
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Postpartum Bipolar Disorder Research Study
My friend & colleague, Dr. Walker Karraa, is studying the stigma surrounding postpartum bipolar disorder. If you fit her research criteria and are interested in participating, please do so. Her book Transformed by Postpartum Depression: Women’s Stories of Trauma and Growth is groundbreaking and a powerful, moving read. Research Study: The Stigma of Mental Illness for Mothers Diagnosed with Bipolar…
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Bay Area Here I Come!
This weekend I’m going up to the San Francisco Bay Area so that Rebecca Gitenstein can interview me at The Wright Institute for her doctoral study on mothers with bipolar disorder. What do you know – I’m a mother and I have bipolar disorder. PLUS – The Wright Institute is in Berkeley. Seeing Rebecca in person gives me…
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Survey Says…
Long time in coming… below more emotionally substantive content are the results of the survey I took in mid-February. First of all, my first reaction to being asked to take a survey is a curt “No” then an abrupt disconnect. That said, I finally decided to figure out where and what the results were. Quite…
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The Bipolar Parent – Q&A with Kitt O’Malley
La Sabrosona of my spanglish familia interviewed me about parenting while living with bipolar disorder. Here is the interview: