Every day when we wake up, it is a clean slate. Oh we have made plans and scheduled events, but as my mom always told me, “man proposes, God disposes!” Nick woke us up last night at about 2 am coughing and sneezing. We did get back to sleep after a little while, but this
Caregiving for a loved one with a rare and debilitating disease can stretch our capacities to the maximum. Some days our responsibilities feel overwhelming. Those days, when we are observing our life, all we can see is the storm clouds and the rain pouring down. We have so many things to do and are not
Today being Thanksgiving in the United States, I have been thinking about gratitude. I am grateful for a husband who understands me and treats me with kindness and compassion. I am grateful for forgiveness, not only from Jesus, but from everyone that I know. I am grateful for children who have courage to do what
The logistics of traveling with Nick has gotten more cumbersome as his Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS) progresses. However we all love traveling and the extra effort is worth it. After the LGS conference in Orlando we stayed on a few days. We went in the hot tub, out to dinner, visited friends, but the thing that
Some days are hectic and some are relaxing. Each one carries a potential lesson for us. It is up to us to ponder, meditate and discover the lesson. Some of life’s lessons are hard, others are easy. Some lessons are learned through one experience, and others seem to take a lifetime. Quite a few times
For the past four months, I have been working on the second draft of the book I am writing about raising Nick. I have such compassion for the young mother that I was. I am astounded at the things that I have been able to do over the years. I am very grateful that I
This past weekend, Nick had a bit of a cold. I was so grateful that he had learned to blow his nose. He was 13 then. Back in the summer of 1993, (that sounds like the beginning of a song!) we took an epic trip to Ireland with our extended family. Arden and I
Every once in a while we all need a break from our typical routine. When I was a young mom, a wise man told me that “A change was as good as a rest.” We all look forward to our scheduled vacation time. However, if we are overwhelmed, anticipating our future vacation might not be
One of the main things that we recognize about Nick, is that he finds joy in many things. Situations that many people term the simple pleasures of life. Everyday he experiences something in his life that he feels is wonderful and it lights up his face. You can see an example of this in
NORD, or the National Organization for Rare Disorders truly is a life-saving organization. NORD, along with its more than 230 patient organization members, is committed to the identification, treatment, and cure of rare disorders through programs of education, advocacy, research, and patient services. Donations to NORD directly benefit families like ours. One of the programs
Announcing that I have finished a book with the working title of “The Fairy Fort.” I am currently pitching it to publishers. Keep checking back to watch the progress of my newest novel.
Here is a quick glimpse of the story.
Sarah Doherty is an 18-year-old living in rural Ireland at the tail end of the Great War. Plagued by severe epilepsy, she is protected by her parents and lives a sheltered, secluded, lonely life. The Fae, local Irish fairies, interfere with her life. She falls forward a century in time through the local fairy fort of standing stones. She had a seizure in 1918 and woke up in 2020. The 21st century world includes life-saving prescriptions, physical comforts and the independence and freedom she seeks. The locals are welcoming and Andy Mclaughlin, a handsome young historian, is intriguing. She doesn’t want to return home.
Then a letter arrives from Boston divulging the story of Sarah and Andy’s lives that are deeply entwined in the previous century. They are not yet in love but as they seek to verify the letter through online resources, they feel a growing obligation to their unborn family and to each other. What would happen to their posterity living in Boston if they don’t return to 1918? Even if they do make it back, her parents can never know what happened to her or that would change everything.
This Young Adult time-travel romance explores the question: Do we have the freedom to make choices or is free will an elaborate illusion?
This is my third book. I love reading time travel romances. I am an advocate for epilepsy awareness because my 43-year-old son has intractable epilepsy. As a genealogist specializing in Irish research, I live part of the year in the village where the story is based. I wrote the book to help young adults understand that difficult situations can change your life. Sometimes miraculously.
