Tag: healthy
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Tea Time with Mandy: The Quiet Between Words
The room was quiet, but not peaceful. It was the kind of quiet that settles in slowly, almost unnoticed at first, until you realize it is not absence… but restraint. Three of us sat at the small round table near the window, the late afternoon light stretching long across the polished wood floor. The tea…
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Caregivers Cozy Corner: Rest Is Not Betrayal
The Small Mercies That Keep Us Going There is a kind of weariness that settles into a caregiver long before anyone else notices it. It does not always announce itself loudly. More often, it comes quietly — in the ache behind the eyes, in the heaviness of the body, in the way even a simple…
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The Isolated Are Devoured
Why We Cannot Survive Without Family, Community, or the Body of Christ. There comes a moment in every life when the weight becomes too heavy, the silence too loud, and the loneliness too sharp to ignore. A moment when even the strongest among us feel the ground give way beneath our feet. It is in…
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Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle While Still Enjoying Comfort Foods in the City
Over the last several years, my health has been slightly subpar due to tremendous amounts of stress—stress from work, everyday responsibilities, and most importantly, the heavy role of being a caregiver for my husband. That season took its toll on my body and mind in ways I could never have anticipated. By the time I…
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Caregiver Life 101
“Take care of yourself.” It’s the first thing people say when they find out you’re a caregiver—and quite honestly, it’s the last thing they help you understand. When my husband Dexter was diagnosed in 2019 with Fanconi Anemia, a rare and complicated genetic disorder that predisposes individuals to multiple types of cancer, I was thrown…
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Living with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: Aging, Understanding, and Hope
When you live with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), every day can feel like a puzzle you weren’t given all the pieces to—especially when you’ve lived most of your life not knowing you even had it. For me, EDS isn’t just a diagnosis; it’s a life journey that has spanned four decades of unanswered questions, unexplained pain,…
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Don’t Trust Every Feeling — Learn to See Beyond
Our emotions can be powerful indicators, but they can also be deceptive. How many times have we “felt” like something was wrong, only to discover that our instincts were off? Or “felt” afraid of something that turned out to be harmless? Emotions are real, yes—but they don’t always speak truth. They are often rooted in…
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Do We Really Want to Make America Great Again?
The slogan “Make America Great Again” has been heard on repeat for years now, but here’s a real question we need to ask ourselves: Do we really mean it? Because…
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Finding Real Connection: The Power of Community Engagement and Mental Health
Studies have shown that involvement in community activities significantly reduces feelings of loneliness and depression. According to the American Journal of Psychiatry, “Social connectedness is…
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Reflections at Dawn: My Appalachian Roots and Life Lessons
At 5 a.m., as Manhattan hums with energy, I find myself in a moment of stillness, sipping my latte that’s in my hand, revisiting vivid memories of my Appalachian youth. My family’s cabin sat deep in a wooded cove, its solitude broken only by the sound of an 80-foot waterfall nearby. It was a life…
Country Girl Gone City 