Ever since I can remember, I have disliked  comedy. Maybe ‘dislike’ is too strong of a word. Perhaps ‘indifferent’ is better.  I find movies that are categorized as comedy either boring or frustrating because I perceive them too literally and the plots tend to irritate me. Stand up comedians make me feel as if I am lost in a crowd, trapped in a maze designed by the chaos of words that confound me.

As of January 1, 2026, I am no longer an Assistant Scoutmaster for my son’s Boy Scout troop. While I enjoyed my time as a leader, it is apparent that it is time to move on. I

The evidence my eyes saw did not at all match the rhetoric of the government. Immediately, I thought of Orwell’s well known quote from 1984, “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” I was not the only one. Within hours, the quote was trending on social media. My second thought was, “Damn, I’m teaching the wrong novel.” 

I am part of a lost generation of autistic women, girls who never really fit in socially but functioned well enough in school to be overlooked. Girls who could perform academically, even if they struggled to make friends. Girls who were labeled as being shy because making eye contact and conversations were difficult.

On the other hand, I am incredibly concerned that this new social media policy wishes to silence me, wishes to prevent me from speaking out against a woman who wronged my son. This policy is meant to protect the perpetrator by muzzling the voice that chooses to expose the way in which she attempted to destroy a scout’s self-esteem and his experience in scouting.

I hate that this question has even entered my thought process, but is it possible that I’ve asked too much of them?

I didn’t want to be seen. I didn’t want to be noticed. If I could have made myself invisible I would have—I still would—because it’s the act of being seen that made me self conscious. A byproduct of being noticed was that I couldn’t just be. Others observed my awkwardness, my mistakes, my differences, and they commented on them.

I stepped away from my original lesson plan and invited my students into my very messy, confused, neurodivergent brain. I may have multiple graduate degrees, a book to my name, and an unquenchable desire to read, but that doesn’t mean reading is easy. I still struggle.

That’s when my friend leaned in, set her elbows on the table, and very gently asked, “Have you considered that you might be autistic.”

Although, there is a tiny voice in my head questioning if it is wise. Has my dream of being a writer brought more pleasure or pain?

I celebrated my birthday. It only took me fifty-one years to achieve my dream—but I did it.

It is 5:55 and we are off. Our intention was to leave as close to 5 as possible, but we were delayed with last minute things we forgot to do

Day 4 The wind this morning is fierce. I woke up and the wind was whipping my rain fly. I was afraid, despite the stakes, my fly might blow away. Packing up the tent was a challenge, but G3 helped me which I appreciated. The view from our site is spectacular. We can see the hills in the distance, but more amazing are the clouds—light and fluffy—sitting in the valley. It looks like a frozen ocean, the waves in various stages of breaking. The sun is out this morning and it is l

It was cold last night. We went to bed early because we were all tired from such an early start. I changed into thermal underwear and a...