Last night when we were catching up on The Greatest Dancer, we saw a 98 year old step forward to tap dance her way into the hearts of the audience. She was frail and yet still able to dance. When the doors opened to confirm she’d been voted through, her face lit up spectacularly. I’ve…

Update, January 2020 from Ruth… I remembered this post from November 2013 last night, and thought it was as true today as it had been when I first wrote it seven years ago. So here it is, with a few careful edits… (First published, Wednesday 13th November 2013) Every evening, almost without fail, my husband…

The first time she encountered him, she barely noticed. The first time he spoke to her, she didn’t believe it. It took a whole year before she (uncertainly) decided to give hope a chance. Of course, there were many moments of doubt, but, through all the dark times, lonely weeks and hesitations, hope won out.…

Sitting here, I can see a card with one word, one name on it: ‘Immanuel’. Every weekend I let thoughts and ideas circle round my head, trying to find something to blog about. Something that will give you a wee bit of courage to carry on. Thinking back over this last year, I see many…

So, I want you to change these two men into Donegal cap wearing cronies. As they chat, it’s very possible one or both will suck their breath between their teeth, shake their head and say these two words: ‘that’s life’. It is the perfect response to bad news.  News such as, ‘She’s not long to…

I can reach people, see places and do things beyond my physical ability. On the days when it’s hard to get out of the car and walk into a coffee shop, I e-mail or text my friends and family. Mondays are the weekly reminder to myself and my readers that I am a writer. The…

Maybe it’s just me, but most of the time I operate on a ‘need to know’ basis. I skim, never study, articles about MS, I do terrible checks on my children for head lice, I look beneath the cobwebs in the corners of my living room. If I don’t see it, then it’s not there.…

“‘I don’t feel very much like Pooh today,’ said Pooh. ‘There, there,’ said Piglet. ‘I’ll bring you tea and honey until you do.’” —Winnie-the-Pooh Do you ever have times where you’ve lost any sense of who you are, or what you’re supposed to do?