Jamie A. Hughes is a writer-editor living in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband, two sons, and a trio of very needy cats. She was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS in 2004 when she was just 25 years old. A lover of words since birth, she wasn’t about to let two little letters get her down. They don’t get the last word. And that’s why she writes her column — to help those dealing with MS to live more thoughtful, hopeful, and inspired lives.
In one of my favorite scenes of the 1970s movie “The Goodbye Girl,” Paula McFadden (played by Marsha Mason) begs Elliot Garfield (played by Richard Dreyfuss) to quit playing the guitar late at night when he can’t…
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I’m a fairly neat and tidy person, but you wouldn’t have thought that if you’d looked in my kitchen over the last few weeks. Bottles of oils, jars full of melted wax, bags of butters and soaps, and boxes…
A voracious reader since childhood, I’ve often lost myself inside fictional worlds — often preferring them to the real one where I’m forced to live. This was especially true when I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) almost…
There’s a poignant scene in “Forrest Gump” in which the title character and his best friend, Jenny, walk up to the shack where she was raised (and was raped and abused by her drunken father). She stares…
My eldest son just started high school, which makes me feel both incredibly old and somewhat proud of myself for surviving this long. People have been telling me the teenage years are the hardest, but I have a leg…
When I was a kid, I adored novelty. I always wanted something different to experience, a new place to go. In my mind, there was nothing worse than doing the same thing week in and week out. However,…
For the last few months, I’ve been mired in something I can only describe as a funk. My job, my family, my faith, my entire life — no matter what aspect we’re talking about, I felt like I was…
Unless you’ve been living under a rock or are somehow lucky enough to live on your own desert island, you’ve probably noticed that things are kinda difficult these days. I mean, COVID-19 is still a thing, and now…
Back in November, I told you all about my decision to start taking vocal lessons with a coach. Well, I’ve been at it for about eight months or so, taking an hour-long lesson every other week, and while…
The last few months have been a bit stressful, to say the least, and with the thousand and one worries and distractions I was facing, I couldn’t help but think of the opening lines of a William Wordsworth…
I recently did a little research to write an article reflecting on a photograph of the Library of Celsus. This marvelous piece of architecture was commissioned by a Roman consul named Gaius Julius Aquila as a funerary…
The last few years have been rough for a whole host of reasons, and I think it’s safe to say that most of us in the United States feel utterly lost and burnt out. There’s no shortage of…
Last weekend was a busy one. On Friday, I had to drop my eldest son at school at 5:30 a.m. for a field trip and then pick him up at 11 p.m. A nap wasn’t in the cards, I’m…
Living with multiple sclerosis (MS) is hard. I know this is hardly a revelation, especially to those of us who struggle with it on the daily, but I felt like it needed to be said. I was scanning…
Last year, I got the chance to read and review Edith Forbes’ medical memoir, “Tracking a Shadow.” I thought it was an encouraging and thoughtful work, so I contacted her by email for an interview to share…
In the South, we have a tendency to cram words together to create a single gigantic one, a kind of linguistic Pangea, if you will. The one I’ve been using a lot lately is “usetacould,” a condensed form of…
We are a three-cat household because, well, felines are awesome. They’re entertaining and sweet. They love to give cuddles. And they’re fairly self-sufficient — no baths or walks necessary. Just keep food and water in ample supply, and they’re…
Spring is rapidly approaching. It’s warming up outside. The trees are starting to bloom. And inside our home, I am once again plotting to refresh the place. Out with old decorations, and in with the new! Declutter that closet!…
The past two weeks have been a bit of a blur. Our younger son caught the COVID-19 virus at school, and once we got a positive home test, we went into containment mode. While I took him to get…
My husband and I have been on a bit of a quest as of late. For several reasons that I won’t bore you with here, we are in search of a new church to join. A few weekends ago,…
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