July 22, 2022 Columns by Jamie Hughes Step Up to the Mic: The Value in Doing the Things That Terrify You 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…
July 8, 2022 Columns by Jamie Hughes Getting in Gear: Essential Equipment for an Excellent Beach Vacation 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…
June 17, 2022 Columns by Jamie Hughes Just Because It’s Broken Doesn’t Mean It Isn’t Beautiful 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…
June 3, 2022 Columns by Jamie Hughes How I’m Making the Most of My Limited Energy as Someone With MS 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…
May 20, 2022 Columns by Jamie Hughes When MS Takes From Me, I Try to Give Back in Service to Others 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…
May 6, 2022 Columns by Jamie Hughes We Have to Make the Effort to Care 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…
April 22, 2022 Columns by Jamie Hughes An Interview With Writer Edith Forbes: Living With MS 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…
April 8, 2022 Columns by Jamie Hughes ‘Nothing Gold Can Stay,’ and That’s OK 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…
March 18, 2022 Columns by Jamie Hughes There’s No Such Thing as Perfect 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…
March 4, 2022 Columns by Jamie Hughes More Than 50 Shades of Gray 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!…
February 18, 2022 Columns by Jamie Hughes Making Good Choices When COVID-19 Strikes 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…
February 4, 2022 Columns by Jamie Hughes Don’t Worry and Take Your Time 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,…
January 21, 2022 Columns by Jamie Hughes Art for Our Sake One of the great things about living in Atlanta is that there is always something new and exciting going on in town. Sure, we have our fair share of sporting events, but on any given night, you can attend…
January 7, 2022 Columns by Jamie Hughes It’s No Puzzle: Play Is Good for Your Brain I don’t know why, but for some reason, two people in my family decided to get me puzzles for Christmas this year. Granted, one is a rad picture of 30 or so classic book covers, and the other is…
December 17, 2021 Columns by Jamie Hughes Feeling Overwhelmed? Wander Under the Stars If you read my last column, you know that my Thanksgiving was eventful, to say the least. Well, it looks like Christmas is shaping up to be another banger. My father-in-law is back in the hospital, still trying…
December 3, 2021 Columns by Jamie Hughes Do What You Can Do (And No More) I don’t know about you, but last week passed in a blur. I typically enjoy Thanksgiving, but this year, things were a little wonky. My husband’s grandfather passed away a month or so ago, so we weren’t about to…
November 19, 2021 Columns by Jamie Hughes ‘Once More, With Feeling’: How Singing Can Benefit MS Patients A few weekends ago, I had what I’ve described as a mini midlife crisis. Things with the kids were a mess, my husband was out of town again (to help with a building project on the family farm), and…
October 29, 2021 Columns by Jamie Hughes No Wasted Moments A friend of mine recently recommended a book to me by the multitalented Brian Doyle called “One Long River of Song.” Doyle, a devout Catholic (though I don’t think you need to be a Christian to appreciate his…
October 22, 2021 Columns by Jamie Hughes When Is a Wall Not Just a Wall? As is usually the way with books I put on hold at the library, three of the novels I’ve been looking forward to reading all came in at the same time. (Why does it always happen that way?) I…
October 8, 2021 Columns by Jamie Hughes Curing Headaches, Pain, and Stress, One Gizmo at a Time Though I have fewer headaches than I used to thanks to acupuncture, I can usually count on at least one whammer a month. While I do take my fair share of over-the-counter pain pills, I don’t like taking…
September 28, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister With multiple sclerosis, don’t worry about asking stupid questions