A Life in Letters — A Column By Jamie Hughes

April 5, 2019April 5, 2019

The Unplayable Piano

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

What do a broken-down, out-of-tune piano and multiple sclerosis have in common? Well, they’re both disorderly and confusing, to say the least. But there’s something else — they have ... Read more

March 22, 2019March 20, 2019

Remember, Remember

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

When I first learned that I had multiple sclerosis in late January 2004, the thing I worried about most was losing my mind. No, I’m not referring to stressing ... Read more

March 8, 2019March 7, 2019

Sometimes You Have to Skip the Whaling Chapters

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

Playing Billy Beane in “Moneyball,” Brad Pitt utters the now famous line, “Adapt or die.” (Warning: The scene linked here has a few naughty words in it.) He’s referencing ... Read more

February 22, 2019March 5, 2019

The More Things Change …

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

An awesome friend of mine at work who is learning to master Spanish as a second language has been using a podcast called “News in Slow Spanish” to increase ... Read more

February 8, 2019February 12, 2019

I Want to Be Alive, Rather Than Just ‘Not Dead’

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

“I’m alive,” said Shadow. “I’m not dead. Remember?” “You’re not dead,” Laura said. “But I’m not sure you’re alive, either. Not really.” This snippet of a longer conversation in ... Read more

January 25, 2019January 24, 2019

‘Clean Up, Clean Up (Everybody, Everywhere)’

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

I’d be lying if I said I enjoyed the endless hours of Barney I was forced to endure when I babysat kids in the 1990s, but “The Clean Up ... Read more

January 11, 2019January 8, 2019

Focus on the Flowers, Not the Weeds

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

Ah, it’s a new year. And what would a new year be without a few resolutions and goals to kick it off? Rather than a set of instructions, a ... Read more

December 14, 2018December 13, 2018

Shalom and the State of My Staircase

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

My eldest son, like thousands of other kids in the world, struggles in school. He’s partially deaf, and some of his challenges stem from inescapable biological factors. However, there’s ... Read more

November 30, 2018December 4, 2018

Ho-Ho-No

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

Even when a major holiday isn’t scheduled in a calendar month, I’m a pretty busy lady. I work a full-time job that requires me to be present and “on” ... Read more

November 16, 2018November 28, 2018

Excelsior! Learning from the Life and Loss of Stan Lee

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

Like many comic book geeks, I’ve been sitting shiva for the last few days, mourning the passing of Stan Lee. I never met the man in person, but I ... Read more

November 2, 2018November 9, 2018

Turning Information Overload into a Positive

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

Books. Magazines. Journals. Emails. Online articles. Newsletters. Podcasts. Local and cable news. The quantity of information we take in daily is impressive — overwhelming, even. According to a 2009 report ... Read more

October 19, 2018October 18, 2018

Forget Me Knots

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

At work a couple of weeks ago, I met a man who works with Christians in the Middle East. He is training leaders who are taking on the challenge ... Read more

October 5, 2018October 15, 2018

What the World Needs Now is Books

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

After reading more than a few articles about how social media demolishes our attention span, prevents us from forming healthy real-world relationships, and causes higher-than-normal rates of depression, stress, ... Read more

September 21, 2018September 27, 2018

What the Scan Said (and What It Didn’t)

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

A couple weeks ago, I went to my neurologist’s office early for my annual MRI. It’s never a pleasant experience. Even after 14 years, it’s still as unsettling as ... Read more

September 7, 2018September 12, 2018

What Happened in Vegas

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

This past weekend was a busy one. My husband and I flew to Las Vegas on Saturday morning, saw a concert there Saturday night, and then flew home Sunday ... Read more

August 24, 2018August 28, 2018

H2Oh! Water Is a Brain Fuel

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

Aug. 1 was a busy day around our house. Backpacks needed to be loaded up, breakfasts consumed, pictures taken, and shoes tied tightly before the bus arrived. Yes, it was ... Read more

August 10, 2018August 14, 2018

I’m Using My Status to Speak Up

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

I’ve been thinking a lot about privilege in recent months — what it enables as well as what it prevents. Those who benefit from it may not be aware ... Read more

July 27, 2018August 1, 2018

What Are You Living For?

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

Maybe it’s because I’ve been listening to too much Jackson Browne lately, but I’m distressed by the state of the world these days. And it’s not the big-ticket stuff ... Read more

July 13, 2018July 19, 2018

Giving Your Brain a Good Stretch

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

I turned 40 this year, and it seemed like a mighty fine time to stop and take stock. After all, I’m at the midway point, and if I want ... Read more

June 29, 2018July 4, 2018

Personality Test, Smershonality Test

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

Recently, I was required to take a “quick” 100-question test to determine what my Enneagram number is. (I’m a 5, in case you’re curious.) These questions — answered by ... Read more

June 15, 2018June 13, 2018

Mind Your Mind

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

I don’t know about you, but oftentimes my thoughts are as unruly and irrepressible as Mickey’s broomsticks in “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” Whether I’m worried about the tingling in my ... Read more

June 1, 2018June 26, 2018

How Dare You?

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

If you read my last column, you’re well aware that there has been some drama around Casa de Hughes over the last few weeks. I can now happily say ... Read more

May 18, 2018May 18, 2018

When the Bomb Goes Off

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

It’s easy to be lulled into a false sense of security, to think you’re the supreme authority in your life. And when that ersatz truth is ripped away, as ... Read more

May 4, 2018May 4, 2018

I Am So Much More than My MS

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

Every personality test and trait indicator quiz I take tells me the same thing: I’m a polymath. Basically, it’s a fancy Greek word meaning “a person of wide-ranging knowledge ... Read more

April 20, 2018April 20, 2018

A Look Around the Terminal

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

It’s spring — at least, it’s supposed to be — so getting stuck at the airport due to snow was the last thing I expected during a recent trip ... Read more

April 6, 2018April 5, 2018

You Only Think You Know

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

When I tell people I have multiple sclerosis, I usually get one of three responses: • “Oh, no! I feel so bad for you!” (Pity) • “Is that the ... Read more

March 16, 2018March 15, 2018

Just Do It

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

Mary Schmich, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune, wrote a 1997 essay aimed at graduates. In it, she shared many practical nuggets of wisdom such as “Floss,” and thoughts like, ... Read more

March 2, 2018March 2, 2018

Up with the Volume, Down with the Noise

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “There is more to life than increasing its speed.” That’s not a lesson modern American culture has taken to heart, is it? Seems like we’re ... Read more

February 2, 2018February 1, 2018

Rest on the Water: A Flirtation with Flotation to Find Silence

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

I’m currently working on an essay about the power of silence. And, in the process of planning this thing, I realized I don’t do so well with it — ... Read more

January 19, 2018January 19, 2018

Chicken Soup Has Super Powers

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

Get plenty of rest. Drink lots of warm fluids. Use a humidifier. Gargle and flush your sinuses with warm salt water. Blow your nose early and often. Take over-the-counter ... Read more

January 5, 2018January 4, 2018

We Are Streams that Sing

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

Wendell Berry, a novelist, poet, farmer and environmental activist, has written a number of superb books. Don’t believe me? Go read “Jayber Crow” and shoot me a message. I ... Read more

December 15, 2017December 15, 2017

The Greatest Gifts

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

Christmas is just around the corner, and that’s why many people are on the fruitless quest for Fingerlings or hocking an organ to buy the new iPhone. Both might ... Read more

December 1, 2017December 1, 2017

Holding ‘Space’ for Others

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

  When a friend or loved one is going through a tough time, it’s hard to know how best to help. Do you help carry the burden? Would it ... Read more

November 17, 2017November 17, 2017

Don’t Be a Turkey

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

Because I come from a retail family — one that, for decades, put in long hours behind cash registers and in stock rooms — Christmas is not a holiday ... Read more

October 27, 2017October 26, 2017

Meowmaste: Finding a Spark Inside Myself

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

“We don’t say the ‘D word’ here,” our instructor said. “Just for tonight, let’s all get into downward-facing cat.” The yoga pose wasn’t one I was comfortable in, but ... Read more

October 13, 2017October 13, 2017

Life’s Too Short

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

Both of my sons — and, if I’m being honest, my husband — love Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. Yes, that horrid stuff that comes in a blue box, the ... Read more

September 29, 2017October 2, 2017

Shanah Tovah: Celebrating Each Year of Your MS Journey

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

I became a Christian when I was 8, and though I’ve wrestled with my faith at various points in my life, I’ve never once doubted my decision to follow ... Read more

September 15, 2017September 14, 2017

This Too Shall Pass

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

I posted this meme on social media last week with the caption “Current Life Status,” hoping a laugh might help matters. I’m sorry to say things didn’t improve afterward. I’m not ... Read more

August 25, 2017August 27, 2017

Exploring Systems Beneath the Streets, Beneath the Skin

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

Our bodies are amazing creations, lovingly handcrafted by an infinitely powerful and creative God, and I never get tired of learning facts about how they work. For instance, did ... Read more

August 11, 2017August 10, 2017

Cover to Cover, Books of All Kinds Can Lift Your Life

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

In “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft,” as excellent a book about wordcraft as has ever been set to paper, Stephen King says, “Books are a uniquely portable ... Read more