Rhythms and Routines - a Column by Susan Payrovi

While most people dread the longer nights of autumn and winter, I embrace every single minute of darkness added as we crawl toward the longest night of the year. As darkness takes over, that’s my cue to gather up all the energy I expended during spring and summer to…

Music and dance have always been my medicine. From decompressing during medical school to adjusting to life with multiple sclerosis (MS) or getting through motherhood, music and movement have never let me down. We all have that friend we dream with, making preposterous plans. For me, that friend was…

As all good things must come to an end, so did our epic overseas adventure in a recreational vehicle that was too tiny to live in and too big to drive into any European village. We devoted those five weeks to quality time with family, unplugging from devices, and…

With just four more summers with all my kids still living at home, I’ve been making the most of our time together by throwing everyone in our trailer to visit state and national parks in the U.S. This summer we’re overseas in Europe, experiencing the lesser-known sights only accessible by…

A trip to Taiwan this summer has been years in the making for our family. Our kids have been in Mandarin immersion since preschool, so when their school offered a three-week program for true immersion in Taipei, we jumped at this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But dang it is hot and humid…

I’d tricked myself into thinking I was a night owl for decades. Studying came more easily during those dark, quiet, and still hours. So did going out to nightclubs to dance, meet strangers, and feel a little more anonymous and a lot less self-conscious. When that phase of around-the-clock studying…

What’s a reliable way to wreck your mood? Fighting your circadian rhythms. I’m a recovering night owl. I used to get more done between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. than I did in the other 20 hours of the day. I routinely studied past 2 a.m. during college and…

I used to think I was immune to illness. Getting sick was what my patients did. My multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis turned this belief, and many others, upside down. When the chaos of the diagnosis settled, I realized that becoming a patient was the most profound lesson I could…