The Parky Ninja

My whole life I have struggled with a disease known as perfectionism. By this I’m not referring to a kind of faux “negative” character trait you might give in a job interview in order to avoid having to admit to any real flaws. No, to me perfectionism is an insidious internal expectation that I should … Read moreBlame it on the Parkinson’s!

Experiencing the benefits of not giving up.

Lock-down started out stressful for me, but turned into a time of respite that I didn’t know I needed. I felt calm, life moved slower. The stressful flurry of lock-down’s beginning faded as I accepted I didn’t need to teach my kids, that they were happier exploring their own pathways. Following this acceptance I realised … Read moreLock-down Lessons

Struggling for exercise motivation? Its easy! All you need is to have a chronic illness! Ah yes, motivation. The stuff is like gold isn’t it? Oh to have a huge motivation hoard to dive into and swim around in like Scrooge McDuck! To be motivated is to feel the satisfaction of making progress, to feel … Read moreMotivation

Like a lot of people who live with chronic conditions, I have often used fighting analogies to describe where I stand in regards to the thing that has gone wrong in my body-mind/brain (whatever…thingamebob). I talk about kicking Parkinson’s butt. I shared the above fierce photo on Instagram. It made me feel empowered. I had … Read moreFlow

My son says to me recently, “I thought parents are supposed to be able to fix every situation.” I could have taken this like a kick in the guts, because he was literally saying that I can’t always handle things, and that I frequently fall to pieces when the volume levels get high. But he … Read moreHope

Lately I’ve been musing on the weirdness of feeling grateful for having Parkinson’s. Having Parkinson’s has caused me to go on a voyage of self-discovery, one that I doubt would have happened without it. It has evolved out of starting to look for ways to improve my movement, which led to research into Parkinson’s – … Read moreWhat Parkinson’s has given me (??!?)

The spaces within us are immense. Like whole worlds, universes unto themselves. Researchers and scientists seek to look inside and understand, and through a long process of doing this have been able to uncover incredible details about the inner workings of the infinitesimal within. But we can’t look inside and understand what is happening within … Read moreBalance

If you asked him ‘How are ya?’, sometimes my Dad used to answer – ‘A box of fluffies – all dead!’. To translate for those unfamiliar with slang from the Aotearoa-land, if he’d answered ‘A box of fluffies’ he’d have meant he was feeling pretty good. [I honestly don’t really know why a box of … Read moreWrite and release