Recalibrating - a Column by Elizabeth Hamilton

I had to bite my lip to keep from screaming as I watched my 14-year-old daughter, Amelia, who has Friedreich’s ataxia (FA), roll onto the basketball court. I’m constantly navigating a fine line between being a supportive mom and an embarrassing parent. Amelia is a teenager, after all. Her…

Every two years, I have to recertify myself as a licensed social worker. This process involves completing a significant number of continuing education units, commonly called CEUs. The one area of focus where I always struggle to find enough fresh, available training is ethics. Despite the lack of abundant coursework,…

Two years ago, our family attended an event hosted by the local chapter of A Kid Again, a nonprofit dedicated to providing monthly adventures for families raising a child with a life-threatening illness. We were invited because in 2020, our youngest daughter, Amelia, then 8 years old, was diagnosed…

“Is it something sad?” Amelia always asks this question when I tell her we need to talk. Like an anxious employee worried about being in trouble with the boss, Amelia fears hearing sad news. My beautiful 13-year-old daughter, who has Friedreich’s ataxia (FA), has a very sensitive heart. Usually…

Even with the windows closed, I could hear the loud rattle of my husband’s old car as he pulled into the driveway. It signaled that the time had finally come for a dreaded task we’d been putting off for a while: car shopping. While some people find the prospect of…

Winter is hard on me. The snows of January were incredibly beautiful, but the gray skies have left me feeling worn down and tired. The winter and cold weather are also hard on Amelia, our 13-year-old daughter with Friedreich’s ataxia (FA), and she does require an extra level of…

As we drove down the street, the morning jam to music paused briefly when my eldest daughter said, “Don’t forget to go Dad’s way.” I smiled, knowing full well what she meant. Dad’s way was a shorter route to her school, but my daughter was also telling me, “Please pay…

I imagine that many homes like ours, especially those with someone who has Friedreich’s ataxia (FA), can become quite loud. It’s common to hear requests shouted across our home, like asking for longer socks or a sweatshirt that was left on the bedroom floor. As my 13-year-old daughter Amelia’s…

“You can’t miss us. We have a huge metal ramp attached to the front porch,” I explained while giving directions to our home recently. That particular line made me both chuckle and sigh. Getting the ramp installed was emotionally challenging. The former landscaping, once vibrant with spring bulbs and cheerful…

Everywhere I look, I see advertisements on billboards, computer monitors, and even at the pump telling me what I should buy and how I’m missing out on having certain things. We are bombarded by it. We don’t hear as much about personal finance, however. Discussing that often leaves me feeling…