Mikelle and I feel compelled to write about life with a disability, not just the challenges but the opportunities, the friendships, the innovations, and the brilliance of our communities in action as we share our everyday life living with a disability. With a little more information, motivation, we hope to share how our life is shining beautiful and maybe help you to shine beautiful, too.
Love is not naive. Gratitude in not denial. And, joy is not disengagement.
Complicated….perhaps. February refused to come in gently. Here in Colorado, winter has been as evasive as a good news story. Still, we love. And yet, loving ourselves in uncertain times can feel complicated. Many families, caregivers, and advocates are carrying a quiet tension this year. Funding landscapes are shifting. Policies
Love as a Creative Practice in Uncertain Times
February arrives quietly, carrying the language of love into a world that still feels unsettled. This is not the easy love of cards and flowers, but the steadier kind—the love that stays when systems strain, when grief lingers, and when the news refuses to soften. In traumatic times, loving ourselves
Still Working. Still Believing. Still Building Opportunity.
And, still laughing. There’s a particular kind of laughter that shows up when people have lived through enough systems change to know two things at once: that the work matters deeply—and that taking ourselves too seriously won’t get us very far. That spirit framed our recent conversation with Cary Griffin,
And, Still We Begin…again.
And Still, We Begin I don’t know about you, but I have mixed feelings about the start of a new year. Some years feel like an adventure waiting to happen. Mikelle may have opportunities just over the horizon—new ideas, new connections, new ways to grow her
The Friendships that Last.
Some friendships arrive quietly. They don’t announce themselves as life-changing. They simply show up — again and again — until one day you realize they helped shape who you are and what you believe. This holiday season, as we gathered for Secret Santa with the Shining Beautiful team and shared
When Caregiving Becomes the Nation’s Blind Spot
A Holiday Reflection Inspired by Senator Kim’s First Speech This week, newly elected Senator Andy Kim from New Jersey stepped onto the Senate floor for the first time—and instead of policy talking points, he spoke about the personal and financial cost of caregiving. It landed like truth ringing across a
Growing Older, Growing Bolder: A December Reflection on Aging, Disability & the Gift of Longevity
December rarely slows down—not in our world, anyway. It’s a whirlwind month full of holiday gatherings, year-end planning, medical appointments, winter weather surprises, and the constant hum of everyday caregiving life. During this season, Mikelle and I find our to-do lists grow longer, not shorter, and reflection happens in the
Behind the Care: Families, Employment & the Hidden Cost of Possible Budget Cuts
Every November, when National Family Caregivers Month rolls around, I feel a familiar tug in my heart. It’s a mix of gratitude, exhaustion, pride, and—if I’m honest—a little worry about what lies ahead. Because caregiving isn’t abstract for us.It’s daily. It’s personal.It’s the rhythm of our home. As many of
When Compassion Feels in Short Supply: The Human Cost of a Government Shutdown
Disruption The shelves may look full for now, but beneath the bright grocery store lights lies a quiet unease. The latest government shutdown has done more than disrupt programs and delay paychecks — it has shaken the safety net so many Americans, especially people with disabilities, rely on to make
Mikelle’s Employment Journey—One Bracelet, One Podcast, One Dream at a Time
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM)—Mikelle has been working since she was sixteen, and every year we recommit to creating inclusive opportunities for her work to shine. For us at The Shining Beautiful Series, every month feels like NDEAM because employment is woven into the fabric of Mikelle’s
Lessons from September’s Emergency Preparedness Month.
Be Ready September came and went with its quiet reminder: be ready. The world seems to tilt a little more each year—storms stronger, systems shakier, power grids less reliable. So, Mikelle and I decided it was time to do more than talk about preparedness; we became, as she likes to
When the Lights Flicker Out: Government Shutdowns, Disability, and the Unseen Cost on Families.
It is Oct 1, 2025—another government shutdown. In the quiet hours before dawn, when the world still clings to hope, a mother sits on her porch, coffee growing cold, wondering: How will we manage tomorrow? For families like mine — families of disability, of high stakes, of fragile structures held