I have been writing fiction since I was in the second or third grade. I began by writing fan fiction in the back of the school bus with my second cousin. I wrote about Annie. She wrote about E.T. We wrote poetry, too. Mine was bad. I started writing original stories not long after that.…
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In Which I Wrestle With Race
Originally posted on Intentional Catholic:
Photo by Matheus Viana on Pexels.com I was so clueless. I went to a park to meet a friend and her son, my godchild, to social-distance celebrate a birthday. She was upset, and I didn’t immediately realize why. She had to lead me almost all the way there. I have…
I Am From…
The “I Am From” poems were a big thing a couple years ago, but this popped up as a distance learning assignment from for my daughter this week. And I thought, Hey, I never had time when these were all the rage. I don’t really have time now, either, but I need a break and…
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The Freak-Out and the Grand Pause
I realized recently that we’re all going through a universal set of stages as we cope with this abrupt departure from “normal” life. First there’s the freak-out. The overbuying food and toilet paper, the lying awake at night envisioning scenarios in which your child with a disability is the one who will be denied a…
Read MoreAdulting Is Kicking My Butt
Normally, I’d say I do pretty well at “adulting.” Let’s be honest, I was probably more adult at twelve than some people are at twenty. But adulting is really kicking my butt right now. Last week, midweek, I had a really black moment. My oldest was mad at me–mad in a way every parent is…
Read MoreRandom Observations of a Writer On the Reality of Living Through the Coronavirus Shutdown
It’s been a week since the kids came home from school for the foreseeable future, and today is day 2 of an official “stay at home order” where I live–though we can still go hiking (and we intend to continue doing so as long as we’re permitted, weather permitting—which it hasn’t done much of lately).…
Read MoreDisability and Friendship
So here’s a thing you might not consider about having a kid with a disability: It is REALLY HARD to make friends. Think about it. How do little kids make friends? STEP ONE: They find kids at school with like interests and personalities. They come home and tell you about it. STEP TWO: A) If…
Read MoreThe Sheer Terror of the Blank Page
It’s been a long time since I started a new novel. Well, maybe not as long as it seems. I had an aborted attempt around a year ago. But I’m really zeroing in on novel writing now, and I’m discovering something I probably knew, on some level, but didn’t really, y’know… KNOW. Namely, that when…
Read MoreEnough
My word for 2019 is “enough”: I am enough, I am doing enough, I am good enough, this moment is enough. It’s a combination of learning to recognize the goodness in saying “no” and of living in the moment, being present in my own life instead of always feeling dissatisfied. I’m working on it. But…
Read MoreBigger Than Me
Sometimes, I just need to get away. No matter how much work is hanging over my head, I know I need to make the time to hike, or bike, or kayak—and always, to find a quiet, beautiful spot to sit and be still. It’s necessary for my mental health. Sometimes I get a twinge of…
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Kathleen M. Basi 