This episode is from over two years ago. I'm resharing now because I'm still in the same place, struggling with the same dilemma. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the magic of the holidays and all the merry traditions. But, I'm not a huge fan of the "festive fibs" families and caregivers tell in order to keep the story of Santa and the other holiday characters alive. It just doesn't sit well with me. But neither does spoiling it and robbing my adult child, who has an intellectual disability, from the joy she experiences during the holidays. I'd love to hear about YOUR experience with all of this. Help a jolly mama out. What are your thoughts?

***

This podcast was recorded in Garage Band and edited by Lisa Thornbury (with assistance from Avery).

Read more and find the transcript for this episode at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠averybrightlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

And, come chat with us on social! No seriously, c'mon over! It's fun there.

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@LisaThornbury⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠aVERY Bright life⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (formerly Forever In Mom Genes)

We have a very special guest joining us on World Diabetes Day. My BFF (who I definitely didn’t have to bully or strong-arm into this) joins us to share her family’s journey through her daughter’s Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis—in the middle of the chaos of Covid, no less! Tune in for an inspiring story of resilience and maybe a couple of laughs at how life sometimes throws everything at you all at once.

***

This podcast was recorded in Garage Band and edited by Lisa Thornbury (with assistance from Avery).

Read more and find the transcript for this episode at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠averybrightlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

And, come chat with us on social! No seriously, c'mon over! It's fun there.

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@LisaThornbury⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠aVERY Bright life⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (formerly Forever In Mom Genes)

Since it's Halloween, I thought I'd tackle one of the scariest monsters out there—the future. As a mom of a child with disabilities, the unknowns can be downright haunting. So, I wrote a little ghost story inspired by my life as a disability parent—a tale full of bone-chilling doctor's appointments, eerie government forms, and the endless maze of support services.

I’ll warn you now: this episode has it all. My over dramatic reading voice? Check. Some awkward sound effects? Yep. A cringe attempt at a witch's cackle? You bet!. But hey, it’s Halloween so I thought, what the hell(fire)? So grab your pumpkin spice latte, find a cozy spot, and join me… if you dare!

***

This podcast was recorded in Garageband and edited by Lisa Thornbury (with assistance from Avery).

Read more and find the transcript for this episode at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠averybrightlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

And, come chat with us on social! No seriously, c'mon over! It's fun there.

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@LisaThornbury⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠aVERY Bright life⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (formerly Forever In Mom Genes)

Happy "World Menopause Day!" Wait, is it happy? Or is it more sweaty? Either way, this episode is a little TMI about my own experience with perimenopause and menopause. And, how it affects me, as a parent of a kiddo with disabilities. Sorry in advance for my weird reading voice. Clearly I won't be hired as a narrator at Audible any time soon.

***

This podcast was recorded in Garageband and edited by Lisa Thornbury (with assistance from Avery).

Read more and find the transcript for this episode at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠averybrightlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

And, come chat with us on social! No seriously, c'mon over! It's fun there.

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@LisaThornbury⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠aVERY Bright life⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (formerly Forever In Mom Genes)

Join us on the aVery Bright Life podcast as we explore the love/hate relationship parents have with technology, especially when raising kids with developmental disabilities.

This episode is about the challenges of dopamine addiction linked to screen time, and a personal experience with Avery.

Whether you're navigating the tech in daily life or seeking a healthier balance in your family's tech use, tune in for some practical strategies for creating tech-free zones, reducing screen time, and swapping out fast-paced content for more mindful media.

***

This podcast was recorded in Garageband and edited by Lisa Thornbury (with assistance from Avery).

Read more and find the transcript for this episode at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠averybrightlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

And, come chat with us on social! No seriously, c'mon over! It's fun there.

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@LisaThornbury⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠aVERY Bright life⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (formerly Forever In Mom Genes)

In this episode, I’m catching you up on Avery’s summer camp experience, a sleep study that uncovered some unexpected news, and the frustration of having her surgery canceled last minute due to a nursing shortage. I’m sharing what we’ve been navigating as a family and how we’re finding ways to keep moving forward, even when things don’t go as planned.

***

This podcast was recorded in Garageband and edited by Lisa Thornbury (with assistance from Avery).

Read more and find the transcript for this episode at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠averybrightlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

And, come chat with us on social! No seriously, c'mon over! It's fun there.

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@LisaThornbury⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠aVERY Bright life⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (formerly Forever In Mom Genes)

In a nutshell this episode is about how brave Avery's parents are for dropping her off at camp. LOL! It's also about Avery's upcoming surgery. And... a bit of a Debbie Downer moment about what I'm worried about and obsessively researching at the moment. I thought I'd share it with you in case you'd like to join me in worrying about this thing that currently, we have no control over, BUT if we put our heads together, maybe we can come up with a plan?

Also, get a load of who did the intro and joke in this episode in Avery's absence!

***

This podcast was recorded in Garageband and edited by Lisa Thornbury (with assistance from Avery).

Read more and find the transcript for this episode at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠averybrightlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

And, come chat with us on social! No seriously, c'mon over! It's fun there.

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@LisaThornbury⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠aVERY Bright life⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (formerly Forever In Mom Genes)

This camper is headed off to summer camp... sleep away camp! Ohmygod I'm nervous. This is a first for us. But it's going to be great. We've got this. We've done the research and chatted with our friend, Mabels Labels, Julie Cole. Julie shared her expert packing tips and some valuable "camp for newbie parents" insights.

Grab your flashlight and some bug spray and let's do this!

***

Mentioned in this episode:

Julie Cole

Talii Towels

Julie Cole’s Ultimate Guide to Camp-eBook

***

This podcast was recorded in Garageband and edited by Lisa Thornbury (with assistance from Avery).

Read more and find the transcript for this episode at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠averybrightlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

And, come chat with us on social! No seriously, c'mon over! It's fun there.

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@LisaThornbury⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠aVERY Bright life⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (formerly Forever In Mom Genes)

Content Warning: I share some unpleasant/hateful comments left on our Instagram page.

This is not what we had planned for our 100th episode. In fact, I had a really creative and "inspiring" episode planned. But for the reasons mentioned in this episode, it didn't happen. So here we are. Please enjoy this episode where we share a few things learned throughout the course of 100 episodes. And I try to stay on topic. Maybe I'll finally master that by our 200th episode. :)

***

This podcast was recorded in Garageband and edited by Lisa Thornbury (with assistance from Avery).

Read more and find the transcript for this episode at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠averybrightlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

And, come chat with us on social! No seriously, c'mon over! It's fun there.

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@LisaThornbury⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠aVERY Bright life⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (formerly Forever In Mom Genes)

For Rare Chromosome & Gene Disorder Awareness Day I put on my scientist hat (I'm not a scientist... I barely passed high school chemistry class!) and share... in VERY basic terms... what we've learned about chromosomes and genes and how it all relates to rare genetic disorders like Avery's.

***

This podcast was recorded in Garageband and edited by Lisa Thornbury (with assistance from Avery).

Read more and find the transcript for this episode at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠averybrightlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

And, come chat with us on social! No seriously, c'mon over! It's fun there.

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@LisaThornbury⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠aVERY Bright life⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (formerly Forever In Mom Genes)