23 in ’24 Well, here I am, a year later in 2024, having recently turned 23 years old, and I am officially a Providence College (PC) alum. Not only does 2024 mark 4 years free of hospitalization but it also means I am 3 years away from being kicked off of my parents’ health insurance…

About Me Hi! My name is Deirdre and I am a 20-year-old girl with Cystic Fibrosis (CF). This is an inherited disease that causes the body to produce thick, sticky mucus that clogs up my lungs and makes it hard for me to breathe. CF also affects other organs in the body including the pancreas,…

On The Floor, Off The Court Me? Writer’s block? After writing these letters for 17 years they should come easy to me. Maureen says it happens to everyone… I could write one of these every day of the year – not sure of the quality, though. But this year I have to encapsulate two hospitalizations…

Third Time’s a Charm With Leah (21) and Tess (18) in college Maureen and I can now focus our admissions-efforts on Deirdre (17) – our junior in high school. I’ve always understood the saying Third Time’s a Charm to mean someone will have greater success the third time since they’ve already failed twice. We’ve had…

Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday! For many of us there comes a time in our lives when we just don’t want to celebrate, or even acknowledge, our birthday each year. The mere fact that it formalizes we are another year older can be downright nauseating. For some it’s in their 40’s or 50’s when they want…

Information Overload Google it! TV not working, lawnmower needs a filter, where is my UPS package, the phone number of the Italian restaurant you can never remember, etc.? Well, type in the question at Google.com and chances are very good you’ll have an answer in half a second. Ever go to the doctor and ask…

Juggling Parental Priorities Safety, Health and Happiness. My kids hear it all the time from me and they just roll their eyes having no concept how important these are to a parent. My utterance will usually follow some safety advice I’m yapping such as stay with your friends, driving slowly and take your time, call…

Would You Want To Grow Up Like This? The difference between a twelve year old and a thirteen year old girl is more than just one year! Turning thirteen means you are officially a teenager even though you’ve been acting that way for a long time. They think it’s creepy and disgusting to get hugs…

Who Doesn’t Remember Their First Job? Each of us, I think, has memories of our first job etched in our brains. How could we not? We were young, held accountable to someone other than our parents, punctuality was actually enforced, and we made some money that was all ours! Maureen has memories of working at…

Absolutely hate them! Never enjoyed them even when I was young but somehow each Christmas we’d have a couple of them under the tree. We’d be respectfully polite for the “thoughtful” gift but quickly moved on to other presents with more bells and whistles. Puzzles…500 little pieces of cardboard that all looked alike but were…

There are many celebrations in life and, for the most part, we all celebrate them the same. There are the baptisms, birthdays, first communions, bar/bat mitzvahs, confirmations, weddings, etc. There are many more to fill in the gaps and they range from the impromptu casual get-togethers to the more formal. Birthdays, though, seem to crop…

During Holy Week, leading up to Easter Sunday, our family tries to make extra efforts to pray more together and to attend Mass and prayer services at our church. I found time to break away the evening of Holy Thursday to go to our chapel for a prayer service. It was very quiet and solemn…

How many times have you heard, “You’ll never forget your first?”  Usually some sarcastic or witty remark follows but many times you dothink of the many firsts you’ve experienced.  Your first bike and car, your first time over the Cape Cod bridge, your first kiss of course, etc.  Life is full of many wonderful firsts….

Anyone who knows me well is aware that I like to hear the bad news first then the good news.  “I’ve got some good news and some bad news.”  Stop – give me the bad news first.  I never really thought of why I prefer that order.  Maybe it’s so I can appreciate the good…

I enjoy, and always have, getting packages in the mail.  Whether it was something I ordered or simply a direct marketing piece sent blindly to me.  We get tons of packages and mail at our house which includes lots of bills, junk mail and the occasional(?) package from American Girl.  Ironically, Deirdre our 6 year…

Kids are always asking for something… it starts with food and water when they’re born and they never seem content from that point on!  Our three young girls, seriously, don’t ask for much and are rather happy with what they have considering the very materialistic society in which they live.  Her oldest sister (9) is…

Everyone deserves a pat on the back every now and then… whether it’s for a good report card, a promotion at work, or simply from a proud parent to a son or daughter. But to give someone a pat on the back 4 million times, now that’s a bit much! Well, over the past fours…

“I wish I had cystic fibrosis!”, cried out one of my older daughters at dinner recently. That’s not exactly a question that you’d find in “Parenting 101” so I took a deep breath as I thought of a way out of this one. When asked why she would have such a wish her answer was…