Midwest Mimi

  • The Life I Wanted Didn’t Die. It Changed Shape.

    I thought I knew what my life would look like. A degree. A career. Stability. Security. A future I could count on. Then I got sick. What followed wasn’t just the loss of health, but the slow grief of watching the life I planned slip out of reach. Almost dying forced a reckoning. I couldn’t…

  • Before the Paper Tears: A Quiet Christmas Morning

    A quiet Christmas morning filled with anticipation, children, memory, and gentle tradition. A pause before the paper tears and the day unfolds.

  • Neurodivergent Conflict Styles, Part One

    I wasn’t arguing as a child. I was explaining. But explaining myself was often mistaken for defiance, and being misunderstood didn’t just hurt emotionally, it dysregulated my nervous system. This piece explores how neurodivergent conflict styles form early, and why the need to be understood can follow us into adulthood, shaping how we handle conflict…

  • 🌱 How Childhood Creativity Shaped the Woman I Am Today

    Growing up with a sewing room in the den and a woodshop in the barn shaped the way I see the world. My childhood was filled with handmade things, faith, curiosity, and endless creativity, long before I knew how much I would need it. Art was not something I added to my life. It was…

  • The World Looks Purple To Me

    A journey from innocence, to hustling for survival, to rebuilding life after chronic illness. Motherhood, queerness, and the purple lens that reveals what is worth fighting for.

  • 🌿 The Lives That Built Me – Grace in the Grit

    I rebuilt from rock bottom, not because life got easier, but because I learned to make peace with the life I can live. That’s grace in the grit: surviving, rebuilding, and loving every version of me that made it here.

  • Supporting Your Child’s Creativity Means Letting Them Dress Themselves

    When Raeleigh was little, I thought I was the one choosing her clothes. Picking out tops and bottoms that matched, adding bows, and making sure everything looked “put together.” But even then, she had opinions. She’d reach for patterns that clashed in my eyes but sparkled in hers. She wanted the necklace, the sunglasses, AND…

  • What My Toddler Taught Me About Slowing Down in Nature

    When my toddler and I head outside, it’s rarely about covering ground. We’re not hiking trails or racking up miles. For us, it’s usually the walk to the beach, wandering through a grassy field, or time spent playing at the park. These little adventures are where I’ve learned the most about slowing down. Toddlers Notice…