About Me

I’m the special needs supermom of an autistic wonderboy and a supergirl battling juvenile arthritis. But also a proud military spouse (which means it often comes down to me – but isn’t that always the case mama’s?) and because of that occasionally live abroad; I have my own international copywriting business; am an advocate and board member for the Dutch Juvenile Arthritis Association; since 2020 I run the Special Needs Supermom Podcast and in 2022 my story book for young kids battling JIA got published.

 

Quilting and 3-hour baths

When not playing personal assistant and taxi driver of my kids, I love 3-hour baths, watching fantasy like The Witcher, a good English detective like Vera, or just some good old action combined with history as in The Last Kingdom or justice like NCIS (our superdog is even named after one of the characters: Deeks!). I recently picked up quilting again (hey I lived in Kansas – pretty sure it’s mandatory over there haha), love hiking on Sunday morning in the national park I live next to with my hubby and superdog Deeks  and go for a run with my wonderboy in the forest while listening to StarWars audio books. My other happy place: Starbucks. By myself.

As a bonus I found out on December 2021 my busyness is actually ADHD!

Relax how?

Sounds like I know how to relax right? Well, nope. Especially when it’s not going great with my kids. I tend to say yes to everybody needing my help. Drop everything the moment my kids need me (so, no I can’t switch off my phone). And I chronically overplan and underestimate time (which I now know is an ADHD uhm superpower…). When supergirl’s health took a nose dive a few years back, I went into survival mode. But when that survival mode is switched on for weeks, months and even longer… well, this supermom got supertired. Thankfully supergirl had a therapist who also watched out for the mental health of superparents who tend to forget themselves. I now know that to be and stay a superparent I need to take care of me as well. 

Will I never fall back to old and bad habits? I’ll probably slip now and then. The difference is I don’t reach burnout or need other people telling me to sit down and relax. I learned that by relaxing – especially when I’m too busy and/or stressed – I actually feel less tired, overwhelmed, get more energy and am mentally better equipped to deal with the daily stress of a special needs supermom. My 18 years of experience and therapy gave me a whole bag of tools to find and recharge my superpowers. 

Which I’ve used for this platform, the podcast, planner and service. I hope it will help you to find and recharge your superpowers. You’ve got this mama. It’s all about balancing that light saber and that glass of wine! 

Stay sane and stay happy

Nadine