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Eileen Benthal

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Eileen is a writer, speaker and wellness coach with a bachelor’s degree in theology from Franciscan University. She and her husband Steve live in Jamesport and have four young adult children. Email Eileen

From her baby’s first breath, motherhood is a lifelong journey into the unknown

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Motherhood for a child with disabilities is more than a lifelong vocation; it’s a daily call to love that stretches your heart beyond imagining.

March is an ‘awareness month’ that hits home

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Most parents of children with disabilities think they are prepared to face the challenges ahead because the ones we’ve already faced help to strengthen our knowledge and resolve. But life is full of surprises — and lessons to be learned.

Miracles on the field

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If praying for miracles is the future direction for ESPN and the NFL, I might just become a fan. 

A new year beckons: Begin again

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When life — the sorrows, the joys and the crazy — upend my plans for a better year, then I will return to my primary resolve. And begin again.

Have the perfect Christmas.  Let go of plans for how things should be and enjoy how they are.

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Column: All that’s done is done and what is undone can wait for another day and season. This season is the time to let go so I can hold on to the gifts of those present around me who mean the most. 

An attitude of gratitude is life-changing

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These last two years of celebrating "Friendsgiving" with our special friends has taught me more about being grateful in all circumstances.

Caregiving changes with time and age, and the need for support grows even stronger

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New column by Eileen Benthal: Caregiving is more than a role we assume to take care of our family members; it's a calling to embrace compassion and grow in discovering a future full of hope. If you are a caregiver, you are not alone. 

‘Awareness’ is the first step toward compassion

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If we follow the idea behind these awareness campaigns and remember that we don’t necessarily know another’s pain, so be patient and respectful, many lives could be helped by our kindness. 

The thing with feathers that perches the soul

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Column: The poet Emily Dickinson compared hope to a bird, like the sweet goldfinches that stay close to my sunflowers, watching and waiting for the them to bloom and the seeds to ripen.

For a person with disabilities, accessibility is everything in a world full of obstacles

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As the parent of a child with disabilities, I thought I understood what it was like to be disabled in a world mostly for able-bodied people. A broken knee taught me that I didn't have a clue.
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