Author Archives: Katie Napiwocki

It was a classic Midwestern summer day on Lake Michigan as my friend Sarah and I parked by the Wisconsin docks of the Sailing Education Association of Sheboygan.  As we geared up for an afternoon of adaptive sailing, the breeze blew stronger, carrying the…

To no avail, I called out his name to grab his attention. He couldn’t hear me, and I pondered how to boost the synergy between us. The little wolf nuzzled blades of lush green grass, swayed by the morning breeze. As he sniffed closer and closer to…

I can still see the golden afternoon of my first tea party like it was only yesterday. I swung open the wooden cottage gate. In the center of a secret garden surrounded by dense evergreen hedgerows, a buffet table sat beneath the spotlight of the sun, awaiting guests. An…

It coaxed out the wildness inside of me. My wheels chomped at gravel with each twist and turn of the riverside trail I was traveling. Acorns were devoured in satisfying bursts and brittle twigs muddled with stone as my tires carried me through a transforming world. This riverside trail,…

I rolled up to the checkout counter, rosy cheeks beaming in delightful mimicry of the friendly-faced pansies beside me. The greenhouse air was thick and sweet like the morning sun’s hot breath in summertime. As my caregiver placed several cartons of sprightly lantanas beside the cash…

As a tiny tot, I crawled everywhere. I was the daintiest crouched explorer my backyard habitat had ever known. Once I crawled, my family soon beckoned me to begin walking. That’s how the sequence of life works, after all.  When we’re given the breath of…

I sat on my outdoor patio, coffee cup in hand, breakfast before me, and eyes alive with wonder of where my beagle, Eva, might be. I scanned the feathered tips of rich green pines reaching into the morning skyline above me. I listened to barbershop quartets of…

Some people with disabilities say they’ve never wished for different circumstances. Well, I’m about to enter a black hole with you, in revelation of an honest confession: I’ve cast so many wishes into the night, I’ve nearly robbed the entire sky of stars.  Odds are,…

Have you ever felt the sensation of the wild green thorns?  In times of overwhelming frustration, they slither toward the pit of your inner sanctuary from outer reaches. Their barbed tendrils gouge trails of apathy across the stone walls and humble cottage windows surrounding your heart.

On the corner of Western Avenue and Birch Street, two dainty toddlers ruffled through vibrantly woven Easter baskets. A dawdling waterfall of sunlight beamed through the bay window, casting a gilded aura around their disheveled nests of Sunday-morning hair.  With contrasting hand strength, they each…