Congratulations to my kid sister, who gets married today. The little girl with the impossibly curly hair who screamed bloody murder at me whenever I called her “Cushy Butt” is now all grown up. Best wishes to her and her new husband as they embark on a life together.

Note to self: bring cash to bribe the DJ so that I don’t have to listen to a single Celine Dion song.

I missed it when it was first published, but this poignant Times essay about a man with polio who falls in love with and eventually marries one of his former attendants is worth reading. The author perfectly encapsulates the profound insecurities that plague people with disabilities when contemplating romance. Or at least, he encapsulates my insecurities:

And I was the keeper of an obscene little secret I had known perhaps since I had been stuck in the iron lung, and surely from some vague moment later, the point where I realized I would never walk again. It is a thing that will sit rancid in my gut until the day I die, a thing that until then had eaten away at any illusion that love and marriage for me would be like it was in books or movies. And it was this: I would be physically dependent upon those who might love me. I am a chore, an obligation, and I will ever be so. I could not rationalize how a woman might love me and not soon come to hate the millstone I believed myself to be.

I’m more than a little familiar with the horribly seductive ease of believing the worst about oneself. It can become a kind of mantra that takes less and less effort to recite. And on these dark, cold winter nights when loneliness pays more frequent visits, it can be mighty tempting to hold regular pity parties with a guest list of one. It can be mighty tempting to think things will always be this way. But articles like this remind me that I really need to get over myself and just let life happen.

Wonky bloggers lIke Ezra Klein are taking a lot of guff from fellow progressive bloggers for stating that the Senate health care bill is still worth passing even without a public option or a Medicare expansion. Meanwhile, here in Minnesota, the local news has focused on efforts by Democratic state legislators scrambling to find funding for GAMC. GAMC is a state-funded health care program for low-income Minnesotans that had its funding eliminated because of budget cuts earlier this year.

Both the Senate and House bills would expand Medicaid to a significantly larger swath of low-income adults under age 65. That would be a huge benefit for millions of people, including those who are no longer served by GAMC. That fact alone is enough to convince me this bill is worth supporting. The politics of this process are incredibly frustrating, but what matters in the final analysis is whether this bill will make a difference in people’s lives. I have no doubt that it will.

The Washington Post introduces us to a couple of retired engineers who volunteer in schools serving children with disabilities, where they repair wheelchairs and other equipment. They also design and build low-cost assistive technology solutions for the students, demonstrating the kind of home-spun ingenuity that most families of people with disabilities practice on a daily basis. The men describe their initial discomfort working with children with disabilities and how they eventually came to love what they do. It’s a sweet story.

I’ve been a good boy this year. Well, except for that one time. And there was that other time; I’ve still got the bruises from that one. But still, I made a good effort. My attempts at moral rectitude, while not uniformly successful, are still worthy of reward. Might I suggest:

• Rome: The Complete Series–Because I love me some sexed-up historical melodrama where everyone speaks with a British accent, so you know it has something to do with ancient history. Because it will look so very pretty on my LCD television that I may even start charging myself admission.  
• Boneshaker by Cherie Priest–Because it’s a well-reviewed book that zeppelins, zombies, and characters with names like Leviticus Blue. Because the cover is the very embodiment of steampunk awesomeness.
• Dragon Age: Origins–Because I’m still a fan of old-school role-playing games that take countless hours to finish. Because World of Warcraft doesn’t have brothels. 
• The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1–Because it’s one thousand pages of apocalyptic zombie action. Because zombies are always entertaining. Because my next girlfriend will see this sitting on my shelf and begin to understand what she’s getting herself into.