Page 32 - CF Roundtable - Winter/Spring 2026

SALTY PARENTING By: Katherine Lockwood
PRIVILEGES
I WISH FOR
I was listening to a podcast about writing and publishing
and the speaker talked about setting boundaries to
protect their writing time. The example given was that
when a doctor’s office calls to set up an appointment,
the speaker never just accepts the appointment; rather,
he waits until the doctor’s office has an appointment
that is convenient for his writing schedule.
had once taken for granted and through the exercise of
writing them down, recognized the many opportunities
not granted to others simply because of their skin color.
I felt a bit angry. I wasn’t angry at the podcast—boundaries
are wonderful when you have the privilege to set them.
Perhaps I’m a bit angry that I don’t have the opportunity to
prioritize things other than my family’s health. One thing
I took from the discussion is that he doesn’t have any
significant health issues. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I doubt
it! It reminded me of reading White Privilege: Unpacking
the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh. In her book,
McIntosh identifies various aspects of daily life that she
Privilege is an interesting phenomenon and not one
we have a lot of control over. I am a white female
in the United States. For most of my life, I have been
comfortably middle class. I grew up with two college
educated parents with stable blue-collar jobs with
excellent health benefits and retirement pensions.
I’m also disabled with cystic fibrosis, diabetes, and
asthma. My medical conditions are significant and life
threatening, but they are primarily invisible. While I am
open about my disabilities, their physical invisibility
provides additional privileges that I wouldn’t have if my
disabilities were visible.
 Privileges I Wish For continued on page 33
32 CF Roundtable Winter/Spring 2026