I built Little Hollow because I needed it to exist. I’ve had multiple sclerosis since I was nineteen, and for most of those years I planned my life the same way everyone else does, as if every day arrived with the same energy in the tank. It doesn’t. Not for me, and probably not for you either. This is the whole story: the name, the bird, and the day-to-day that led me here.
Why “Little Hollow”
A hollow is a small, sheltered dip in the land. A quiet, low place. Not a hole you fall into, but a soft valley you rest in and pass through. It’s also the notch in a tree where a small bird shelters from the weather.
When your capacity changes day to day, low days start to feel like failure. I wanted a different picture. A low day isn’t a collapse. It’s a hollow. A gentler part of the landscape, and one you’re allowed to simply be in for a while. That’s what I want this app to be on those days. The sheltered place, not the scoreboard.
A low day isn’t a collapse. It’s a hollow.
Why a cardinal, and how Pip got his name
Every morning, a cardinal lands at my window. I don’t know why he picked my window, but he shows up, bright red against whatever kind of day I’m having, and for a second things feel a little steadier.
Cardinals are supposed to be messengers. A sign of hope, a reminder you’re not alone, a bit of color in a hard season. Mine brings me that, most days without fail. So I named him Pip, and I built the app around him.
My hope for him is simple. That Pip does the same small thing for you that mine does for me. Notices what you might miss, helps you plan gently, and never once makes you feel behind.
A little about me
I was diagnosed with MS at nineteen, in 2009. I’m a mom and a graduate student. The hardest part has rarely been any single symptom. It’s the math of time and energy, and the guilt that arrives when the math doesn’t work out.
I’m stubborn, which cuts both ways. For years I’d cram everything I could into one day, then lie awake feeling weak for not doing more. It’s a brutal way to live, and it doesn’t even work. Your body keeps a ledger whether you agree to it or not, and it always collects.
Little Hollow is what I wish I’d had at nineteen. A planner that starts with how today actually feels, sizes the day to match, and counts a low day as a real day. I’m a software engineer, so eventually I stopped waiting for someone else to build it. If you know the feeling I’m describing, I built this for you too.
Alexandra
Founder, Little Hollow