This Thing Called Life – Page 2 – Choosing This Moment

How to Live During a Pandemic

Posted: March 23, 2020 Under: This Thing Called Life

By Jenn 1 Comment

Recently, my phone has become a black hole, somehow pulling me toward it with more force than usual. I’ve been sucked into the cycle, checking the constantly-updated pages of the major media outlets for the latest news whenever I have a spare moment. I know this is no way to live a life, even a … Continue reading "How to Live During a Pandemic"

Spring is Here

Posted: March 19, 2020 Under: This Thing Called Life

By Jenn 4 Comments

Here in the northern hemisphere, today is the first day of spring. You may have missed this, given all that is happening in the world. I almost did. It’s a small, seemingly inconsequential thing, buried as it is amongst death tolls and job losses and “shelter-in-place” orders. Easy to let it slip by, unnoticed, unmarked. … Continue reading "Spring is Here"

I’m Not Enough

Posted: March 10, 2020 Under: Family and Parenting

By Jenn No Comments

You are enough. It’s a popular statement these days, offered to young parents lost in the doldrums of self-doubt, of worry, of guilt. You are enough. Whoever you are, no matter your failings and weaknesses, whatever your personality and strengths, you are enough. Your child needs you, as you are, and no other. You are … Continue reading "I’m Not Enough"

Justifying My Existence

Posted: March 07, 2020 Under: This Thing Called Life

By Jenn No Comments

On afternoons when she naps, Katie emerges from her room with tousled hair and sleepy eyes. If we have nowhere to be, and if fortune has smiled on me enough that all three kids slept at the same time, and if she is the first to wake, she finds me in a chair in the … Continue reading "Justifying My Existence"

We Have a Good Life

Posted: January 31, 2020 Under: Family and Parenting

By Jenn 3 Comments

Jonathan and I sat together on the couch a few nights back, paging through the photo book I had compiled for our family for 2019. He paused to smile at a shot of Abby giving a lopsided grin to the camera, and then at Miles sacked out in my arms. When he got to his … Continue reading "We Have a Good Life"

Why Hello, Captain Obvious

Posted: January 20, 2020 Under: Loving God

By Jenn 4 Comments

There’s a persistent voice, a critical voice, that sometimes takes up residence inside my head. It shows itself most often when I’m trying to write. Count your blessings? You aren’t in control? Parenting reveals your selfishness? Really, Jenn, is that the best you can do? All a bit … obvious … isn’t it? Yep, that’s … Continue reading "Why Hello, Captain Obvious"

This is a Season

Posted: January 16, 2020 Under: Family and Parenting

By Jenn 1 Comment

I wrote this post last year, in March of 2019. (It was near the top of the “Your Recent Drafts” section of WordPress, which tells you how often I even attempted to blog in the past twelve months.) I’m not sure why I never published it, except that maybe I was lost in the newborn … Continue reading "This is a Season"

You Have Way More than You Know

Posted: January 13, 2020 Under: This Thing Called Life

By Jenn No Comments

My recent search for homeowners insurance raised some interesting questions (not least of which: why doesn’t “homeowners insurance” have a possessive apostrophe – which would, of course, go after the “s”? You can find the answer here, if you are so inclined.) Among the mundane details of home size and composition is the question of … Continue reading "You Have Way More than You Know"

Choosing These Moments

Posted: December 31, 2019 Under: This Thing Called Life

By Jenn 8 Comments

I’ve had it in my head to “start writing again” for many months now. But it’s always a difficult thing, beginning is, especially after so long an absence. (I don’t regret that long absence; while my writing fell silent, my life certainly did not, and the last year has been full of good and worthwhile … Continue reading "Choosing These Moments"

Hoping for Rain

Posted: October 03, 2018 Under: Family and Parenting

By Jenn 2 Comments

“Can I wear my boots, Mama, just in case it rains?” I peek out the window at the clear blue sky, at the warmth of a perfect fall day. I turn to her, about to tell her that there won’t be rain today, but as I look at her upturned face, her expectant grin, her … Continue reading "Hoping for Rain"

Choosing This Moment

Finding the beauty in the everyday

Category: This Thing Called Life

How to Live During a Pandemic

Spring is Here

I’m Not Enough

Justifying My Existence

We Have a Good Life

Why Hello, Captain Obvious

This is a Season

You Have Way More than You Know

Choosing These Moments

Hoping for Rain