I recently read Brene Brown’s book, The Gifts of Imperfection, where she wrote about the ten guideposts to whole-hearted living. As I was reading, I found myself relating to many of her approaches. I was particularly drawn to her discussion on vulnerability and shame. Her writing provided helpful language I now use when I talk …
Category: Author: Jessica
The Never Expected “Unexpected”
In the introduction to our blog, Wendi and I wrote, “While we continue to celebrate with each other all of the amazing things that happen in our lives, we have found that the times when we most need our friendships is during the unexpected detours that are inevitable in life.” When we wrote these words, …
Breathe, Truth, and Hope
Lately, whenever I check my phone, log onto my computer, or watch TV, I am inundated with information about COVID-19. My reactions and emotions have been all over the board, ranging from shock and frustration to feeling completely overwhelmed by the impact this will have on my family and students. I am not going to …
The Day I Felt Like A Runner
I often used to daydream about being a runner. A confident, strong runner who could run for miles and never lose her breath. I would close my eyes and imagine stepping outside to start my run, a gentle breeze blowing the loose strands of hair out of my eyes. I would picture myself shaking out …
Messy Everyday Life
Exciting new, The Unexpected Ever Afters, now has a pinterest page! You can find us at https://www.pinterest.com/theunexpectedeverafters/. We are excited to have another way to reach readers and to share our stories and experiences! As Wendi and I were putting together our Pinterest page, we added a brief description of our blog: “The vision behind …
Wandering Thoughts of a Semi-Bored Mom
This past weekend, I played the game Hungry Hungry Hippos with my kids. This is the exceptionally straightforward game with four colorful hippos and a ton of marbles which create a lot of noise and chaos for about a minute while each player tries to gobble up marbles before the game comes to an anticlimactic …
Be the Person You Want to Be: A Day In the Life of a Social Worker
I experienced a particularly tough day at work. I am a school social worker, so my job is full of ups and downs. But, this day was especially heavy on my heart. The day was full of minor frustrations, the kind that wouldn’t be too much on their own but together they compounded. Then an …
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Just Do the Best You Can – A Bad Day in Parenting
I had one of those days where nothing was going as planned. I had already shouted at the kids more times than I could count, and the tears from both of them seemed endless and unnecessary. I literally spent 15 minutes with a mini screwdriver and a light-up car trying to fix a piece of …
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Living My Daydreams
Growing up, I used to daydream about starting over, particularly when I found myself in conflict with friends or wading through the messy drama of the teenage years. I would read fiction books that would transport me to different places and journal about what it might look like outside of the struggles that I was …
Resets – Life Lesson from a Toddler
It feels as if my life is on super-speed this season. Thanksgiving came and went, but in addition to the typical holiday excitement and stress, it also brought with it a good old-fashioned North Dakota snow storm. We had barely shoveled out of that when December came crashing in with work expectations, school expectations, social …
the unexpected ever afters 