I have always known that I spend a significant amount of time thinking about everything. In the Meet the Authors section of this blog, I shared, “It is safe to say that I am always thinking about something.” My brain is constantly thinking through a dozen thoughts simultaneously at a dizzying pace. However, despite awareness …
Category: Author: Jessica
Life After Graduation
As the 2020 graduation season wraps up, I have reflected on my own graduation milestones, particularly my college graduation. Sometimes it seems as if my college days happened just yesterday. I remember the late nights studying in the basement of my dorm building, sitting on the old, faded sofa that was lit by the red …
Emotions, Freedom, and Gratitude
Today is Memorial Day. I want to start by saying thank you to all of the people who have served our country, to their families who have sacrificed so much, and to everyone who has lost someone who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. The words “thank you” feel inadequate to express sincere gratitude …
Social Distancing: I’m FINE
How are you doing with all of this social distancing? I imagine if I were to ask a random selection of people, the most frequent answer would be, “I’m fine.” Honest answer from me? I saw a meme (created from a comic by KC Green) of a dog sipping a cup of coffee while everything …
Finding Self-Compassion Through Truth
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 …
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 …
the unexpected ever afters 