Author Archives: Jaclynn Loibl

I really liked a woman’s blog once. I could tell she liked her messy selves—takes one to know one. I trusted her words like I was riding with an insane New York taxi driver—speeding through yellow lights, squeezing down back alleys, throwing a fist at negligent pedestrians—while I sat casually cross-legged in the backseat, crochetingContinue reading “The Race to Fairness”

I have a rubbery gorilla bracelet on my left wrist. Evelyn tells me it can summon monsters—even bad ones. There are 1,000 monsters in every city, she says. Details like these tumble out of her like Humpty down a wall. We’re on the way to a Cub Scout event at a camp, and I canContinue reading “To the Climbing Tree”

I have several clients my age, or close to it. Women. Our biology overlaps, and it lends itself to girl-talk-type conversations—but also to deeper, more meaningful ones. Because we relate. Deeply. Growing up in similar times, in similar ways, can create uncanny parallels. With one woman this week, we talked about where we once were,Continue reading “Where the Beer is Cold”

My cousin and her husband arrived to stay the night and we’ve been chatting. They’re visiting from Washington state and spent the past week in Savannah. Oh, did I mention my cousin’s name is Savanah? We’ll be spending the day together by the pool before they fly out in the evening. I’ll see you tomorrow!Continue reading “A Night Well Spent”

In a miserable mood, I told Dave, “The only answer is to go for a run.” I’d missed the pre-work, 65-degree, shaded morning cool, which meant the midday sun was in full golden glory—86 degrees and unrelenting. I walked most of the second mile and felt a mix of failure and success. I did it—butContinue reading “A Frog’s Patootie”

I want this day to last longer. To watch the crows’ about-face strut to eat peanuts in the yard, to plant tomatoes, to browse and shop for patio furniture, to listen to the extra-loud cardinal’s call, to mix up ingredients for another sourdough recipe, and to contemplate—deeply—what I care about, what I don’t, and why.Continue reading “The Act of Notting”

The sting of the higher price tag is replaced by euphoria. A power tool with real power—the cord whipping at what feels like a gajillion miles per hour, obliterating weeds, dirt, and rocks in its path—and a battery that could power a spaceship to Mars fueled the smile on my spring-sprucing face. Then Dave attackedContinue reading “Around the World”

Placing a chair back in its place on the front porch at the day’s end, I saw a phone’s light bobbing through the lawn. Unable to see who it was—and assuming it was Dave—I called out, “Who’s there?” “Hudson,” came the reply. My nephew. He was coming to take Grandma and Grandpa’s car back nextContinue reading “For the Love of Breathing”

🙂 Love, Jaclynn