Author Archives: Jaclynn Loibl

Previous Large bay windows and prominently trimmed storefronts told me I’d entered a more communal part of the city. Then came the bars—one after another—many with bouncers out front. I turned right and found a parking spot tucked in the dark, just beyond the reach of a streetlamp. I stayed there for a moment, watchingContinue reading “Running From the Devil (Book Part 35)”

“Do parents have fun?” Evelyn asked during our five-minute bedtime check-in. Her rapid-fire questions ranged from wondering whether I thought she’d ever have kids (I don’t know), to the three things she wants most in life: to do all the things there are to do, to stay a kid “so I don’t have to payContinue reading “Have You Tried the Trunk?”

I feel like myself. More and more, the balloon of me expands—and I hope it continues to like the everness of the universe. Dave just offered me cold boiled peanuts. As a joke. Our friends bought the extra-large Styrofoam cup of them today at Dickey Farms—the same place we picked through the “rejected” peaches andContinue reading “From Impossible to Possible”

Tomorrow’s breakfast has expanded from making biscuits and gravy to eggs Benedict and sourdough pancakes. Oooh, we even have leftover homemade whipped cream in a glass Tupperware, locked and loaded for a sugary flapjack topping. I feel cluttered and can’t think clearly. I need to rattle the pennies out of my brain, a good old-fashionedContinue reading “Plant Lover’s Unite”

I make chores fun. Or—shall I say—tolerable? After scrubbing black char from the stove’s surface, wiping up espresso grounds, and slogging slimy bread and cereal bits toward the sink drain, I reach a point. A threshold. The kind that says, “Nay! No more!” like a bloodied warrior in the middle of a Medieval battle. Then,Continue reading “The Bonus Round”

I’m beyond help. Every turn is a dead end, and I’m screaming at the idiocracy, the tailspinning, the too-muchness I feel. I think what I need is space. I don’t watch the news, barely skim the headlines, and yet I still feel bombarded. At dinner, the crawl across the restaurant’s TV hooked me like aContinue reading “Unwinding the Shoulds”

I’m going to make this quick. Dave and I recently added something new to Evelyn’s bedtime routine. After tucking her in, one of us stays and chats with her for five minutes. Then we leave the room, and every five minutes, we go back in for a quick check-in, whether she calls out or not.Continue reading “Existentialistic Kids”

I’m not too much. I’m not an unsafe person. I don’t need to shrink to fit anyone’s comfort zone. Repeat x3 What if we weren’t so scared to name our emotion, our expectations, and when you don’t like how someone’s treating you. What if you saw those things as your rights, the non-negotiables, like whenContinue reading “Today’s Mantra”

I’m demented. Sometimes, while rubbing the angular, bony cheek of Bun Bun, our beloved pet rabbit, I flash back to a delicious Vietnamese restaurant where a rabbit dish was the main course. The memory still makes my mouth water—and yet, this little cutie will never find himself on a skewer. Not in this lifetime. MyContinue reading “Lucky-Footed Lady”