Author Archives: Jaclynn Loibl

I’m in go mode. Whenever I take a trip, I get the zoomies—oober-cleaning and organizing the house as if preparing for guests and their guests, too. It’s not because I like working that hard or stressing myself to the “n”th degree. No, it’s because returning home to a freshly aired, laundered, white-glove-worthy space is oneContinue reading “Sliding into Memories”

You know that sooooo-eeeeee call pig farmers make, with its high-pitched, trailing, echoey ending? Take that and replace it with “Hey, chicky babies!”—and that’s the cluck-gathering song my neighbor-slash-sister-in-law, Maria, performs daily. It’s sweet and always brings a smile to my face when I’m out roaming the yard. Not to mention, I’m egg-rich because ofContinue reading “Eggstitential Thoughts”

I love conflict—well, as much as one can love it in a healthy, productive way. I’m not into the no-holds-barred, low-blow, tantrum-throwing, “I’m not talking to you” punishment kind. During a recent counseling session, as I was educating a client on positive conflict and how to navigate it, I thought, “Dang, you know your stuff.”Continue reading “Turning Conflict into Connection”

Vulnerability and weakness are scary. I take a selfie of my 43-year-old self and don’t see vibrance—I see time. I see gravity’s sag and pull, like a claymation artist molding my face, tugging at my jowls to sculpt a bulldog’s flaps. I wish it would go away—the spots, the blotches, the redness that makes meContinue reading “Aged to Perfection”

My older cousin, once my roommate from freshman to junior year of college, sent my brother and me a photo. She’s standing between our mothers’ graves—her mom and mine. It’s a wet, gray day, and she’s placed small bouquets in upturned cups on each headstone. I pinch my phone screen to zoom in. My mom’sContinue reading “A Light that Still Shines”

Renaissance Beach, accessible only by boat, is famous for its hand-fed flamingoes. But at $125 for a 10-minute boat ride, the price feels steep—especially for this Pacific Northwest ferry-taking girl who’s used to a much cheaper ticket. If it had been on my bucket list, maybe the extravagance would have been justified, but since it’sContinue reading “Gone with the Wind”

With the click of a button, our first three days in Aruba in an Airbnb are booked. This island vacation, set for two months from now, wasn’t even on our radar until two weeks ago when Dave’s sister casually threw out a fly-by invitation to her 40th. The invite was probably offhand because this isContinue reading “Floatie or Flight?”