Author Archives: Jaclynn Loibl

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?”

Well, well, well, what do we have here? Another post, another day, another open microphone for me. The idea of a space to share my thoughts and daily life fluctuates wildly—sometimes I’m yippee skippy, ready to document every nook and cranny of my day, and other times I’m the quintessential kid just off the busContinue reading “Love at First Bite”

Yesterday, as I scrolled through old pictures—salivating over the memory of hot cocoa in knee-deep snow, with Mount Rainier close enough to high-five—I tripped onto a photo of myself. The curtains were drawn. I was posing, deliberately amplifying my feminine assets, surrounded by a mix of people I’d met dealing poker at the casino. VaryingContinue reading “Flashback and Forth”

I’m a pent-up lion pacing in captivity, waiting for a finger to slip through the iron bars so I can snap it off. Thankfully, my zookeepers—aka me—close the attraction, and I go pick up my laptop. I don’t want to direct my stir-crazy, home-all-day energy at my dear old husband and daughter, so I directContinue reading “Developing Memories”

At the end of the brown-carpeted hallway in my childhood home sat a cedar chest. On top were books like Why Was I Adopted? and Adoption Is for Always. Getting to the chest meant walking past wooden-framed school photos of my brother and me, each step revealing my growing smile—the half-inch gap between my frontContinue reading “Scents and Sensibility”

Before sharing this post, I waited until I could talk to my mom, Joanne. We both did a writing exercise with the same prompts, and I loved the experience. It sparked something meaningful between us, and now I feel ready to share my reflection: What keeps me up at night.. Is you. I think ofContinue reading “The Art of Undoing”