Author Archives: Jaclynn Loibl

I feel like I’m falling behind. Details and to-dos are frisbees whizzing past my head—some even hitting me—while my hands feel zip-tied behind my back. My overthinking is soaring high, like the turkey vultures sweeping and circling in the sky. Inside, I’m battling, like two rival cliques jockeying for the front row in the lunchroom.Continue reading “Whirlwinds and Wonders”

Three stink bugs and daddy-long legs peruse the exterior of our screened-in back porch. No need to fret, they aren’t getting in here, so I prop my leg up on the chair next to me and take a breather before guests arrive. When you’re the hostess with the mostest, a break is only momentary. SoonContinue reading “An Affair to Remember”

As the second night of Grandma and Grandpa’s four-night stay draws to a close, I feel grateful for their presence under our less-than-a-year-old roof. Earlier, while warming up the spinach artichoke dip for chip dipping during front porch sitting, I thought of something I wanted to tell you. Between then and now, I’ve forgotten, likelyContinue reading “Compound Interest”

I spin out like a rudderless ship, gallons of water spilling in from below as my yellow slicker does nothing to break the ocean’s stabbing chill. My security wanes like the moon’s phases, but I position my hand to cast shadow puppets in its flashlight-like glow. At half my size, some carnies won’t let meContinue reading “The Lighthouse”

I miss fall, a good Pacific Northwest fall, and its steep drop to cooler evening temps and crisp mornings. In South Georgia for my first fall, I’m nicknaming it “The Forever Summer.” Without prompting, Evelyn made up a song titled, “I Never Want to See the Sun Again.” Her ode was to colder, darker daysContinue reading “Grandparents Eve”

I awoke to what sounded like multiple cows birthing calves. The sound was high-pitched and odd. The startled-awake feeling, like tons of bricks on my chest mixed with panic, slightly settled, clearing my head and leading me to collect $200; those are cows, silly, that’s the wind. Out of bed and out the front door,Continue reading “Riders on the Storm”

Writing became deprioritized when the Weather Channel took center stage. Seeing the record storm surge levels in Tampa as Hurricane Helene spun its web south of us is concerning. Yesterday, I remembered I’d canceled our home insurance on the house we just sold but hadn’t put our new house on any plan. With my anxietyContinue reading “A Storm Brews”

“What’s that? What’s that?” Evelyn asked, her little voice breaking through the noise. I was too busy reading the emergency weather alert on my phone, distracted by the obnoxious, repeating sound. It took me a second to snap out of it, like a boxer recovering from a right hook. I helped Evelyn understand that highContinue reading “Parenting in a Storm”

I take fun and twist it into a pretzel of complication and seriousness. I spoil the freshness with a single look, then toss my hair over my shoulder as if your puckered face doesn’t faze me. I’m addicted to the lines you draw, the waves on the page, the swirls of yellow, orange, and brown,Continue reading “Reviewing Reels: A Poem”