The Magic of Discipline
In the Runners Loving Runners Facebook group, a member asked, “How do I stay motivated to go out and run?” The answers—most of them…
To Text or Not To Text
I had a client announce, “I’m now a person who’s on time.” And I’m not the first person they’d told. They’d shown up at…
For the Love of Relationships
As I wait for the bagel dough to rise, I should use this time efficiently—especially since inspiration is knocking at the door. Let’s get…
Peaceful Easy Feeling
To save Dave and me from insanity when “I’m hungry” hits right before bedtime, I made a rule: the kitchen’s closed. I do no…
Learning the Land
I borderline far too serious and not. On one hand, I think myself quite funny, a Mr. Bean eyebrow-raising persona saying, “Will you get…
The Challenge With Hindsight
Every so often, the suggested friends portion of Facebook gets a click from me. An old poker-dealing buddy was the first hit from an…
What Healing Feels Like
Absentmindedly, I started with “The client…” then stopped. This isn’t a progress note, an account for an insurance company to approve or deny. This…
The Not So Holy Grail
Today, a session reminded me of the assumptions and projections we create when we lack information. I think back to October of ’24, post…
False Alarm
You probably wouldn’t notice looking at me, but I’m not myself. I’m a too-tight rubber band that’s retreated inside, like a fox in the…
Notting Hill (2026)
I scrolled through the handful of WordPress’s daily prompts, hoping for a gold nugget of an answer to shoot into my mind like a…
Movie Night
How’s it 8:41 p.m. already, huh?! Paused on the TV, ready for play to be pressed, is the movie The Witches. I grew up…
Where Seldom Is Heard
On a plastic dinglebog, I’ve hung an eye mask. It’s night two of front yard camping, and that’s one thing I learned from night…
An Unnecessary Turf War
I run. When I do, I take up the third half of a lane—the left lane. I run straight toward oncoming traffic, but 99%…
Where We Lay Our Head
Bus 24-74 is one of a barrage of buses that crosses our front porch’s vantage point. In the long string of buses, it’s that…
How I Turned a Small Moment Into a Big Problem
It started after a session with a newish client. The intersection of feeling needed by them and my sense I’ve failed them does it.…
Back Alley Mind
I’m spinning in a toilet bowl that isn’t flushing. About relationships. About what I didn’t say, didn’t do, where my voice is throttled or…
Bippity Boppity Boutique
Like a ship in a storm, the waves pound me sideways—unrelenting and unforgiving. The AliExpress seller scam sucked me dry for $150, and my…
Night Off
Real quick, hit my personal record on the two-mile run tonight. Other than that, no news. See you tomorrow! Love, Jaclynn
Don’t Call Me Shirley
How do you use social media? A woman on a mission, a woman on a mission. Too long I’ve couched it; a lazy Saturday,…
Running On Full
I can do hard things. At the tail end of mile one of a four-mile run this morning, the thought came to me. At…
I Had a Voice. I Didn’t Use It.
Write about a time when you didn’t take action but wish you had. What would you do differently? The fortune teller’s ball is crystal…
Shiver Me Timbers
What makes you nervous? The supervolcano at Yellowstone ranks among the top 100. But more so is the overdue for an eruption—Mount Rainier in…
Unpretzeling the Day
How do you unwind after a demanding day? My cousin-in-law is scuba certified, and last week dove at the Atlanta Aquarium. The oxygen leaving…
A Clown’s Nose Nothing
Jot down the first thing that comes to your mind. Silly me. All this time blogging, and I’ve yet to do a daily prompt.…
The Race to Fairness
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…
To the Climbing Tree
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…
Where the Beer is Cold
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,…
A Night Well Spent
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…
A Frog’s Patootie
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,…
The Act of Notting
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…
Around the World
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…
For the Love of Breathing
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.…
Hi
🙂 Love, Jaclynn
A Fairy Godmother Appears
Thanks to the attendant of Universal Studios’ Trollercoaster, our ease and enjoyment of the park went up by two notches. After overhearing Evelyn say…
An Invitation to Grow
I tend to juggle too many balls. It’s no wonder I feel resentful or disengage when a request comes my way. How dare someone…
Doing Disney Our Way
“Bippity Boppity Broke.”“Happy Never After.” Just a couple of the less-than-magical t-shirts I spotted around the Disney parks yesterday and today—on dads, no less.…
A Day in Pictures
Love, Jaclynn
Magic Eve Night
Evelyn’s made a friend from Louisiana, which feels fitting, since we’re staying at Port Orleans, a Mardi Gras, bayou-themed resort. It’s lush here, with…
Spit Happens
I love staying in Airbnbs. They inspire me. The flickering solar light hung on a post, the purple-and-mustard painted pallets, the cartoon alpaca bedsheets—all…
Pre-Check Check
Holy cannoli, I’m on vacation. I mean, I shouldn’t get ahead of myself. I had my last session of the week, so technically I’ve…
So Long, Farewell…Almost
Ever on the hunt for LPs at dirt-cheap—or even “here, just take this”—prices, Dave and I dug into the website Millions of Records. We…
It’s Not a Tumor
Dang it, guys. I’ve done it again—left this until the last minute so I have to rush. It’s my couch time, and something about…
One Stroke Under Par
I feel subpar. The measurement comes from a shadowy figure that jumps out at me while I’m doing the most ordinary things—gardening, laundry, work…
“Draw Me Duck”
I fit the pieces together like a puzzle—the hidden drawing, the tear falling from its eye, the upside-down “u” frown for a mouth, and…
Stages of a Run
During the ups and downs and in-betweens of my 3.1-mile run today, I found myself fascinated by the mental stages I fall in and…
Waiting For the Call
Potential recruits for professional sports teams are often streamed live as they await the call. You’ve seen the videos—I’ve seen the videos—the whole family…
The Art of Not
I stare a little too hard at the white glow of the neon sign that reads, “Let’s get naked,” as the not-quite-scalding bath water…
A Poem
Not in the mood Cuz I got a ‘tude Don’t mean to be rude But this post I will conclude Love, Jaclynn
Sliding into Home
I swear the butt cream made me do it. A sentence likely uttered once or twice in humanity’s time on Earth. So, hear me…
Free Bees For All
I feel whooped. Purposefully keeping a low-to-moderate schedule means freedom and flexibility are prioritized—until recently, when Evelyn’s baseball practice and Cub Scouts added three…
My Precious Friend
Perimenopause is a buzzword and a hot topic for my age and sex demographic. For all that’s known about it, for the one potentially…
Usually It Is
I’m discombobulated. Toilet paper is strung from the sole of my foot, my shirt’s on backward, and I’ve got black eyeliner streaming down my…
Where the Wisteria Blooms
The hummers are back, the hummers are back! The thought registered seconds after I watched the darting, mini narwhal-nosed flier poke in and out…
From Grit to Glisten
A wet rag in hand, I grip the black front porch rail, wiping away the greenish-yellow, Ghostbusters-slime-colored pollen. Maybe it’s the color—the vibrance of…
Make It To The Sign
Running has become an obsession. I love it. Not every single second, mind you, but the moments just after a strenuous hill or a…
Back to Square One
I find myself pondering the softness of the average Georgian when it comes to weather. It confounds me. I hate to be an “in…
Into the Unknown
My bird feeder and birdhouse game is lacking. The Eastern bluebird male and female pair are no longer okay with a seedy motel—they want…
A Softer Way Forward
Since training diligently for the half-marathon in October, I’ve trudged. I’ve slodged. I’ve begged and pleaded my body forward. Watching videos on running posture—and…
Small Town Saturdays
Evelyn participated in the Pinewood Derby—her first-ever Scouts activity. It’s the longest-running and most iconic Scout event, starting back in 1953. Her third-place finish…
The Rights of Jaclynn
There’s this epic cloud parting—Julie Andrews frolicking through the meadows, “The Hills Are Alive with the Sound of Music” swelling in the background—that’s what…
The Cost of Not Knowing
You know that feeling when you can’t quite catch your breath? Not in the deep, satisfying, fill-your-lungs-all-the-way kind of way, but the opposite. Like…
Blowing in the Wind
You know how to skip, right? Just lift one knee and hop on the opposite leg. That lift-hop motion that you alternate—it turns out…
Learning How to Run
I’m reclaiming my space. Well, it’s not completely my space—I do live with other human beings who have their claims on it too—but let’s…
Evenings at Our House
I need two décor items that’ll sit on the left and right sides of the squared-out fireplace hole. Right now, there are two pillow…
Bring Me A Dream
I think everything’s good. Besides a mini fire ant ambush—the sizzling hot bites that lead to pus-filled mounds that ache for days—I’m not a…
Hoppy Day
The unlikeliest of pairs. Love, Jaclynn
The Dock of the Bay
I’m sitting on the floor of the garage. The door to the house is open, and one of the cats is exploring. It’s been…
The Fox in the Den
I feel pressure to be superhuman. Mostly from other people. When sometimes, just putting one foot in front of the other, paying a bill,…
Not About That Line Life
In the mornings, our household ambles. We saunter and shuffle, and get pulled into mini river eddies. We drink coffee for an hour, lay…
Because I Feel Like It
“I stumble into shame…” is what I was going to say — before I was rudely interrupted by an alarm-level thought that I needed…
If You Build It
Inadvertently, I pulled up a stunted azalea from the sandy circle at the center of the driveway. I’d planted it over a year ago,…
Lean Into It
Growing up in the country as a young whippersnapper, I loved summer nights. I’d lie awake and listen to the frogs in the pond…
Runner’s High Membership
I looked down at my Apple Watch, the screen bouncing like I was unbuckled on an off-roading ATV. It took three glances to see…
Rain Check Por Favor
I’m going to reschedule our time together for tomorrow if you don’t mind. Love, Jaclynn
Don’t Stop Believin’
I choose stocks I believe in. Not like the Jesus-or-Santa-Claus belief, but like the “my Seattle Seahawks would win the Super Bowl” belief. Spoiler: they did.Also,…
I Was Runnninnnng
There’s a counseling sentiment at the start of sessions that goes, “I don’t have anything to talk about,” and 99.9% of the time, it’s…
Gorilla Cart Success
“That’s enough to taste it,” is how I measure the heavy cream for my morning coffee. Grinch coffee cup in hand — the one…
What Guilt Really Needs
I have loose rubber chicken arms and legs now — where fat once was, and muscle hasn’t quite grown in to replace it. But…
Running Down a Dream
I took off running — out the fire exit door and across the blackened Great Wolf Lodge parking lot. The flip from 79 degrees…
Calming the Beast
“How do I take care of myself while carrying that much?” On the back patio’s rug, I feel it — a threat. Instability. Like…
The Anti-Social Club
Is it appropriate to roll into the Great Wolf Lodge with my military tank of a wagon — aka the Gorilla cart — this…
The Things We Avoid
I notice things in my clients that I notice in myself. One is outrunning — the quick-paced busyness of our days, counteracting the need…
Is That Okay?
Ohhh vooooiiice — where are you? I waited for it at dawn, and again at midday — this elusive, nebulous idea that the self…
TSA, You Listening?
It’s the witching hour — for my cats. I make a psst — like a tire losing air — when they chomp the plant…
The Witch’s Work of Becoming
The sandhill cranes are back — high-in-the-sky dinosaurs, extra-large and extra loud — circling in drunken loops before landing in the pasture. It’s early,…
Do Not Go Gently
For three years, give or take, I sat in church basements and event rooms and stood to say, “My name is Jaclynn, and I…
With Arms Wide Open
Writing in a journal-y, memoir-ish style, I toe the line between sharing and not sharing. Do I regret the abortion, or the “fuck Trump”…
Stick a Fork In Me
I need real advice. The thought hits hard as I press 10-lb weights, standing on my too-thin, cat-scratched yoga mat, lifting them fifteen times…
The Cost of Watching Her Grow
The pain of teaching Evelyn letter writing is over. The days of prompting, asking her to sit up straight, of her scribbling letters too…
Protecting the Nervous System
I’m very good at hitting the unfollow button on Facebook. It’s a gift. I’ll be scrolling, absent-mindedly consuming, when suddenly I’m mentally arguing on…
Running Into Myself
After reading the line, “What is it like to be you?”—and the idea that it’s a question no one can truly answer because we…
Going For Gold
I wanted to mention, for a second, the divisiveness—the politicized, sometimes hostile way people push their beliefs. It’s easy to spot. It’s as if…
Seahawks Win, Baby!
After placing books back on the shelves, straightening pillows and cushions, and picking up several stray, hardened bunny turds from the carpet, I plop…
Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz
This heartburn is no joke. I’m taking the night off. Go Seahawks! Love, Jaclynn
Take a Seat
I think I got burned. My lips have a jalapeño-seed-licked burn to them, and my face a thermostat turned up too high feel. I…
The Artist of Today
Often, in my zoom-zoom during housework, I fail to take a minute to smell the roses. Why I slowed my roll while on my…
Smell Ya Later
Not in a writing mood. It’s not you, it’s me. I want the couch, a bit of TV, and a nice night of sleep.…
Silent Book Club
“I guess we got our social fix for the week,” I tell Dave as we stroll side by side down the ramp of the…
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