A marching band mantra becomes a life-hack metaphor.
Dear Reader: Check and Adjust
read more
Inspiration
Dear Reader: Gone Fishin’, and Wishin’ for a Happy, Healthy 2021
I originally shared this in my December email newsletter, but I wanted to share this with you here, as well: I’m certainly not the first to make this comment, and I know I won’t be the last, but… 2020. Wow. What a year. I have so much to be thankful for,...
Dear Reader: Fireworks for Christmas
Recently on my "Tea with Jess" Facebook Live video (I do these every Monday at 3 p.m. EST),I chatted about fireworks and grace. You can watch the video on Facebook. As part of my chat, I read a favorite Sanity Check column (originally published in the...
Dear Reader: A Sanity Check Throwback–On Making A Gratitude List
Please note that this is a throwback to my Sanity Check humor column that I wrote for the Dayton Daily News. And, well, the photo is a throwback, too! Just a few days ago, my 11-year-old overheard me muttering: "I have this to do... and that to do... and...
Dear Reader: Community Matters
A few weeks ago, on a Saturday morning, I was about to hop into the shower. It was still warm enough that I had our bedroom window cracked. My ears perked up at the sound of... was that, music? The marching band? We live near the high school from which...
Dear Reader: A Sanity Check Throwback–On Getting Lost on a Writer’s Retreat
Please note that this is a throwback to my Sanity Check humor column that I wrote for the Dayton Daily News. Since I wrote it several years ago, please note that this writing retreat did NOT take place during the past six months of COVID-19! But,...
Blue Suede Shoes (Sort of)
Dear Reader, I admit it; I felt a bit salty when our older daughter pointed out in a Skype call that I've been complaining about having trouble with find walking shoes--as in, practical tennis shoes--for years. Upon reflection, though, I had to admit... she was right....
Sanity Check: “Let Memories Unfurl”
“…I took the only sensible course of action. I joined my Great Aunt Cassie in a good old-fashioned cry.”
Sanity Check: “Interviewing” an Amoeba Regarding the Purpose of Life
Finding purpose… through an ‘interview’ with an Amoeba
More about Maude Collins, the Real-Life Inspiration for Lily Ross
The story of the true-life inspiration (Maude Collins, Ohio’s first female sheriff in 1925) for Lily Ross.
