Mar 8th, 2010
by Mary P Jones.
Image credit: Photo by
Travis Jon Allison on Flickr
Licensed under Creative Commons
"I don't like Agnes much," said my mother, "She's definitely no Aunt Gerty. But it's because Gerty was so wonderful that I think Uncle Fred is marrying Agnes."
"What do you mean?" I asked. Uncle Fred and Aunt Gerty had been married over fifty years [...]
Feb 20th, 2010
by Mary P Jones.
Praying for patience.
Praying... Waiting... Stupid God!
I want patience now!
Jan 5th, 2010
by Mary P Jones.
Image credit: Photo by
kaneda99 on Flickr
Licensed under Creative Commons
I have a bazillion ("No," my son Austen, who is very proper about his numbers, would insist, "there's no such thing as a bazillion!" Fine then, a gajillion?) things I want to get out of my head and onto this virtual paper, but I spent my [...]
Nov 24th, 2009
by Mary P Jones.
Image credit: Photo by
catdancing on Flickr
Licensed under Creative Commons BY-NC 2.0
Last week, I asked you all to join the Just for Today Challenge with me, where we would all change one thing about our lives for just one day. I'll share what I did, and if you did something yourself, either share about it [...]
Nov 16th, 2009
by Mary P Jones.
Image credit: Photo by
k a t m
Licensed under Creative Commons
I sort of want to write a post today, but I sort of want to curl up under a blanket and watch the leaves fall more. Of course, I say that, all romantic, with this great image of myself curled up with a cup of [...]
Nov 12th, 2009
by Mary P Jones.
Image credit: Photo by
Scream 101 on Flickr
Licensed under Creative Commons
There's a reason I'm not a journalist. It's one of those jobs you always think about, if you're one of those people (like me) who has considered careers in writing. But I always saw two problems with it: 1) I need to let things [...]
Oct 1st, 2009
by Mary P Jones.
Image credit: Photo by
LuluP on Flickr
Licensed under Creative Commons
I'm pretty certain that everyone who passed my daughter Janie's elementary school at dismissal time a few weeks ago now knows me by sight. Yep, I'm that woman whose daughter threw a tantrum so gigantic and so spectacular that it took us over a quarter of [...]
Sep 28th, 2009
by Mary P Jones.
Image credit: Photo by
boxercab on Flickr
Licensed under Creative Commons
Last Monday I walked through the grocery store feeling like a weight was crushing my chest, a tight lump in my throat the only thing between me and tears. And part of me wanted to self-indulgently sit there on the linoleum floor under the flicker fluorescent [...]
Sep 9th, 2009
by Mary P Jones.
Image credit: Photo by
codepo8 on Flickr
Licensed under Creative Commons
Most kids (at least those who grow up in safe, middle class, American neighborhoods) don't see every new face at the front door (from evangelists to pizza delivery guys) as a potential threat. But Austen is not most kids. Unless they come bearing an Amazon.com box with [...]
Jul 30th, 2009
by Mary P Jones.
Image credit: Photo by
doug88888 on Flickr
Licensed under Creative Commons
Summers are hard. Enjoyable, yes, but also draining. My kids like routine and predictability, and frankly, so do I. In the summer, there can be routines, but they're different from the rest of the year, and they change more frequently. The whole world [...]