It’s a monumental month in my tiny corner of the world. Two reasons. First, I turn a milestone age with a big fat zero in it. I’m entirely grateful but not quite ready to see the full number in print here. That’s all I’m going to say about that. Secondly, this is also the month my first-born crosses the legal threshold into adulthood.
Adulthood.
Just now, I returned from floating on a silver raft.
Not far from a quaint wooden dock.
I was stretched out on my stomach in my skirted swimsuit with the side of my face pressed against the hot plastic.
The lake, clean enough to drink, was perfect as glass. I scooped up a few handfuls and watched it drip through my fingertips into widening ripples.
As the waves of a distant boat rocked gently beneath me and lapped against the shore, I dozed in and out of a peaceful bliss . . . alone with the big blue sky and happy birds.
But then the doggone clothes dryer buzzer went off.
Poof! Daydream over.
Sigh. Back to the task at hand—making summer chore charts for my two teens and a tween.
Those microscopic moments when my mind is suspended in a rare, unworried state are like those bubbles my kids used to blow through wands and chase around in the driveway. Iridescent orbs stretching into the sunshine—glimmering but fleeting.
Such a moment might occur when . . .
I’m so incredibly honored to have a story published on Grown and Flown today, a wonderful and wise resource where parenting never ends.
The title is “The Gift I Need To Give My Children So Their Wings Are Real.” It’s about the grueling endeavor of seeing our kids struggle or turn corners and the shiny parenting nugget I picked up while wondering in a pit of panic recently that is helping me pause before always rushing in.
Here’s a sneak preview:
I'm Julie Jo, former college newsroom junkie and PR girl, now a freelance writer and editor with two desks. This is the one I doodle on about past, present, and future clinking glasses and making peace.
More from Inside THIS Desk
The Job I’ll Never Quit
Gliding Back to the Light
Those Hands, Now Silken Wings
Little Triumphant Victories
Making the Most of Whatever’s Next (But Don’t Mind if I Wallow in a More Carefree Era for a Minute)
A Time for Tilting Toward the Sun
I Don’t Need a Million Dollars
Grateful for the Moon and Other Bright Spots
A Midlife Girl and Her Old Music Box
Moments of Slight Translucence (Since College Drop-off)
Holy Laughter
A Million Little Letting Go’s
False Narratives
The Calm, Happy Leaf
The Heart of a Mom’s Summer Chore Charts
The Blueprint for Motherhood
Reframing My Perspective
Ice Cream and “I Do”
Trying to Make SCENTS of It All
When It Feels Like the Earth Is Falling
The Job I’ll Never QuitGliding Back to the LightThose Hands, Now Silken WingsLittle Triumphant VictoriesMaking the Most of Whatever’s Next (But Don’t Mind if I Wallow in a More Carefree Era for a Minute)A Time for Tilting Toward the SunI Don’t Need a Million DollarsGrateful for the Moon and Other Bright SpotsA Midlife Girl and Her Old Music BoxMoments of Slight Translucence (Since College Drop-off)Holy LaughterA Million Little Letting Go’sFalse Narratives