jamie y. watkins

Author: jywatkins

  • We’ve Had Enough

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    jywatkins
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    Some days are so hard, so scary.  I went to bed last night thinking about the bombing in Baghdad, about all those hundreds of people who lost their lives or their loved ones, about how there was so little coverage of it because … what?  We don’t care about Iraqi people in the West?  Or…

  • Patio Writing

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    jywatkins
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    On this rare occasion, I have a day clear of to-do lists and events, so I’m writing. It took a teensy bit of finagling, canceling one engagement for the day, but it’s worth it. Chad made me breakfast this morning, and then I promptly got to work writing.  How special is this day? I gathered my materials…

  • Do Nothing

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    jywatkins
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    I have always enjoyed camping. We did it a lot growing up, mainly with Girl Scouts, but also as a family. But we haven’t camped as much in the last several years, just an occasional trip here or there. It had been a couple years since our last one when we went with friends two…

  • Always Out of Time

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    jywatkins
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    I have a goal this summer. Actually, I have several, but the one that I keep thinking about this week is: Slow down.  I have a terrible habit of always checking the clock. I have a very rigid sense of time, and it’s started to feel more and more constricting. This is not the way…

  • Hope That Breaks Your Heart

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    jywatkins
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    I wrote this the night my dad had his stroke. He has since recovered with no permanent damage to his mind, his memory, or his body. We’re thankful and also still praying for no more strokes.  This Father’s Day, I had lunch with my dad as we talked about gardening and hiking. I hope for many…

  • Just Keep Reading

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    jywatkins
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    Guess what? Grad school is a lot of work. Oh you knew? I guess I did too, but I didn’t prepare for the lack of writing time and writing motivation I would have for this blog during my first semester. So I’ve been away a while. But I promise to try and make a plan…

  • The Virtue of Uncertainty

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    jywatkins
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    I was recently having a conversation with a coworker who described herself as “spiritual, but not religious,” and she said something like, “well everything happens for a reason, right?” I paused, and then I told her that I don’t know if everything happens for a reason. She was shocked because she assumed that because I…

  • Making Space

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    This past weekend, we put Christmas away: we took down the lights, packed away the ornaments, set the tree out by the road, and swept up hundreds of pine needles. We love Christmas, with the shiny glass balls and twinkling lights, the sounds of a crackling fire and carols filling the room. December is so…

  • In All the Ways We Grow

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    jywatkins
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    This past Thanksgiving, my family gathered at my parents’ house: my parents, my two older sisters, their husbands, and two children each, my younger sister and her boyfriend, me, my husband, and my mother-in-law. It was most of the family; eleven adults and four kids. My family isn’t particularly religious. They don’t go to church. They…

  • Roll with the Changes

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    jywatkins
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    Last summer and into the fall, I’d been struggling with direction and purpose. I felt stagnant and stuck. I couldn’t figure out where life was headed, or shake the feeling that it was heading somewhere without me. I’d been looking for a new job for a little while, because even though my job is good, I’ve…