jamie y. watkins

Category: Simply Living

  • Tension

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    jywatkins
    in

    Take a deep breath. Relax your shoulders; let them drop. Unset your jaw. Exhale. Listen. Unwind. Be still. About three years ago I chipped my front tooth biting a pen at work. Later, I chipped that tooth again on a piece of pizza– really, just pizza. It turns out, I grind my teeth at night,…

  • One Patch of Earth at a Time

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    jywatkins
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    Chad and I have one-third of an acre of land around our little house. When we moved in, it was one-third of an acre of wilderness and overgrowth, but we’ve made some major improvements and subdued some of the craziness. It’s still very much a work in progress– large chunk of our property is wooded, but…

  • Not an Athlete

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    jywatkins
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    Growing up, I felt some pressure to be athletic. My older siblings all played sports. My sister, Patty, was– is, even now– an amazing runner. Softball, track, wrestling, tennis– my siblings covered a gamut of sports between them and I always felt like I should participate, too. I remember going on a bike ride one time with…

  • Routines

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    jywatkins
    in

    Chad and I are starting a new routine. It involves doing a little bit of cleaning, a workout, and a little time for both of us to write, all in the hours after work. It’s ambitious, we know. But it’s summer so the days feel longer, giving us extra time to get things done. I’m…

  • 5:30 AM

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    jywatkins
    in

    5:30 am. I’m not a morning person. I don’t get up at 5:30 am unless I have to. But here I am. And I’ve already been awake for probably an hour. I gave in about 30 minutes ago and picked up my phone to play a game and check Facebook. Not much has changed in…

  • We Can Stay Here

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    jywatkins
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    Growing up, my dad used to make this joke about how quickly I would get into my pajamas after coming home from school. I didn’t waste time. It was one of the first things I did, especially when I came home later in the evening after swim practice or my part-time job. Even after I had…

  • A Deep Breath

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    jywatkins
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    I’ve neglected my blog a bit lately. I think about writing a lot, and I have twinges of guilt about not making time or trying harder, but the truth is it’s just felt hard lately. There’s a restlessness that’s taken over me lately that’s making it hard to be motivated and creative. I’m blocked and…

  • Winter Glistens

    Winter Glistens

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    jywatkins
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    I know we’re at that time in winter when many of us have seen enough snow. We’re looking ahead to the spring, the thaw, the warm-up… but can I just say, today the snow was something else. My mom has a Christmas village, with ceramic houses and shops, figurines of ice skaters and chimney sweeps, even…

  • Bugs in the Garden

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    jywatkins
    in

    I find myself often thinking about God when we’re doing yard work. There’s obviously a natural connection between God and the outdoors, nature. Plus, working in the yard is often quiet work. Even if Chad and I are working on the same project– which we often aren’t– we don’t talk the whole time, leaving lots…

  • Subduing the Yard

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    jywatkins
    in

    When Chad and I moved into our house a year and a half ago, the front and back yards were completely overgrown. We had walls of evergreen bushes that blocked off whole sections of the yard in the back. We had pachysandra running rampant. We had a jungle of poison ivy, thorny plants and more…