Posted on by Laura Jinkins

Hanging In There

This is really just a token post to say I am still around, I am still high and dry, and I will be posting something more interesting (and better written) soon. A quick run down of what’s up:

  • I’m grateful that the cooler head of my husband prevailed — if my less collected self had her way a few days ago, I would have been sleeping on an air mattress at my mother’s house in less than optimal conditions. The house is in renovation mode (nothing fancy, just repairing and replacing things that should have been repaired or replaced twenty years ago to prepare it for sale), so it’s virtually empty and not super comfortable. Because my husband is not a panicky kind of guy, I’ve waited out the Brazos River Flood of 2016 in the much more pleasant setting of my home sweet home. Thank you, Boo!
  • For the last few days, my most precious things have been packed in the back of my car. Not things of material value, but things that can’t be replaced: my wedding album, my daughter’s baby album, the cross stitch stocking that I’m determined to finish before Christmas (I’ve only been working on it for twenty years…)
  • The rest of my precious things (aka “photos”) have been moved to high shelves in my house.
  • I am ready to go at a moment’s notice if we get the alert that water is crossing the highway and headed our way. All I have to do is grab the chihuahua and drive. My girl will grab the cats and my guy will grab his golden retriever and we are OUT OF HERE.
  • I am hopeful that it will not come to that, though.
  • But I am heartbroken for all the people I know and love who have been displaced by the insane amount of water that has flooded the lands surrounding the Brazos River. Here is a drone video of some of the surrounding area: Jones Creek Flood – Marco Echartea, Videographer  We are on the opposite side of the highway from what is shown in the video, and are in pretty good shape right now. The fact that it rained for about 30 minutes earlier this afternoon does not make any of us happy, though.
  • I am thankful that so many people in the community are pulling together and helping each other out. God is good.
  • And I’m off to take care of some things. I’ll be back in touch soon.
Posted on by Laura Jinkins

A cold day in May…

Despite the grey felt sky raining light, heavy, and again light but constant raindrops on the grey earth below, I had a lovely coffee date this morning. My friend is getting ready to go on a road trip with her sister — a road trip full of family, babies, and opportunities to make memories. I look forward to hearing about it when she gets back and we meet for coffee again. Whether that day is a rainy grey day again, or one full of sunshine and puffy white clouds, I’m sure our visit will be as lovely as today’s.

She has left and now I’m sitting at my favorite table, in the corner next to the electrical outlet (an important detail for my laptop’s energy needs). This table is perfect because my chair is in the corner and I’m not in anyone’s way. I can see everyone in the shop, if I choose, or I can look down at my computer and pretend I’m here all alone, thanks to headphones that aren’t even playing anything. They are an excellent “Do Not Disturb” sign, allowing me to hear the life swirling all around me, participating only if I choose.

I’m debating on what to work on. There really shouldn’t be a debate. I should be working on my novel. I should be reworking Kate and Sam’s first chapters so I can move forward. Originally a friend said, “Just keep going from where you are, and then go back and fix the first part later.” But I can’t do that. The messy mess that is the first 100 pages must be reworked because it affects the rhythm and flow of what comes next. My OCD tendencies (compulsions) won’t allow me to shift gears midstream.

It frustrates me so much — this need to go backwards before going forward. I suppose it’s important to resolve past issues before moving on, though. If your baggage is full of dirty laundry, it makes it difficult to pack clean for a new adventure.

Posted on by Laura Jinkins

Stick A Fork In Me…

I’m done.

I wasn’t sure I was going to make it. But I did. And that’s a relief.

Recently I started writing for a magazine that covers the communities throughout our county. They liked my first submission on the Alvin Historical Museum so well, they’ve asked me to do a continuing series on museums throughout the county. I was flattered, and honored, to say the least. But somehow time crept up on me and the article I planned on having finished a few days ago JUST. WOULDN’T. COME.

I started getting a little panicky last night when I’d rewritten the opening paragraph six times and still wasn’t all that happy with it. I pounded away at the keyboard for a bit more and then decided I would finish it today. After all — the article and photos were due on May 15, and last I checked, that doesn’t end until midnight, which is still more than an hour from now.

We went to church and then went out for lunch with some friends. When I got home, I sat down to see what I could do. And I checked my email. And Instagram. Because there’s a new baby in the family, don’t you know? And then I took a brief peek at Facebook… because there’s a new baby in the family, don’t you know???

I finally got back on it around 5:30 pm. And had to look at the photos I’d taken to refresh my memory on what I hadn’t yet covered in the three paragraphs I wrote yesterday. You’d think I was a sixth grader doing everything I could to avoid my homework. BUT I finally got back in the groove and finished up around 9:30 pm

As painful as it was at the beginning, I’m pretty pleased with the end. I sent it to one of my writing buddies and she gave me a comforting “thumbs up,” so I think I’m in good shape. I’ll have to see what revisions the editor makes or wants me to make. It’s in the correct word count range, though, and I have some good photos to go along with it.

I have a couple of client appointments tomorrow afternoon, and I have a morning coffee date with an old friend (that would be a friend I’ve known a long time, not that either one of us is old…) I am looking forward to that, because it’s been too long since we’ve had a good visit.

I think I’m going to call it a night. When the magazine comes out, if my story is picked up, I’ll be sure to post information here. It’s so weird. Getting paid to write. I’ve been writing online for YEARS for free. The thought that someone finds my words worthy of cold, hard cash is still mind boggling. And grin worthy. Cheshire cat grin worthy.

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Only the insane equate pain with success.

Of course, he was spot on with that quote. Because writing is painful, slow and painful work. And yet, the success is oh, so sweet.

Posted on by Laura Jinkins

Procrastination

I have a midnight deadline for an article I am writing for the magazine I’ve begun freelancing for.

My thoughts are scattered and I can’t seem to find another 300 or so words to meet the word count for this particular feature. I know they are in there. I wrote the beginning four or five times before I finally found the right beginning. I’m quite pleased with it now, so I know the rest of the article is bouncing around inside my noggin.

I just have to find it and get the words down.

Posted on by Laura Jinkins · 7 Comments

Enslaved by Technology

I am so sick of technology. I am sick of the things that are supposed to make our lives easier causing immeasurable stress when they don’t work properly. I’m sick of poor customer service from those who are supposed to help alleviate the stress. I am sick of having someone in Calcutta tell me “everything looks fine, your wi-fi is operating as it should” even though it’s NOT.

AT&T, I’m talking to you. We have had increasingly poor internet service for several months now. After several calls to Calcutta, a service tech was dispatched to our house a couple of months ago. He decided it was our modem. Of course, AT&T has changed their policy – now you lease the modem from them. There’s been very little change in the quality of service and to add insult to injury, they are making more money off our dissatisfaction.

Last evening and into the early morning hours, I wasted hours on pages that wouldn’t load, chat windows that kept shutting down, and bluetooth connections that wouldn’t last. (Granted, the bluetooth connection issue probably has nothing to do with AT&T, but I have to mention it in order to convey my utter and complete tech misery.)

I have an article to write that is due Sunday and I’m in such a foul humor because my technology is being difficult, and technology is required to get the job done. I actually wrote this blog post on a piece of paper with a pen last night after I shut my computer down so I wouldn’t throw it across the room. I can’t do that with my article.

I guess I’d better suck it up and see if I can get something done.

Posted on by Laura Jinkins · 2 Comments

Adventuring – College Style

I was on pins and needles the first part of the day. My college girl, my beautiful girl whom I love more than anyone (except maybe her daddy) informed me a couple of days ago,

“I’m going to visit Tara on Tuesday. I’ll be back on Thursday.”

She’s twenty now, she certainly doesn’t have to ask permission. But my heart did a little pitter-patter at her announcement, because her cousin lives three hours away and she would have to drive through Houston to get there. My college girl had never driven in Houston before today.

Her daddy told her yesterday to run her car by Firestone to get it checked out before she hit the road. So she set her alarm early enough to be there when they opened at 7:00 am. Good thing she did, because she needed two new tires. Everything else checked out fine, she ran back to the house to gather up her things, and then it was time for her to leave.

I hugged her really tight, told her to be careful, to get all her stuff situated before she hit the road — no playing with the radio or iPhone while the car is in motion.

She laughed and promised she would be careful. I hugged her again and when she started to pull away, I said, “I’m not done yet.” God has granted that college girl an abundance of patience with this mommy, because she hugged me back and then I was done. Out the door she went.

I sat down at the table, staring at my computer screen, trying to organize my thoughts and all I could think of was my BABY on the Houston freeways.

“Forgot my sleeping bag,” she laughed, dashing through the kitchen to the closet where such things are kept. Hooray! A chance for another hug, but then I realized how ridiculous I am. I kept myself firmly planted in the chair, despite the irresistible urge to hug her again.

And then she was gone.

An hour and a half later, the phone rang and it was my girl letting me know she’d made it to the gas/convenience store on the other side of Houston. We’d agreed it was a good midway point to stop, top off the tank, grab a snack. She sounded so bubbly, so excited to be navigating her solo road trip with success.

“Gotta’ get gasoline, Mommy. Then get back on the road.”

“Okay, Jami-girl. Call me when you get there.”

“I will.”

About the time I should have gotten a phone call, I got a Snapchat instead. A photo of my college girl and her college cousin, with huge grins on their faces, so I knew she made it just fine.

I just checked Snapchat again. Those crazy kids! To quote my college girl,

“In a sudden turn of events, we found ourselves in Louisiana!”

1985 — It’s a hot summer day in Huntsville. The a/c in our dorm on the third floor of White Hall is not working and we’re glistening — which is a pretty way of saying we’re sweaty. I look at Karen and she looks at me, and we both say, “We’ve got to get out of here!”

Racing down to her car, we hop in and take off in no particular direction. We just drive. Somehow we end up on Highway 19 and at one point see a sign for Crockett, Texas. Neither of us has been there, so why not? We cross the Trinity River, not far from where it pours into Lake Livingston, and then continues southward toward the east Texas town where I was born. I’ve always been intrigued by proximity of things — it amuses me that I’m driving across a bridge across water that will flow within miles of the place where I was born twenty-one years before. In Trinity, I buy an IBC Root Beer, more for the old-timey looking bottle than for a irresistible desire for root beer. It tastes pretty good!

I don’t remember much more about that day, other than driving around Crockett, checking out the sights. But I do remember wind in our hair and loud, energizing music pouring from the car speakers. I remember feeling free and without obligation, even if just for the day. 

I totally get how my college girl ended up in Louisiana this evening.

Why not?

Posted on by Laura Jinkins

My Mama

Tomorrow we face another first — our first Mother’s Day without our mama. I went out to the cemetery earlier this afternoon to put some flowers on her grave. I almost didn’t go, because I had a difficult time deciding what to put out that wouldn’t look cheap or tacky. Since we live in another town, fresh flowers seem such a waste. I wanted to find some “silk” flowers that would stay pretty for a while until I can get up there again to put out some more.

AJ had a great suggestion and I ran with it. Mama was a very patriotic person, and he suggested I put some American flags on her grave. I was able to find some red silk roses and some red, white, and blue silk hydrangeas, as well as seven small American flags — one for each of us, and one for Mama. I thought arranging them like so would help make up for the current lack of a headstone. That’s something we are hoping to remedy in the not-too-distant future.

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Mama loved her country, and she loved her some red, white, and blue!

I want to share a couple of photos of Mama from her sixteenth year, in 1959. Wasn’t she a cutie?

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Mama, around 1959. She was sixteen years old.
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I always thought she looked like Elizabeth Taylor, but prettier.

There was another lady at the cemetery while I was there, and we ended up visiting for a few moments. Her mother passed away several years ago, but she said it never really gets any easier. I can believe that. You might get busy and your busyness keeps you from thinking about your sadness. But some little something will remind you, and the next thing you know, you’re blinking back a tear, or three.

My mind sometimes goes in weird directions, and a few days ago I thought of Mama and the teal dress we chose for her burial. You can see from the photo below it was originally purchased for a happier occasion. I keep thinking about how weird it would have been — we were out shopping for wedding things, having a great time together. How strange it would have been, to see into the future for a split second and know that this beautiful teal dress being purchased for a wedding celebration is also the dress that will be chosen for her burial almost twenty-four years later.

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I’m glad she saved the dress. I always thought she looked so pretty in it, even though blues and variations of blue were not her favorite colors. She knew I loved blue and I think that may have swayed her decision to buy the dress. Or at least I like to think so.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mama. I wouldn’t wish for any other mama and I miss you very much. See you in heaven someday!

Posted on by Laura Jinkins

A Busy Day

It’s the early hours of the morning and I should be in bed. I don’t know why I’ve had such a difficult time going to bed lately. It’s as if my mind gets revved up right about the time I should be going to sleep. Well, tonight it’s going to have to get revved down because in a few hours my day is going to get cranking and not stop for quite a few hours.

I promised a shutter client that I would come put some temporary shades in her windows to provide some privacy until her shutters come in. After that, I’ve got to go meet with a client who ordered blinds from me a year or so ago. We didn’t do anything on his french doors, and he’d like to look at cellular shade options.

When I finish that, I’ve got to meet with someone at 1:00 pm to conduct an interview for an article I’m writing for Image magazine. And then I’ve got to book it home to write the article, because the deadline for submission is May 15!

Saturday, I’m hoping to make it up to Alvin to put flowers on my mama’s grave, since we’ll be meeting my in-laws for Mothers Day lunch on Sunday. My sister and I are going to decorate Mama’s grave for the Fourth of July next month. Mama wouldn’t be happy with the current political state of the nation, but one thing’s for sure: she was always a patriotic American.

Posted on by Laura Jinkins

It’s Gonna’ Be A Little Tough…

to live up to my tagline up there ^^^

The “persistently choosing joy” effort…

I read recently that Philippians 4:13, the scripture that says “13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.,” is not a pep talk to encourage us that we can accomplish all our dreams and wishes. If you look back a couple of verses, you’ll read this:

11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.

It’s funny, because so many people pull that single scripture out when they are trying to do something they want to do — the guy that wants to run a marathon, or the gal that wants to achieve a sales goal, or whatever. “I can do this thing because I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me…” Reading the full text tells me that it doesn’t have a thing to do with those kind of goals. What it does mean is that no matter what happens in this world, I can get through it because I have Jesus Christ to give me strength. 

I’ll be leaning heavily on that portion of scripture in the days to come, because I don’t see things improving for followers of Christ, or Americans in general, any time soon. I may need to revise my tagline to read

Persistently Choosing Joy and Contentment, No Matter What

 (Scriptures quoted from the New Living Translation.)