Jenn Writes

Writing my way through life, one word at a time.

Word Wednesday – Be the Duck

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This is the 4th Word Wednesday post I’ve started to write this week – hence why it’s being finished on a Thursday – the others will come out when the time is right, but they just didn’t work right now. Summer is in full swing, it’s been blisteringly hot, and I’m feeling a distinct lack of zen.  There’s an old adage about ducks looking peaceful on the water but paddling furiously with their legs below the surface. That’s exactly how I feel right now – I’ve got some really exciting things coming up but right now, my life doesn’t actually look any different.

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Word Wednesday: Burning The Candle at Both Ends

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I suppose this won’t come as a surprise to those who know me well, but I’m at the stage of the summer where I’m just about done – both physically and mentally.  It seems that every time I plan on a few days of R &R, something comes up. Sure there’s the cottage, and I had a lot of fun this past long weekend with friends old and new up there, but when you own the cottage, there’s always work to do. [Read more…]

Word Wednesday – Fortune’s Favour

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I’ve been AWOL of late – and for that I apologize. Depression and grief took hold for a while, and then things got really busy for a while, and then I felt so guilty about not writing that I couldn’t write. It’s a vicious circle. I decided today, though, that I should write something and put it out there. So here goes.

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Word Wednesday – Self Care isn’t Selfish

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I’m a worrier by nature. For as long as I can remember I’ve been anxious about things such as fire, and plane crashes (though this one has pretty much disappeared), and a million other things. Over the years I’ve developed ways to assuage my worries, and sometimes my over-prepared nature has come in handy – I’m actually really great in a crisis because I’ve already played out all the outcomes in my head so all I do in the moment is act.  So while I may check a campfire a couple of extra times to make sure it’s *really* out, my worrywart nature doesn’t usually affect my daily life. However, in the last few years I have noticed that somehow I’ve become a stress sponge. Unconsciously, I absorb the worries and stresses of others and make them my own. It’s beyond being empathetic, and it’s definitely not good for my health, but I don’t seem to realize that I’m doing it until too late.

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Word Wednesday – Rocks and Hard Places

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Most of you already know that I have a slight  healthy obsession with board games. I love to play them with friends and I use them to teach social skills such as patience and turn taking when I work with kids and teens on the Autism spectrum. I remember spending a lot of rainy afternoons at the cottage as a kid playing games like the Hardy Boys Treasure Game,  Scrabble, Don’t Lose Your Head, and even Sorry! (which caused far more tears than smiles). I’ve since graduated to more strategic games that don’t rely purely on luck to win. I was taught to play chess when I was in grade three – mostly because I couldn’t keep my hands off the gorgeous chess set my parents had bought on vacation, and dad figured it was a good way to teach me to think a few steps ahead.

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