Our Family
Hello, I’m Jen, a Gen X Mom and Catholic convert trying to survive parenting in the 21st Century. As such, I’m a helicopter parent! Motherhood is the greatest adventure and blessing of my life. I believe children are a gift from the Lord. Thank you, Lord, for my children.
I was blessed with my first child, Juliette, in 1997. I lost two babies in separate miscarriages before the birth of my son, Sullivan, who miraculously came along in 2005. Despite all odds, our family was completed in 2007 with the birth of my baby girl Bridgette. In 2018, I became a grandmother (Nanny Poppins!) to my granddaughter Willow, Juliette’s little girl. What a blessing she is to us.
Classic Gen X Mom and Helicopter Parent
My experience in motherhood is reflective of Generation X. I waited until I was older to have kids, which is one of the things that makes me a classic Gen X mom. After I graduated from college, all I could think about was paying down student loan debt. I was almost 30 when Juliette was born and almost 40 when Bridgette came along. For better or worse, I’m a helicopter parent. What else is there for a mother to be in the 21st Century? It’s crazy out there. After growing up a free-range child, being a free-range parent was not in the cards.
Work-Life Balance
Like every Gen X mom I know, I value work-life balance. I am willing to make almost any sacrifice to be able to maintain flexibility in my career. My kids mean everything to me and always will.
Posts About My Kids & Motherhood
Kenickie
We are so proud of our son Sullivan. Earlier this fall, he decided to tryout for Grease, this year's school musical selection. He's never been in a production before so it was really exciting when he landed a major supporting role. He played Kenickie Murdoch, the...
Bridgy and Her Hoop Baton
How To Trim A Hoop Baton, etc. Check out these beautiful pictures of Bridgy twirling her hoop baton on the sideline at the McGuinness Homecoming game on September 21, 2023. The theme of the game was "gold out" so we trimmed her hoop baton with this amazing gold...
Bridgy Twirls | McGuinness vs. Putnam City, August 26
The Super Bridgy is growing up, y'all. Check out these amazing photos of her taken by the talented Oklahoma City photographer, Ms. Diana Bittle. Wow! We are so blessed and very grateful. These pictures were taken at the tailgating party at St. Charles Borromeo...
Three Graces
I don't remember the day my mother left my father and siblings and the sea-green stucco house on Sigman Street. I don't remember the fight that drove her to leave. There were so many fights every day, all day long. I don't remember arriving at my grandparents'...
People With Flowers | Memorial Day Post
People with flowers are always going somewhere To a church, to a wedding, to a graveyard. Home, to try to make their empty lives as full as blossoms. I'm like people with flowers because they are trying Because they haven't given up... --Rod McCuen, 1933-2015 Pictures...
Posts About My Mom
1970s Mom with Green Kool-Aid and Yarn Ribbon Ponytails
When I spotted this photo of a 1970s mom holding a glass of green Kool-Aid I knew I had to buy it! I discovered it on Etsy, one of my favorite online marketplaces. It reminded me of that Kool-Aid slogan, which first appeared in 1979: "Moms depend on Kool-Aid like kids...
Three Graces
I don't remember the day my mother left my father and siblings and the sea-green stucco house on Sigman Street. I don't remember the fight that drove her to leave. There were so many fights every day, all day long. I don't remember arriving at my grandparents'...
Back When I Was 19 [Old Polaroid of Mom and Me]
This is my mom and me, back when I was 19, and she was 52. We had 31 more years together. I'm grateful for each and everyone.
Keeping Watch
Why did my mom have to die? That's a question a kid would ask, not a 52-year-old woman. I'm supposed to be too old to be this grief-stricken. My mother died in 2017. I'm never, ever going to get over it. I'm just going to get on with it. Get on with life. Keeping...
Gladewater
When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, and time shall be no more, And the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair; When the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore, And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there. --James M. Black, 1893 I spent most of...