By: Jennifer Richardson Holt The last few weeks of writing, I have been a bit more philosophical—if that is the proper adjective. That may be generous. I can’t rightly claim to have thrust upon you anything resembling philosophy. The term suggests profound wisdom, and since I know myself, I doubt that very seriously. Still, theContinue reading “The Beginning of the Beginning 2/15/2026”
Tag Archives: kids
Small Victories Against My Better Judgement 1/4/2026
By: Jennifer Richardson Holt I’ll admit it: productivity is not always my strong suit. That sounds worse than it is, so perhaps I should explain. When I have a job to do, I get it done. If there are things that truly need accomplishing, they will, in fact, be accomplished. The trouble is that IContinue reading “Small Victories Against My Better Judgement 1/4/2026”
Beauty, Oddity and the Middle Ground 8/17/2025
By: Jennifer Richardson Holt My daughter is a singularly unique soul. Actually, even that statement feels a bit too broad. Though true, I long for a word better than “unique.” “Extraordinary” comes closer—and I don’t say that merely from the bias of a mother’s heart. She truly is, in so many ways, unlike any otherContinue reading “Beauty, Oddity and the Middle Ground 8/17/2025”
Of Ice Cream and Sacred Simplicity 8/3/2025
By: Jennifer Richardson Holt My daughter said I should write about ice cream. She gave me this advice one night while we were standing in the backyard, looking up at the sky. I pondered the idea and tried to see where it would take me. I ended up with a stream of consciousness that, honestly,Continue reading “Of Ice Cream and Sacred Simplicity 8/3/2025”
The In-Between Time 7/27/2025
By: Jennifer Richardson Holt I heard an analogy the other day that rang very true. This writer described the feeling of that moment when you’re in the last few minutes of a movie or maybe only have one chapter remaining of a novel and you start to worry. There is a certain anxiety that isContinue reading “The In-Between Time 7/27/2025”
What She Wanted to Say (and What I Needed to) 7/13/2025
By: Jennifer Richardson Holt This week has flown by, and there’s been a great deal going on. Not to mention, a topic wouldn’t come to me no matter how much random information I threw at myself, hoping something would spark a little creativity. I even came up with the idea to simply ask my daughterContinue reading “What She Wanted to Say (and What I Needed to) 7/13/2025”
Wrapped Gladly Around His Finger 6/15/2025
By: Jennifer Richardson Holt I both am and have produced a Daddy’s girl.I should begin with a qualifier: my mother is my absolute best friend, so I suppose I’m also a Mama’s girl. Is it possible to be both? I think it is—especially considering my daughter may be in the same boat. But that’s anContinue reading “Wrapped Gladly Around His Finger 6/15/2025”
The More the Merrier 6/8/2025
By: Jennifer Richardson Holt There have been balloons hanging in my house for almost a week now. There are cupcakes in my fridge that have been there nearly as long, and a large, themed “Happy Birthday” banner draped across my fireplace. It is framed by the aforementioned balloons. Why, you may be wondering, does myContinue reading “The More the Merrier 6/8/2025”
Ghosts of Summers Past
By: Jennifer Richardson Holt My daughter has now finished her 3rd grade school year and summer is upon us. Even she commented on how quickly it seems to have gone by. It feels like we should be maybe mid-February or early March in the school year. Like we’ve been back since Christmas for a whileContinue reading “Ghosts of Summers Past”
Different Hands Held Down Different Halls 5/11/2025
By: Jennifer Richardson Holt They are tearing down my old school. If you’ve read here for a while you know that I live in an achingly rural community and the school that my daughter attends is the same one I attended. In fact, this community is so small, there was only one school for theContinue reading “Different Hands Held Down Different Halls 5/11/2025”
A Mystery 5/4/2025
By: Jennifer Richardson Holt You would be surprised how difficult it is for me to not force upon you the same ideas over and over. If nothing else, writing has informed me of just how much I think about the things that have a deep impact on me. And every time I see or hearContinue reading “A Mystery 5/4/2025”
Everything Changes and Nothing Does 4/27/2025
By: Jennifer Richardson Holt I have heard it said more than once lately that the world is in trouble with this next generation coming up. No, it isn’t the most encouraging thing to hear. The thing is, I work on a major university campus, so I do get a very up close and personal samplingContinue reading “Everything Changes and Nothing Does 4/27/2025”
Experimental Exploits 3/30/2025
By: Jennifer Richardson Holt At my daughter’s behest, I suppose I owe you all a story. I wrote a few weeks ago about an experiment that my family was going to undertake. And, as conclusions drawn from experiments often are, the results were a fascinating mixture of somewhat unremarkable and rather surprising. We attempted ourContinue reading “Experimental Exploits 3/30/2025”
Gifts Outside the Box 3/2/2025
By: Jennifer Richardson Holt While I am and have always been a very dedicated procrastinator, my delay in writing this week hasn’t exactly been due to my usual gleefully pushing things until the last minute but moreso due to the fact that it has just been an insanely busy week. Maybe you can relate toContinue reading “Gifts Outside the Box 3/2/2025”
Experimentation 2/23/2025
By: Jennifer Richardson Holt In a few weeks my family will be conducting an experiment. It is something with which I am relatively familiar and an undertaking in which my husband has a great deal of experience. My daughter, however, has the faintest inkling of this enterprise much like someone who has looked at aContinue reading “Experimentation 2/23/2025”
A Typical and Not-So-Typical Night 2/16/2025
By: Jennifer Richardson Holt We had been hearing that the weather was going to be questionable for several days. It is getting that time of year where storms are not uncommon. Unfortunately, the storms that were coming were going to be, as they are frequently, during the middle of the night. I swear that dangerousContinue reading “A Typical and Not-So-Typical Night 2/16/2025”
Small, But Mighty 11/24/2024
By: Jennifer Richardson Holt As I sit here, it looks like it is snowing. Now it most certainly is not since in my neck of the woods we are not often blessed with such pleasantries. And I do realize that snow is not necessarily pleasant in the opinions of all my readers however if youContinue reading “Small, But Mighty 11/24/2024”
Nourishing Body and Soul 11/10/2024
By: Jennifer Richardson Holt This morning, I woke up surprisingly bubbly. I know that seems odd. And trust me, I do enjoy a good sleep and rising early to get to the grind of the day is not my idea of a fun time. I shocked myself at my elevated mood. Now, I am notContinue reading “Nourishing Body and Soul 11/10/2024”
Just Another Morning 9/22/2024
By: Jennifer Richardson Holt I will be upfront and completely honest with you. What I write about today is going to be purely for the aesthetic. I am simply going to describe to you a few experiences I’ve had as of late that are just longing for me to put them in print. I wasContinue reading “Just Another Morning 9/22/2024”
A Dying Breed 8/11/2024
By: Jennifer Richardson Holt It all started with a holiday on the lake. And by holiday, I mean the vacation sense of the word, not so much the specially marked day on the calendar. I am fortunate enough to have a lake roughly thirty minutes from my home that has 750 miles of shoreline. IContinue reading “A Dying Breed 8/11/2024”
The Box 7/14/2024
By: Jennifer Richardson Holt In my living room as I am writing this, there is a large box. There isn’t to my knowledge, anything in the box. Well, when I left for work this morning there wasn’t, but I am not currently there. I do have a cat that could very easily be making meContinue reading “The Box 7/14/2024”
Fun, Frolic and Fear 6/9/2024
By: Jennifer Richardson Holt It has been quite the week in these parts. The goings on have been significant and I’d have to say they probably also fall a bit on the unique side. We’ve had things happen that had been long planned and then there were other bits that popped up and nobody sawContinue reading “Fun, Frolic and Fear 6/9/2024”
The First at the End of the Line 5/19/2024
By: Jennifer Richardson Holt It is absolutely gorgeous. I wasn’t expecting things to be this pleasant but here we are. I am currently sitting in my vehicle. It is roughly 80 degrees outside. The sun is shining and there are huge cotton candy clouds drifting by. The sky is an azure sea with cotton ballsContinue reading “The First at the End of the Line 5/19/2024”
Weary in the Good Way 5/5/2024
By: Jennifer Richardson Holt I shall go ahead and apologize now for my disheveled nature of writing this week. It’s been one of those weeks. You know what I mean. Those days when it is always something and those little moments where you think you have been fortunate enough to have a few seconds ofContinue reading “Weary in the Good Way 5/5/2024”
Watching and Waiting 4/28/2024
By: Jennifer Richardson Holt It occurred to me that I am given an opportunity every morning that many people may not have. I have a veil pulled back and I am given tiny glimpses into other people’s lives each day. I have always been an observer, so I do not know why it has takenContinue reading “Watching and Waiting 4/28/2024”
Prose and Possibilities 