About Me
My name is Joni and just to hit the high spots....I'm a Christian, middle-aged wife, mother of two, floral designer, part-time gift shop buyer, who's getting her feet wet in the shallow end of the pool that is perimenopause. My daughter, Blair, is a sophomore in college and my adjustment to her leaving our little nest last fall has finally started to take hold. Progress has been made and meds have been tapered. If being girly were an Olympic sport, Blair would be on the highest rung of the winner's podium, draped in America's flag with our anthem playing proudly. She's just that good at it. My son, Carson, is our junior high jokester, who keeps us in the road with his various forms of ball playing and activities. He's going on fourteen, so his Daddy and I are losing our coolness faster than an ice cube in the oven. The smell of a sweaty haired boy in a car after ball practice is quite a shift from the mix of Big and Sexy hairspray and Miss Dior that waft from a daughter, but we have loved experiencing both ends of the spectrum as parents! My sweet husband, Davis, couldn't be any more opposite of me. Apparently, it is possible, though, for a quiet, thrifty, patient, cold natured, disciplined, physically fit, early riser to be happily married to an impulsive, chatty, loose spending, inconsistent, out of shape, hot flashing lover of sleep like myself. We're just your average southern family of four taking life as it comes.
I'm settled into that in between period of motherhood. I'm past posing stuffed elves on ceiling fans or having them spell out words with Skittles each night between Thanksgiving and Christmas and, thankfully, I no longer have to tote Cheerios in my purse or ask anyone around here if they need to potty. On the other end, the turkey and dressing torch has not been relinquished to me by my mother yet nor do I have grandchildren tugging on my purse and asking for gum. I'm quite happy right here in the middle...the land of "Watch your tone!" and "Why did I come in here?"....mixed in with a growing appreciation for fiber cereal, a good pair of tweezers, and high-waisted pants. I'm not wrestling strollers out of the back of a minivan anymore, but I'm not yet wondering if my kids will be at our house or their in-law's for Easter either. Its' a happy place.
I suppose the inspiration to blog comes from the belief that, in this day of 24 hour news coverage and the constant online overload of depressing information, now more than ever, our world is hungry for joy. Couple that belief with my love for writing and laughing and here I am. I'm just a regular Mom, who wants to share lighthearted and uplifting tales of joy, family, and faith as they happen in my life or as they pop in my head.
If the world can't see joy in us, Christians, who carry the hope of Christ in our hearts, then where else could they possibly expect to find it? To please God, I don't think we have to walk around all serious, quoting scripture in every breath with our top buttons fastened and our white knuckles tightened around our King James Version red letter editions. I think He would be more pleased if we would just go out into our tiny corners of His world and love and live joyfully in His name. Most of us could stand to lighten up just a little! If the world is ever going to want what we have in Jesus then they have got to see JOY in us!
My favorite byproduct of joy is laughter and my most dependable sources for laughter and writing inspiration are usually these people that I live with, who I love from the very bottom of my soul. Possibly more laughter erupts at home because it is your family, who sees you, let's say....crawling under the kitchen windows in your undergarments in an effort to reach the laundry room, where your pants are in the dryer. Perhaps you laugh more with people who fold your underwear and know that what you really sleep in are not those pajamas you take to the hospital, but those broken in red lounge pants with the dogs on them...those same people who have been instructed to pull the dog pants off and wrestle you into some of those nice pajamas in your top drawer in the event that something should happen to you during sleeping hours...God forbid. Maybe it's with these people, who know you best, that laughter can come up from the deepest parts of the belly.
Life is just downright hard sometimes, but joy can lurk in the most unexpected and mundane places. I'm just a Mom who wants to share it when I find it.
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Found you through Sophie. Do you have a FB page? You're hilarious and I'd love to follow you, but FB is the only way I follow blog posts anymore -- ever since Google Reader went away.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Nancy! I don't have a FB page yet, but I will eventually. I'm a 3-4 times a week blogger, so check in every couple of days! Appreciate the kind words.
DeleteFound you also from Sophie's blog. Thank you for the laughter! You seriously are a gifted writer. Blessings for the joy you give!
ReplyDeleteAppreciate that more than you know, DJ! Come back to see me :)
DeleteMe, too. I love Sophie, now you!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anna! Soph is awesome and made a great note writing pal back in the day! :)
DeleteI am visiting from Sophie's as well, and I am delighted to find an "out of shape, hot flashing lover of sleep" like myself!
ReplyDeleteI believe in showing joy myself, so I'll be back to visit frequently.
Jerralea, we, out of shape, lovers of sleep must stick together! Thanks for the sweet words!
DeleteSophie sent me. I love sleep, am out of shape, hit menopause like a brick wall due to a hysterectomy, and am in that inbetween phase of motherhood as well. I have subscribed, and if you make me laugh as much as Sophie has, I will have to start looking into some Depends type of solutions...
ReplyDeleteHahahaha.....Thanks for subscribing! Glad Soph sent you....she's pretty awesome! Come back to see me :)
DeleteI came to your blog by Sophie as well......Melanie pointed me toward Sophie. Amongst the three of Yall, looks like I will be entertained for most of every week :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I'm glad you stopped by :)
Deletejoni, so nice to meet you! :) ditto on sophie ~ love her! also ditto on the in between season as well though i'm a little further down the road w/ both of my chicks in grad school now. so look forward to laughing with you & enjoying this life! it's too short to do otherwise!
ReplyDeleteAmen, Tracey! ...and it's nice to meet you, too!
DeleteI,too, found you through Sophie's blog,Joni. You are delightful and I will be back often!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jee Jee! I really appreciate it! I'm so glad Sophie sent you :)
DeleteLove your description of this in between stage of parenting... I am right there with you, and my heart literally clinches each time I think of my firstborn being a senior in high school next year. Trying to enjoy each day, and not hold onto it too tightly, knowing the next will be a blessing as well, if I allow it to be.
ReplyDeleteAmen on the joyful Christians! Too many church ladies", walking around beating others over the head with their King James! God's gift to us is to awesome to treat with anything less than giddy joy and gratitude! Love your stories and look forward to reading more.
Thank you, Kelly! And Amen to everything you said! Just a head's up about the senior year.....you'll get weepy at any given time and for no apparent reason. I found, though, that by the time we made it to the actual graduation ceremonies, I was fine. I guess I'd worked through all the emotions and had gotten it out of my system. I'm really enjoying the more "grown up" relationship that Blair and I have now. I know there are wonderful things about every age and stage, but each one is so hard for moms to leave behind.
DeleteMrs. Sophie also sent me! You've got another new fan!
ReplyDeleteStefanie
LittleLadyPatchwork@blogspot.com
Oh thank you, Stefanie! I appreciate that so much...and thanks to Sophie too! :)
ReplyDeleteWait, there is another couple that fits the same description as me and the hubster?
ReplyDeleteLove what I'm reading. My friend Trey Kendrick sent me your way. I'm not sure how he knew about you, but I'm glad he did. :)
Thank you so much, Elysa!! I appreciate the kind words! Trey and I were in the same singles Sunday school class back in the day when he was a Mississippi boy. Haven't seen him in so long, but would love to! Thanks for stopping by, Elysa.
ReplyDeleteJust came over from Sophies. So glad I did too. Love what Ive read so far!
ReplyDeleteOh, thank you, Lauri! So glad you stopped by and hope you'll be back! Oh, and I love some Sophie! :)
ReplyDeleteLike everyone else, I also came to find you through Sophie's blog. I am not a mom yet, but my friends and I love to read your posts out loud and laugh and laugh and laugh. We are your neighbors down here in Mississippi, and I feel sure we are well on our way to becoming "hot flashing, lovers of sleep" ourselves.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time I've read your about me page, and I so love what you wrote about being joyful Christians. I am a Christian counselor and I think people are sometimes surprised at the amount of laughing that we do in my office, but there are many times when it's the best thing for us! Thanks for always pepping me up with your writing!
Oh, Whitney!! This made my whole day! I'm very humbled.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I just think we, Christians, take ourselves way too seriously sometimes and nobody's going to be drawn to that! You keep on filling your office with laughter, Whitney!
Thank you so much for commenting......I appreciate it more than you know. :)