winter 2018

here are so many deep, heavy, important things I want my children to learn, to

become, so many good things I want to ingrain in their personalities. But one

of the lighter things, one of the things that I have found to be so important in

my life is to learn how to find joy in simple pleasures.

hot chocolate with “fresh mallows”

finding animals in the clouds

watching the train (even the really, really, long ones)

throwing stale bread to the ducks

playing dress-up, even though I’ve got a deadline looming

having biscuits and gravy for dinner

driving through neighborhoods to look at Christmas lights

Easter egg hunts

water hose fights in the backyard

driving on the “wake-up” bumps on the road because they make a funny noise

giving underdogs on the swing set

jumping on the trampoline

making cookies

singing silly songs and making funny faces

taking flowers to Nana

sharing a snack while we run errands

doing loops in the cul-de-sac a little faster than a crawl

simply put:

being delighted by the mundane

Simply taking time to be delighted in the discoveries of my children. To say yes to

those things that make them smile, even if I am too old to jump on the trampoline

and know better than to do a couple “fast” loops in the cul-de-sac before pulling

into our driveway, and driving on the “wake-up” bumps” makes the driver behind

me think I don’t know how to stay in my lane. It’s choosing Joy, and it’s one of the

practices of motherhood I do that keeps me sane.

I love being a Momma. Some days it’s hard - I work from home with deadlines to

meet, a house to clean, dinner to cook, and two little ones who didn’t sleep well and

don’t want to take a nap, so they are grouchy and grumpy and climbing all over me.

But I wouldn’t trade it for anything. And when I remember to find Joy, to choose

Joy, to refuse Frustration in favor of Joy, every day is golden, and we laugh a lot. I

wouldn’t change that for anything.

This journal entry dates from February of 2012. My kids are 6 years older now, nine

and eleven instead of three and five - but this lesson, this need to be delighted by the

mundane, is still true. Choosing Joy is still something I must do on an everyday basis. I

plan to choose Joy in the new year. And here’s hoping you find Joy in the new year too.

Jenn Warren is a homeschooling, work-at-home freelance graphic designer, and mom of two, who

loves fonts, graphic elements, and white space almost as much as she loves her husband. Jenn serves

as the editor for Homeschool Iowa magazine and as the Homeschool Iowa Marketing Director.

Driving Circles in the Cul-De-Sac

BY JENNWARREN