Category: Real Life- Author’s Posts
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Transforming Bedtime Fear into Magical Moments
I was running on five hours of sleep. The kind where your eyes burn a little and everything feels just slightly too loud.The kind where even small things feel like too much. I had taught all day, my students were wild. Then, came home and immediately went into mom-mode. And then—of course—monsters. Not metaphorical ones.The…
Jessica Blake
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My Unexpected Fantasy Era
I used to be so sure of who I was. Not in a deep, existential way—just in the small, everyday preferences that feel fixed. The kinds of things you don’t question because they’ve always been true. I wasn’t a fantasy person. I liked things grounded in reality. Stories that felt possible. Relatable. Familiar. I would’ve…
Jessica Blake
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Navigating Nonlinear Divorce: A Journey of Self-Rediscovery
The author reflects on the complex journey of contemplating divorce, especially with children involved, while dealing with a partner exhibiting narcissistic and alcoholic behaviors. Emphasizing personal growth, self-rediscovery, and establishing boundaries, they acknowledge the challenge of navigating timelines in life and advocate for prioritizing one’s own well-being amidst uncertainty.
Jessica Blake
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Sometimes One Phrase Wrecks Your Plans
Several weeks ago we talked about divorce mutually. I was excited, I was happy. He was going to do this peacefully. Thank god. But I think he saw I was ok with it. I think he was hoping for chaos and pain. I was calm. I was hopeful. So he threw out, “ok I’m going…
Jessica Blake
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Releasing What I Didn’t Know I Was Holding
For several weeks, I have just felt a tightness in my neck. To the point it almost became unbearable. A few nights ago, I put my neck massager on and almost immediately found the knot. I let the massager do its thing, felt a pop, and suddenly I could almost hear better in my left…
Jessica Blake
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I’m Still Here…Just Processing
Things have not gone according to plan, or at least the plan I created in my head. I wanted to file on my birthday and serve in the days following. However, that was the same week I went back to work. My nervous system became overwhelmed. I couldn’t file. I couldn’t even think about having…
Jessica Blake
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Slow is Still Forward
I was certain I was going to file. I had reached that place — the place where your mind feels resolved, your heart feels quiet, and you think, this is it. I’m ready. And then my birthday came. And the waves came with it. More than anything in the days prior, I had been steady.…
Jessica Blake
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Self-abandonment Disguised as Virtue
There is a particular kind of goodness women are taught. It looks like patience. It sounds like forgiveness. It wears the soft voice of “understanding” and the quiet smile of “it’s okay.” It is praised. It is rewarded. It is often called strength. But underneath the gold star language lives something much darker: Self-abandonment. We…
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More Than (a poem)
It was more than a smile, more than a laugh. It was her soul coming back. It was more than breath, more than ease. It was her ache learning how to leave. It was more than pen to paper, more than practiced words. It was her story remembering its worth. It was the quiet return…
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Pathological People Pleaser
(Yes, I do speak in Taylor Swift lyrics…don’t judge me) There is a quiet moment that comes before a life changes. It doesn’t look dramatic.It doesn’t announce itself.It doesn’t come with fireworks or certainty. It comes in small realizations. In questions you don’t ask out loud.In pauses that feel heavier than words.In the ache of…
Jessica Blake
Wild & Rooted 