Part 2 Begins Here...

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    It dawned on me today that one year ago, my car was stolen from the parking lot right outside my little corner townhouse. I remember waking up and feeling like it wasn't real, and the days following felt like I was as low as one could get on luck. 

    Here I am a year later (even though it feels like three lifetimes have passed), and I think I am where I'm supposed to be. I told myself then, "Surely nothing else can go wrong. It's only up from here." However, over this year, I have learned a sad reality; something else will blow up in your face right when you think all the dust has settled. I read part of a book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F***, and the author emphasized that as a part of life comes back-to-back things that seem to be going wrong. One of those things for me was a halt in my writing. Looking at my side of this blog, you would see 3 or 4 blogs I had started but couldn't finish. I hope this isn't one of them. 

    My readers deserve a catch-up, which seems to be all I do now. How could I not, though? One of my friends told me, "You're a pretty unpredictable person. Always on the move." Understatement of the year, sis! 

    So, despite the car being stolen, much more made my 21st year memorable. I have gained and lost so much, worked and experienced so many different opportunities, and grew my library of stories I get to tell when I'm gray and old. This year was special to me! 

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First, I feel that the people who were lost this past year are worth mentioning. Each person deserves their moment:

    Joni Epperson (August 10, 2023): A wonderful, beautiful woman. 

    Matthew Perry (October 28, 2023): A brilliant, generous man who was more than an actor. 

    Robert Kennedy (February 25, 2024): A man who gave up his time for others and made them smile.

    Patty Curry ( March 16, 2024): A kind, strong woman who made her life about kids. 

    Lois Kelley (May 20, 2024): A simple, soft-spoken grandma who loved her family so much. 

It was a heavy year. 

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 While I lost good people, I gained good people (and animals) in all the heartbreak. I met my boyfriend, who gave me a bonus family that welcomed me without hesitation. We both come from big families and for that, I'm thankful. 

I took my last picture of Grandma's living room on November 28, 2023. Something told me to capture that moment of her home because I feared she was nearing the end. She had lost her son, daughter, and husband and lived for my dad and to see us succeed. My last call with her was May 12th for ten minutes. Oh, how I wish we had talked longer. 

    The weekend after I graduated college, she passed peacefully at home. I felt she was calling me home to my roots, so we fixed up her house and moved to a dead-end road with 1.5 acres of land my family has lived on for many years. Although we had a bed of flowers blooming, an inside kitty who lived the most lavish life, and a house with so many memories, I felt something was missing. 

    One morning, we gained a cat that had an infected eye. With my heart, I was dedicated to helping him. He stayed around and appreciated the medicine, as he would let me put it on without a fight. We named him Zeke, and he likes to lie in front of the door until the next person comes out to see him. Once he got better, we rescued an Austrailian Sheppard/Labrador mixed 5-year-old dog. Her owner was an older man who raised her on 10 acres of land but had to go to an assisted living home. We adopted her on August 18, and her name is Sami Jo. Now we're complete! 

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    Random highlights: I lived in three different towns, worked four different jobs, finished the Friends TV show for the third time, and built the LEGO Friends Central Perk Cafe. My jobs included waitressing and bartending as I finished school. In December, I was a full-time bank teller in Jacksonville, IL. In February, I moved to Quincy and was a credit union representative. Then, in July, we moved back to Pike County, and I am now a paraprofessional in the Elementary Special Education classroom. My students call me Miss Jenna which feels so cool considering I graduated HS there. I only considered going back to nursing a couple times, but I just don't think it's for me. 

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    My friendships from childhood and the ones I've gained through the years remained steady, which was my biggest support system. I celebrated with my two childhood best friends on their 21st birthday, along with watching one graduate as a carpenter and the other kick butt in her junior and senior years as a sports management major. I'm so proud of them! My newer friends are still pushing every day to get where they are going in life, and it makes me take a step back and realize we're all on our own timelines. We are getting the mental help we need, figuring out adult life, and navigating relationships to the best of our ability. 

    I believe everyone is healing from their own heartbreaks and traumas. Some heal with a partner, some with friends, and others alone. Regardless, we are all healing, growing, and adapting every day. I hope that we won't feel like this forever; swimming in debt, always feeling defeated, and wondering what's next for our children or our children's children.

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    Many of my friends have children who I have been honored to watch grow into mothers and kids grow into brothers and sisters. I'm referred to as Aunt Jenna by so many little humans. I'm just so thankful to be close by! I was brought back to God and my faith. I met some awesome mentors while living in Jacksonville which led me to getting re-baptized on Christmas Eve. I recently was offered a position to start up a Children's Church in my home church. So, I took the opportunity to do something for the kids and community. I've been needing to fill a gap that has been missing for a while. I hope this is what's been missing! 

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    Through all the chaos of the year, I think it's important to mention that I still made time for things that fulfilled me. I went to concerts like Noah Kahan and Casting Crowns. I traveled to Kansas City, Middle of Nowhere, MO, and Chicago, along with multiple trips to St. Louis and Bloomington-Normal, where some of my favorite people live. 

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    As for writing, I hope I am back. Finding the words to describe how sharing my stories helps me be the best version of myself will never compare to reality. Whether it's five or five hundred readers, I find joy in doing so. My friends and people closest to me have recently told me, 

"'I don't have time' doesn't fly in my house. You make the time." -Aunt Brandy

"Someday when you're a famous writer..." -"Roommate" 

"I know what you want to do, and so do you, but you're just blind to it (writing)." -Mac

    Like okay guys, I'll give it another go. So, here goes part 2! 

    Hey, look at that! This wasn't a failed attempt! 


Love always,s

Jenna K. 


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