Rural Women ... Rural Stories

Mental MattersJennifer Goble I don’t know about you, but I sometimes think I have no friends. I tell my kids, “When I die, I don’t want a funeral. Who would come?” I suggest they save the expense and take a vacation. Having close friends involves a variety of pros and cons. Friends take time, and like most people, I don’t have an excess of time. Sometimes it hurts to have … [Read more...]

Mental MattersJennifer Goble According to The Weather Channel, temperatures on June 28, hit 104 degrees. It was HOT. That was the same day my car air conditioning decided to quit. Driving on Interstate 76, I turned the hot air on high, rolled down the windows, and poured water on my arms. We all have ideas on how to make our hot bodies cooler. I might stay inside, go swimming, … [Read more...]

Mental MattersJennifer Goble Close your eyes and imagine your ideal America. What do you see? What do you smell? What are you physically touching or feeling? What do you hear? What do you taste? When I close my eyes and imagine my ideal America, I see people smiling and talking to each other. I see the American flag. I smell the clean, fresh air. My skin feels heat from the … [Read more...]

Mental MattersJennifer Goble I recently took my 13 year old granddaughter to NYC for her “Grandma Trip.” On June 2, we went into the Kate Spade store at Rockefeller Center and she bought a small clutch purse with a wristlet. The store was delightful with lots of color, light, and feminine beauty. On June 5, I opened my phone and read Kate Spade had died by suicide at the age … [Read more...]

Mental MattersJennifer Goble This week, my niece, daughter, and I planned a surprise party for my sister. It was a BIG birthday, and we had to work at a precision pace because life was crazy and we didn’t decide what to do until the last minute. We made it simple with her likes in mind and gathered together a small group of her favorite people to wish her happy birthday. I am … [Read more...]

Mental MattersJennifer Goble Father’s day is Sunday, and I interviewed real-life dads to get authentic thoughts about being a father. I knew one of the men, but the others were random males I saw in restaurants or while shopping. I asked three questions: What age are your children?; What do you enjoy most about being a father?; What do you find most challenging? Following, … [Read more...]

Mental MattersJennifer Goble What ARE your blessings? When you read this article, I will have just returned from a trip with my youngest granddaughter. She is thirteen, and it was her turn for a Grandma Jennifer trip. I am writing this on Memorial Day, two days before we leave. When I am lying on my death bed, the trips I have planned and enjoyed with each grandchild will be … [Read more...]

Mental MattersJennifer Goble Draw a line across a sheet of paper. Starting on the left, number it off one to ten. Label the line, PERSPECTIVE. Now, name a topic. (Politics, love, education, guns, harassment, libraries, computers, teenagers, etc.) Your point of view or attitude, about any given topic, is called perspective. Look at the line you drew. If your viewpoint of any … [Read more...]

Mental MattersJennifer Goble A song by Montgomery Gentry called My Town, includes the lyrics, “Where I was born, where I was raised, where I keep all my yesterdays. Where I ran off ‘cos I got mad, an’ it came to blows with my old man. Where I came back to settle down, it’s where they’ll put me in the ground: This is my town. Na, na, na, na, na.” We collect many memories from … [Read more...]

Mental MattersJennifer Goble Recently I was spending a gift card, and the credit card-reader rejected the transaction. The young clerk called for assistance and was guided to use the correct button on the register. She appeared to be embarrassed. I said something about the challenges of technology. She responded, “It is! And, last week someone wrote a check.” It took me a … [Read more...]

Mental MattersJennifer Goble A man in his fifties answered the phone, and a woman said, after formalities, “I found your name on ancestor.com. We have matching DNA.” She also said his brother had the same DNA. Since the two men had different fathers, they knew they needed to visit their mother. Sure enough, their mother, between marriages in the late-sixties, gave birth to a … [Read more...]

Mental MattersJennifer Goble Knowing WHY you want to change your behavior is crucial if you desire success. For example, I used to love smoking. I would still be enjoying the feeling of sitting down, putting my feet up, and relaxing with the sweet intake of menthol, (Ahhh) if I didn’t know it would affect my breathing and likely cause an early, painful death. I threw my … [Read more...]

Mental MattersJennifer Goble On the day of this writing, my American Flag flies at half-staff because Barbara Bush died last night, April 17, 2018. She was the wise and witty matriarch of her prominent Republican family. I enjoyed all the news about her authentic personality, the love story with her husband, the 100 plus scrapbooks she created over the years, and her apparent … [Read more...]

Mental MattersJennifer Goble Spring is the season between winter and summer. It is also defined as moving upward or forward in a single quick motion, or a small stream of water flowing naturally from the earth. No matter what Webster calls it, to me, right now, spring is a pain. I have been working in the yard, and my whole body is crying for a reprieve. Moving rock, raking, … [Read more...]

Mental MattersJennifer Goble Resilience is the ability to bounce back after life dumps on you. Think about the elastic in a fitted sheet, waistband, or swimsuit. It springs back into shape after it’s stretched; it’s called resilience. I had the opportunity to hear Christian Moore, Licensed Clinical Social Worker and author of The Resilience Breakthrough: 27 Tools for Turning … [Read more...]