Rural Women ... Rural Stories

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...]

Mental MattersJennifer Goble On CBS Sunday morning, Don Imus, coined as the iron man of morning radio, was interviewed because he is retiring after 50 years at the mic. When asked what he would miss, he choked up and said, “I always had it in my head that I was talking to one person. I felt that when I walked in there and sat down and turned the mic on, that I was talking to … [Read more...]

Mental MattersJennifer Goble They married sixty years ago when both were barely out of high school. They raised four children on the ranch she inherited from her parents. I heard him described as, “He was ugly mean. He didn’t like anyone, not even himself.” Right before he died, five years ago, unknown to his wife or kids, he secretly sold all but eight acres of the ranch and … [Read more...]

Mental MattersJennifer Goble On CBS Sunday Morning, Joan Baez, the world’s most famous female folk singer and a global activist, was interviewed after being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. One of her songs, inspired by memories of her brief love relationship with Bob Dylan, is called “Diamonds and Rust.’ The title and lyrics struck me as a visual for the topic of … [Read more...]

Mental MattersJennifer Goble High school basketball season just wound-down, and I extend sincere congratulations to Peetz and Yuma for their successes. But, many teams we support did not win. I remember when my kids played sports, and I was ecstatic when they won because they felt on top of their world. The celebrations and reliving the victorious plays in the game were … [Read more...]

Mental MattersJennifer Goble Ann Landers said, “At age 20, we worry about what others think of us. At age 40, we don’t care what they think of us. At age 60, we discover they haven’t been thinking of us at all.” Although partially accurate, she was jesting, because, in truth, people do think of others. In fact, I’ve had a total stranger on my mind this week. Let’s call him … [Read more...]