Jill Mansfield – Words about stuff

point of reference

August 21, 2018

When is it ok to say that your kids are your friends? You know…I’m asking for a friend. Or something. The thing is that ‘my friend’ realizes how delicate that statement is or can be. It’s not about being the “cool mom” friend person that lets the parties happen or buys booze for the entire squad. I am – I mean, my friend is – mom first before anything else. It just so happens that my friend really likes and enjoys her kids. Me. I really ...

the everyday

junior year

August 9, 2018

Hey Kid, It’s kinda funny how bummed I was that school started today. After so many years of not getting summers with you kids, having the past two summers with you has been pretty amazing. The start of the school year is still hard for me because I still feel like I’ve missed so ...

God Stuff

faith and warriors and rising

August 7, 2018

We were late to church this weekend. We went to a different service from the one we normally attend and, for some reason, none of us thought to check to see what time it actually started. We missed most of worship and found ourselves scrambling to sit down, holding all our things, while trying ...

the not-so-everyday

Dish Soap and Birthdays

August 6, 2018

Have you ever put dish soap in a public fountain? I mean, I’m not encouraging you to do such a thing. I think some people call it “defacement of public property” or something. (Maybe lots of people would call it that.) I just thought I would ask. I’m a curious person. ...

the not-so-everyday

An Excuse to Post Some Pictures

August 3, 2018

Since my niece got married this past weekend, does that mean I’m an auntie in-law? Even if no one else uses that title (shame) this is what popped into my head as I started writing about this weekend. Maybe it is nothing more than showing solidarity with my sister now that SHE has in-law ...

the everyday

Cold Hard Cash and Coolant

August 2, 2018

I picked up our truck today from the shop and very nearly started crying. For the first time in a very long time, there was actual cold air blowing from the vents with a newly fixed a/c unit and, well, now that first sentence doesn’t sound quite so dramatic, does it? Sacramento Valley ...

the not-so-everyday

First Steps, Hitting ‘Publish’ and Feeling Like I’m Gonna Be Sick

August 1, 2018

This morning I made a big jump to reach a pretty big goal that I have. Actually, two big goals. I’m going to be annoyingly vague about all of it because this website has my name on it and I get to make the decisions about what I type and what I don’t, but just trust me on this. For ...

the not-so-everyday

The Happiest Place for a Birthday

May 1, 2018

Everyone should celebrate a birthday at Disneyland. Like, even if “Disney’s not your thing” and I don’t understand you at all, you should just listen to me and just do it. I’m 40 now. So I think I’m really good at bossing people around. I think that’s ...

the everyday

200 Words

February 23, 2018

I used to write all the time. Mostly emails. I used to write A LOT of emails at my old job. But I also used to write a lot of emails and messages that were absolutely not anything about work or work related. They were messages and emails about what was going on in life. They were often really, ...