Jessie McDonald
Bio
”There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” -C.S. Lewis
Come ponder life and what lies after with me.
Writing Topics: Faith, music, books, education, world events, child raising, art, plants, life.
Stories (13/0)
A Small Town Bass Player
A man with crazy hair and glasses sits in the front row at church, nearest to the hastily constructed stage. Across his lap rests an off-white bass guitar with tattered stickers stuck to its body. His Bible rests against the red velvet fabric of the pew, directly to his right. He doesn't notice me as I watch him, because he is too focused on the tune that he plays. His left hand glides across the fret board. With the fingers of his right hand he plucks at the strings; clearly, this bass player doesn't use a pick.
By Jessie McDonald4 months ago in Families
A Letter to My Son
Dear Samuel, Today is your sixth birthday - it doesn't even seem possible that you've been on this earth and in my life for six years (close to seven if you include pregnancy). On the one hand, you are such an intricate part of me, and we are inseparably linked forever. On the other hand, you are your own person, and I am reminded of that with each passing day.
By Jessie McDonaldabout a year ago in Families
There's Always Going to be Another Mountain: Or is there?
I became absolutely fascinated, utterly enthralled by mountain climbing at some point in my late childhood. Having always been a devout reader, I picked up a copy of Peak by Roland Smith at the Scholastic Book Fair, and I was sold. Although the book is a work of fiction, mountain climbing is very real, and many of Peak’s experiences in Roland’s story were based on real events, places, and real emotions that one would feel if one were in his shoes. So then, who exactly are the Peak Marcello’s in the real world?
By Jessie McDonaldabout a year ago in Earth
The Mustang Couple
I was six years old when my parents moved my family from our property close to Elk Creek Lake to Underwood, Indiana. Although I went to school in Henryville, the closest grocery store to us was either the JayC Store or Walmart in Scottsburg. Each and every time my mom loaded my siblings and me in the car to go to Walmart, she would choose to take the backroads from our house into Scottsburg. Before cellphones and iPads ruled the world, we would pass the time during the short ride by looking out the windows and observing the world around us. This is how I came to notice the Mustang Couple.
By Jessie McDonald2 years ago in Families
To My Soul Twin
Dear Ashley, I don't know why you went to work on Tuesday. You told me that you were sick and were trying to get you and Tessa into the doctor. I have no idea why you changed your mind and went to work - probably because you're stubborn, just like the rest of us who are descended from Mamaw and Papaw Meeks.
By Jessie McDonald2 years ago in Families
An Open Letter to my Son (Part ll)
Dear Samuel, So much has changed in our lives since my last letter. We have both loved and lost, we have experienced a lot of life together. We have grown up and grown closer; secretly, I depend on you as much as you depend on me. Each day, I depend on the fact that you will wake up and be a day older, with a new lesson to learn. That may not seem like much against the backdrop of what you depend on me for, but it's something that is a monumental responsibility that I take very seriously.
By Jessie McDonald2 years ago in Families
What is a Home without a House?
It may be true that home is where the heart is, but the heart has to have a body, a vessel, in order to live and love and feel. Now that my family home has been sold, the heart of our home is displaced, literally and figuratively, temporarily held in a box until it can be established in a new place. The walls that have been privy to so much, that have given the heart of our home a body for twenty years will now be the host of a new heart to a different family.
By Jessie McDonald2 years ago in Families
An Open Letter to My Son
Dear Samuel, 1). I want you to know how much I love you, and how much you have changed my life for the better. You have been the light of my life since the day that you were born, and it has been a joy to watch you grow up so far, and I am sure that I will enjoy the rest of it. However, there are a few things that I want to say.
By Jessie McDonald6 years ago in Families
Having a Baby
I found out that I was pregnant when I was twenty years old. I never thought that I could even have kids due to medical reasons. But whenever I found out that I was pregnant, my whole entire world shifted. I had no idea how I was going to do it, but I KNEW I was going to have this baby! From then on, I was working constantly, going to every yard sale, reading every Pinterest article, thinking of everything possible way to get ready for my baby. I was so nervous and excited.
By Jessie McDonald6 years ago in Families
Make Good Choices
Have any of you heard that new Luke Bryan song? I guess it's not all that new now. It's called "Fast," and it talks about how quickly life goes, and I really appreciate that song. I graduated in 2014, and since then I have realized how quickly life can pass by. My dad once said, "When you are an adult, the days sometimes feel like they will never end, but then you blink and the week has passed. And soon it's been a month, and then a year, and you don't even know where the time has went."
By Jessie McDonald6 years ago in Motivation
