Author: Joyce Griggs
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An Ode to Simple Abundance – A DayBook of Comfort and Joy
The long road to bloom Today’s almost-daily dispatch comes to you from the foggy banks of the Willapa River. I am tucked away in a quaint, quiet coffee shop between gigs. In this moment, I can’t quite believe this is my life. I feel very “writerly” typing away on my trusty Chromebook, a little ceramic…
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Finding Joy in the Inches
Part 3: The Peace Treaty September 2012: I found myself a widow at forty years old. When something this unexpected happens—leaving a gaping void in the daily existence you once knew—there is no standard playbook for moving forward. My previous ten years had been a focus on raising three children, completing my education, and establishing…
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Finding Joy in The Inches
Body Dysmorphia is a Bitch The almost daily dispatch is coming to you from my cluttered desk, in my cozy home perched on the edge of the world. The very peek-a-boo view of the vast Pacific Ocean on this beautiful Easter Sunday is glittering on the horizon as the sun starts to set. My belly…
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Swimming in the Gray
A work in progress… Today’s dispatch departs from my usual musings and wanders into a private, protected part of my soul: my creative writing. I started this blog with a few purposes in mind: Today, with shaking hands, I present a first draft of a first chapter. It is raw, and it is unfinished, and…
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Raw Dogging Life
Living one 10 Minute Increment at a time Today’s almost-daily dispatch comes to you from my comfy recliner in my living room, looking out on my seasonal, very peek-a-boo view of the Pacific Ocean. I am balancing my loyal Chromebook on my lap while my Xbox controller lies precariously on the right armrest and my…
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The Goldilocks Express
Ding! The Spark app flashes a new offer. It’s an Express Shop with a delivery address about ten miles away. I quickly scan the shopping list, checking my “Hard No” criteria. My eyes dart down the screen: I glance at my watch. The time needed to complete this shop fits perfectly into my morning strategy.…
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From Burnout to Spark
Today’s Almost Daily Dispatch comes to you from a Walmart parking lot in the Pacific Northwest. A Walmart parking lot, you ask? Behold: your friendly, neighborhood Walmart Spark Delivery Driver. Even a semi-retired, fifty-something, recovering burnout needs to make some scratch. Let’s be real: Momma needs her Botox money. I wanted to return to the…
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IBS – Getting my shit straight, literally and figuratively
The aforementioned ambulance ride from a McDonald’s restroom in Belfair to the ER in Silverdale culminated in a very unyielding, very humbling diagnosis: Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). An IBS flare is one of the most leveling experiences a person can endure. The intestinal pain can send you to your knees. As someone who has gone…
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Our Amy
What’s something most people don’t understand? From the outside looking in, we get it, we know. We understand that it is hard for you to understand. Our family dynamics are different; they have been since that fateful day in September of 1975. Amy, my younger sister, does not fit societal norms. Born with microcephaly due…