By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills
Guest Post by Jayme Mansfield @JaymeMansfield
There’s something special about a circle. Somewhere along the curved line, there is a definitive beginning – a starting point from which the path begins and eventually an end point at which it is complete. And, so it is with life.
Recently, my family and I moved my eighty-five-year-old mother from her assisted living community to our home.
The fall-out from COVID restrictions finally got the best of all of us. Phone calls and computer displays couldn’t replace long overdue hugs and face-to-face communication. Enunciating sentiments of love and concern at a distance and through masks and plexiglass has limitations.
Now, after a short-lived, blissful empty nest phase, our house is back to max capacity.
Two of our sons are back home, and my husband and I wonder what happened to quiet dinners and thoughtful conversation. Our favorite meal had become a glass of wine and a charcuterie board. Big decisions were made – shall we canoe or take a ride in the ’63 convertible Bug today? Instead, the “No Occupancy” sign hangs at the Mansfield house – not even a basement room to spare. Even our two Golden Retrievers guard their dog beds.
But, it’s all right. I’ll take the overworked dishwasher and overstuffed laundry room. It’s okay we are feeding an army. No problem that our driveway is more like a parking lot. I’ve accepted (yes, begrudgingly) that attempts to retreat to my studio to write and paint are foiled time and time again with others’ needs or simply a side conversation about how the day is going.
Why? Because at night, when the household sighs from another busy day, we say our goodnight’s “Walton-style”, and the next day’s to-do list swirls in my head, I tuck my mother into bed. Just like my childhood years, though now our postures exchanged, I sit beside her and bow my head while she closes her eyes, and we pray.
We thank God for our family, for provision, for His grace, and the realization that though our lives are separated by decades and defined by the degree of wrinkles and gray hair, we circumnavigate the same circle. And for that, I am blessed.
How has your life come full circle?
Thanks
Jayme
Loosening the reins and leaning into a creative life—that’s Jayme’s sweet spot as an author, artist, and educator. 
Speaking at book clubs and interest groups, teaching the writing craft, and guiding others in their artistic pursuits at her long-time art studio, Piggy Toes, is the icing on the cake. The transformative power of art and faith are common threads in her award-winning historical novels, Chasing the Butterfly and RUSH. Her newly released novel, Seasoned ~ A Love Story, delivers the same. Recently, RUSH won several awards, including the Gold Medal Illumination Award winner for Enduring Christian Fiction, Selah Finalist, Excellence in Editing, two prestigious Colorado Book of the Year Awards, and was a finalist for the Chanticleer Laramie Award for Excellence in Western Fiction. RUSH was named the 2019 Village Read and celebrated throughout Colorado. Her bold floral abstractions and imaginative landscapes blend luscious color and playful texture—a testimony to what is acclaimed as “joyful and hopeful” art.
Jayme lives at the base of the Colorado Rocky Mountains where she and her husband have survived raising three hungry, hockey-playing sons. Currently, two very needy Golden Retrievers run the roost.
Visit www.jaymehmansfield.com for books, art, and creative inspiration.
We appreciate you, Jayme!
