by jo | Dec 29, 2015 | Everyday Stories
In O’Hanlon Family Christmas Letter Tradition, here is mine: 2015 was another full year for me. Somehow full, but not too busy, which I think is my favorite kind of fullness. There were enough spaces and places that were slow, quiet, and solitary that I was...
by jo | Dec 22, 2015 | Memoir & Essays
One of my family’s favorite stories to tell at Christmas time is about my 3-year-old self’s guide to gift giving: No Gift? No Worries! 3-year-old Jo’s guide to gift giving Who do you need to give the gift to? (Specifically, you need to know their...
by jo | Dec 15, 2015 | Advent, Everyday Stories
I remember being in college, and learning that one of my old junior high students from the youth group I helped with had had his mother die. On Christmas day. Their dad was already out of the picture and life was already hard. For a story I wrote earlier this year...
by jo | Dec 8, 2015 | Reviews/Recommendations
My parents and brother just came out to Kansas for Thanksgiving and they drove the last of my earthly possessions here with them. Which means, I finally have all of my books with me again. As I unpacked the 6 or 8 boxes of books and started to sort them into piles to...
by jo | Dec 1, 2015 | Advent
“Name ten people you met this week,” he said to us. We were sitting in a dining room in South Africa. We’d just come back from a couple weeks in Malawi, Africa, and we were debriefing in Johannesburg before returning home. They’d sent us...