PLEASE WELCOME
JAYME H. MANSFIELD
TO
HAVING THE PRIME OF MY LIFE
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 endpoint 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.
ABOUT Seasoned ~ A Vintage Love Story with Modern-Day Flavor
Two years after the death of her husband, Essie White continues to battle loneliness. Her romance-writing daughter suggests that her mother try online dating. Essie pushes back. True, soul-level love, only comes along once. Still, some male companionship would help pass the days.
Widower Lou Rizzo isn’t seeking love either. He's seen the horrors of war and the heartbreak of loss that follows when death rips apart a relationship. Once in a lifetime is enough. Still, a little companionship would help pass the days. Using an alias to safeguard his identity, he reluctantly accepts his friend’s dare and posts his profile on the dating site.
Essie and Lou meet, and their initial attraction soon develops into a friendship neither wants to lose. Lou, however, must confess his part in a decades-old incident that he feels Essie cannot forgive. She, too, harbors secrets that may jeopardize their future together.
As the relationship grows, each must decide whether to reveal the truth about their past mistakes. Will fears and regrets ruin their chance to love again?
ABOUT JAYME H. MANSFIELD
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.
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/JaymeHMansfieldAuthor/
Instagram @JaymeMansfield
Twitter @JaymeMansfield
THE YEARS THE LOCUSTS ATE
JUNE FOSTER
12/28/2020
CATHEDRAL STATE PARK, WEST VIRGINIA
JOHN BARRINGER
12/21/2020
PRIME OF MY LIFE
GAIL KITTLESON
12/14/2020
FULL CIRCLE
JAYME H MANSFIELD
12/7/2020
GREEN STUFF AND HUBS
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
12/2/2020
NOEL: THE CAT WHO CAME FOR CHRISTMAS
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
11/30/2020
GREEN STUFF MAGIC
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
11/23/2020
WHEN GRANDMA FORGETS
CRYSTAL BOWMAN
11/2/2020
HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF BLUE ZONES?
SALLY JO PITTS
10/26/2020
FIVE WAYS SENIORS CAN BOOST THEIR IMMUNE SYSTEMS
GINNY DENT BRANT
10/19/2020
IF YOU CAN'T BEAT 'EM JOIN 'EM
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
9/28/2020
WALKING IN A WRITER'S WONDERLAND
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
9/7/2020
CREAMING
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
8/31/2020
LIFE IS THE ADVENTURE
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
8/24/2020
QUITTING MY DAY JOB
DEBRA COLEMAN JETER
8/17/2020
ADAPT OR DIE
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
7/27/2020
SAY THANK YOU TO OUR FRIENDS IN BLUE
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
7/20/2020
THE SWEET COUPLE HOLDING HANDS
MELISSA HENDERSON
7/13/2020
SURPRISE! SURPRISE! SURPRISE!
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
7/6/2020
FROM FICTION TO NON-FICTION AND BACK AGAIN
GAIL KITTLESON
6/29/2020
WHO SAID GROWING OLD IS FUN?
MARTHA ROGERS
6/22/2020
AND NOT TO YIELD
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
6/15/2020
MY CULTURAL DISCONNECT
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
6/8/2020
WHAT IS RETIREMENT
JULIE COSGROVE
6/1/2020
LOOKING UP OR LOOKING AWAY
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
5/25/2020
SEEKING GOD
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
5/11/2020
HOW OLD ARE YOU
Rachel J. Good
5/4/2020
IT'S NOT OKAY
MARTIN WILES
4/27/2020
EMBRACING MY INNER BOOMER
BARBARA BRITTON
4/20/2020
THE RACE FOR LILY
SHERRI STEWART
4/13/2020
GRANNY ALICE
LYNNE BASHAM TAGAWA
4/6/2020
RESILIENCE
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
3/29/2020
LIVING WITH CHANGE
MARTIN WILES
3/9/2020
WHEN THE GROCERY STORE CLERK HAS TO CHECK YOUR AGE
MELISSA HENDERSON
2/24/2020
THE IMPORTANCE OF CREAMING
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
2/17/2020
FRIENDS AT ANY AGE
ERIN UNGER
2/3/2020
IDENTITY CHECK
MARTIN WILES
1/27/2020
IF YOU CAN'T BEAT 'EM, JOIN 'EM
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
1/20/2020
MY POSSESSIONS MATURE ALONG WITH ME
MARIE WATTS
1/13/2020
EYES FRONT
TERRI MAIN
1/6/2020
THE TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGING'
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
12/30/2019
SANTA'S RELUCTANT HELPER
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
12/23/2019
THE PURSUIT OF WEALTH
DEBRA COLEMAN JETER
12/16/2019
VANQUISHING THE CHRISTMAS BLUES
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
12/9/2019
GRANDMAS THEN VS GRANDMAS NOW
GAIL SATTLER
12/2/2019
TECHNO BLUES
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
11/25/2019
ADAPT OR DIE
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
11/18/2019
CREAMING
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
11/11/2019
When our Get Up and Go Gets Up and Goes
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
11/4/2019
LIFE IS THE ADVENTURE
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
10/28/2019
MY LIFE AS A BARCODE
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
10/21/2019
THE QUEST FOR THIN
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
10/14/2019
THE AMERICAN DREAM
ANGELA BREIDENBACH
10/7/2019
FROM GOLDEN YEARS TO GOLDEN BELLS
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
9/30/2019
THE CHORDS THAT BIND MY MEMORIES
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
9/23/2019
JUST BE STILL
MARTIN WILES
9/16/2019
PRINCE CHARMING, SPIDERS, AND CHEMO
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
9/2/2019
GRAY IS GRAND
LOREE PEERY
8/26/2019
A GOOD QUESTION
GEORGE CARGILL
8/19/2019
LOVING THE BABY BOOMER GENERATION
ERIN UNGER
8/12/2019
MAKING PRETTY THINGS
KATHY MCKINSEY
8/5/2019
ARE YOU TOO OLD TO BECOME AN AUTHOR
HARRY WEGLEY
7/29/2019
ENJOY THE MEAL
MARTIN WILES
7/22/2019
IN THE GOOD OLD SUMMERTIME
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
7/15/2019
KEEPING IT FRESH
WANDA O. HOT
7/8/2019
OVERFLOWING WITH BLESSINGS
CLEO LAMPOS
7/1/2019
HAVING THE PRIME OF MY LIFE
JO MASSARO
6/24/2019
GOLDEN GIRL
PAT JEANNE DAVIS
6/17/2019
WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW
CLEO LAMPOS
6/10/2019
Food, Families, and Fond Memories
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
6/3/2019
FOR THOSE OVER FIFTY-FIVE
JUNE FOSTER
5/20/2019
NEXT GENERATION
KATHLEEN NEELY
5/13/2019
Mimi and Bop
Melissa Henderson
5/6/2019
NEVER TO OLD TO START OVER
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
4/29/2019
THE WRITER'S CALLING
SHERRI STEWART
4/15/2019
PLAYING THROUGH THE FOG
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
4/8/2019
SOMETIMES WE JUST NEED TO TURN OFF THE GPS
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
4/1/2019
DON’T CALL HER MA’AM
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
3/25/2019
When Your Past Looms Longer than Your Future
Debra Coleman Jeter
3/18/2019
OUR MCDONALDS
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
3/11/2019
BORN TOO LATE
DIANNE BARKER
3/4/2019
PERSPECTIVE
LISA LICKEL
2/25/2019
IS IT THE BEGINNING OR THE END
KATHLEEN NEELY
2/18/2019
MY TO-DO LIST
SHERRI STEWART
2/11/2019
ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
2/3/2019
MAMA, I CAN'T TAKE A BATH THERE'S A FISH IN THE TUB
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
1/21/2019
EAT RIGHT NOW LIVE LONGER LATER
Jude Urbanski
1/14/2019
AM I STRESSED?
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
1/7/2019
SHOULD VS WANT
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
12/31/2018
I'LL BE ALONE FOR CHRISTMAS ... YOU CAN COUNT ON ME
Julie Cosgrove
12/24/2018
THE ONLY CONSTANT IS CHANGE
LINDA SHENTON MATCHETT
12/17/2018
LIVING WITHOUT REGRET
Grant Ferguson
12/10/2018
GROWING UP CAN BE FUN SO IS GETTING OLDER
ELLIE GUSTAFSON
12/3/2018
SOARING WITH BROKEN WINGS
Linda Wood Rondeau
11/19/2018
NEVER TOO LATE
DIANE TATUM
11/5/2018
The Not So Good Good Old Days
Linda Wood Rondeau
10/22/2018