Hello and welcome!
My name is Jessica, but feel free to call me Jess.
In Progress is a name I gave myself in the fall of 2003 when my first marriage was ending, but not over. I wanted my maiden name back but felt like a fraud using it since it wasn’t legal yet.
I am a weird stickler for rules and laws. Once I decide something is to be followed, I won’t question it or waiver in my decision. The weird part is that I sometimes will use…imaginative…interpretation when deciding what a rule means or whether it’s good to follow.
So Jessica In Progress was created. First is was to use as an email address, but quickly it also became a blog.
I’ve always loved writing – I even minored in it in college. Writing is my best way to work through thoughts, emotions, and ideas.
I don’t remember why I decided to write publicly in 2003. I can tell you that I have a hard time crafting a conclusion or decision when I write in a personal journal. My off-line journaling is usually pretty boring “what happened yesterday” stuff or whiny rants.
I can also say 2003 was a major year in terms of blogs becoming popular. I was reading a ton of personal blogs at the time and probably was inspired to jump in.
Mostly, I really enjoyed the creative outlet. I had stuffed myself into a life I was supposed to want and found the realization that I didn’t want it to be depressing, frustrating and scary. Writing online made me feel less alone. It also made me feel like I was doing something about the realization even though I couldn’t make all the changes I wanted to make in my life all at once.
I considered my original blog to be pseudo-fiction. I wrote about events and people and situations in my real life, but dramatized them with hyperbole and my often sarcastic inner-monologue. Sometimes I wrote complete fiction, but it was hard for someone to tell the difference.
A few times I chose to write about some events that people didn’t appreciate. I regret that. As I gained more real-life readers, I felt stifled by worrying what someone might think or say. I regret that more.
But the real reason I stopped writing at Jessica In Progress is that I had, well, progressed. In 2003 I was a divorcée with a job she hated and a desire to burn some bridges. In 2006 I left that job. In 2007 I re-married. In 2013 I moved to a small town away from most of my friends and family and now I work very hard to keep bridges unburnt.
I still love writing. And I still love the structure that blogging publicly gives me. So here I am, with a fresh start.
I want to share about renovating our house, starting and running our own business, budgeting, and general lifestyle. But who knows where this will take me. I’m happy if you want to come along and find out together.
Sporadically, I will share some of my old bog under the Category “Nostalgia” here. I will do my very best to pick the most cringe-y and not edit to make myself look better.
In Progress Jess 