HeyJaredPull-ups in the Basement
rock climbing and motherhood and writing and getting older (and other random thoughts)
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 3
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- Sep 1, 2026
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- Jul 14, 2026
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A recent day out at the New River Gorge (opens the original)
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The Cambridge Dictionary defines “playing hooky” as “staying away from school or work with no permission.” Not because you’re sick, and not because you planned ahead of time to take a personal day or vacation. Just for the heck of it—without permission.1 You don’t even need to call it a “mental health day.” You need no valid reason. You are free to stay home from school or work just because you want to. Scandalous, I know. It’s a healthy way
Born to Climb, Part 3 (opens the original)
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Leave a commentOne reason I’m reading it out loud instead of posting the text is because the only version of this published essay I have is the one I submitted to Stymie back in the day. Since then Stymie has gone the way of many literary mags and journals and ceased to exist— which is a huge bummer because I thought they might have bec
Born to Climb, Part 2 (opens the original)
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Before I offer you my reading (keep scrolling), I want to announce that I got another essay published! Woo!It’s called “In the Wilderness” and it’s over at Appalachian Lit.Share<a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fe
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