Jule Ward Writes is first and foremost a commitment to human connection. Humans thrive on being in touch, physically, emotionally, and psychologically with one another. This website is my effort to contribute to strengthening the bonds of the human community.
By birth, I am a member of a family community that includes aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, cousins, second cousins, and third cousins, nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews – and in the very near future, I am promised a great-great niece or nephew!
When I married my community expanded to include not simply a husband, but a whole new set of all of the above. Members of my family live all over North America and are descended from every people on this earth. Jay and I added to that community by gifting the world with three lovely daughters and a wondrous son. Two daughters married and expanded my world with sons-in-law and grandchildren, the flower garden of my wisdom years.
Friendship has greatly enriched my community over the years. I have friendships that are over fifty-years in duration and some wonderful friendships that just began this year.
Beyond this intimate circle, my community includes present and former neighbors, the colleagues of my years as a university professor, and the present participants of the creative writing workshops which enrich my post-tenure years.
This website has two simple goals: keep these connections alive and well and form new ones through sharing my stories and my knowledge gained from a quarter-century of love and committed relationships.
Last year at this time, I started posting on the blog, “How Do I Love Thee.” The essays were remembrances of building the intimate, committed community that became & remains the marriage of John Francis Ward and Jule DeJager Ward.
Now I hope to more deeply reflect on the importance of love and commitment in human relationships while opening a space for readers to join me in an interactive way.
How will I do that?
BLOG: The blog will resume, now a theme-based set of reflection on Love & Committed Relationships with vignettes from our personal love story
NARRATIVE: Subscribers to Jule Ward Writes will periodically receive original short stories to read, enjoy and pass on. I’ll be sharing the rollercoaster ride of novel writing with readers.
COMMUNITY: For readers interested in a deeper exploration of their own relationships, there will be a Facebook Group where we can support one another through the challenges and celebrate with one another the joys of being part of ongoing, committed relationships.
PROGRAMS: As the site develops, I will be offering Group Programs, opportunities for cohort groups to “gather” face-to-face online and shares the ups and downs of their relationship experiences. The programs will include challenges to help all of us deepen and improve those important connections.
It won’t all happen at once, but if you stick with the site, you’ll see it unfold and have the opportunity to contribute to the shape of things here at “Jule Ward Writes.”
I hope my memories will spark ones of your own that you’ll want to share with this community. To receive a new blog post each Sunday, fill in the form and join the conversation. Can’t wait to hear from you!