Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

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Where’s the manual?

October 29, 2010 by Kristin Leave a Comment

I went to school to become a writer.

While at Murray State, I worked at the college newspaper, learned about AP Style, realized there are preferred mechanics to best tell someone’s story, learned about governments and how to request public records, wrote stories I loved and stories I hated, realized communication didn’t always fit in a box but was necessary for every professional and personal relationship I had, took both creative and technical writing classes that were considered electives for my print journalism major, and left there wanting to be a writer, for real.

Since then, I have worked as an intern at one of my favorite daily newspapers, as a temporary editorial assistant at a major news agency, as an education reporter at a small-town daily, and as a reporter who covered police, courts, my alma mater, city government, the public hospital and whatever else came across my desk in this town that I have called home for seven years. Those seven years don’t count my four college years that I enjoyed but was ready to move on from, swearing to myself and others that I’d never live here.

Never say never. I married my college sweetheart who is from this town. And now it’s our town.

And I have no complaints about that.

But there are days I wish I had a manual for my new profession. Motherhood.

My 3-year-old daughter has had a sore beside her mouth all week. I wondered about it, sometimes even aloud to my husband: “I wonder what this is on her mouth.” But I just assumed it was some sore she picked at. But it wasn’t going away.

So I asked my mother-in-law at dinner last night what she thought it was. “Impetigo,” she said. Thanks to my iPhone, I was only clueless for a few moments. I read about it, and then I felt bad I sent her to preschool as usual three days this week and I hadn’t taken her to the doctor.

We went on about our evening, which included the annual kick-off to Murray State basketball season. The enthusiasm was Fan Jam was lessened with my mom guilt about my daughter possibly having an infectious sore. My friend Courtney, who happens to have a nursing degree, also said impetigo after a quick look. Then my own doctor happened to be sitting behind us at the basketball party, so I asked her. “I think it looks like impetigo,” the internist said.

Three of the same diagnosis with no prompting from me about what the others said. So I called our pediatrician’s office this morning. So much for our orchard/pumpkin patch trip we had planned. Instead this mini van headed to the pediatrician, where I learned that strep throat can cause impetigo. Yep. The story continues … Cate and Ben both tested positive for strep throat. [Ben, who is 11 months, was only with me because we made the appointment on short notice this morning and I didn’t really have any easy, quick childcare alternatives.] Other than her sore, neither of them have exhibited any symptoms of anything being wrong.

So we left the doctor’s office armed with popsicles, stickers and Amoxicillin prescriptions. And after 24 hours of the pink medicine my kids seem to enjoy, my family will stop unintentionally infecting people.

My husband reminded me that I have a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Not any medical degree. Heck, the only science I took in college was “Chemistry for Non-Science Majors,” my choice because I liked math and figured I could plug numbers into formulas and survive. Yet I still find myself feeling bad that I hadn’t taken Cate to the doctor sooner.

I’m still a writer. But I’m a mom first, and not much is black and white in parenthood, even with a college degree. So I guess I’ll just write about it.

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Filed Under: Ben, Cate, motherhood, writing

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About Me

Telling stories is my therapy and I love sharing them with friends on my porch.

The main characters in my stories are my entrepreneur husband, our high school girl who never forgets, our middle school boy who has no fear, and our joy-filled first-grade girl. As we live out our stories, we seek God as the author of them all.

Learn more about my story here.

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🎶 All throughout my history / Your faithfulness 🎶 All throughout my history / Your faithfulness has walked beside me / The winter storms made way for spring / In every season, from where I'm standing / I see the evidence of Your goodness / All over my life … 🎶 @joshbaldwin in “Evidence”

I love summer. But my summer has started off busy: appointments, book edits deadline, establish new habits with the kids at home. All that’s necessary and good, it just cuts into my down time beside the pool. 

Today we have two open gyms for our basketball players, my book study with a few friends, a new weekly high school girls’ book study at our house, and a monthly dad-son character study. 

I long for a little more white space on the calendar, but I also wouldn’t change a thing because the kids are only 16, 13, and 7 once. This summer will only be this summer once. And I’ve already learned time flies with big kids. 

So here we are finding out footing, singing praises with church friends on our porch, grilling delicious chicken, and squeezing in the wide-open spaces when we can. This is evidence of the good stuff. 

#84daysofsummer #poolpeople #momlife #momconfessions #faithlife #livingfaithfully #favoritethings #choosingJOY #countryliving #reallife #PorchStories
The Hill family reunion at @shelterpointretreat ha The Hill family reunion at @shelterpointretreat has become a favorite tradition to kick off summer! The weather was perfect and everyone enjoyed one another. 

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Hello, #84daysofsummer! ☀️ #TeamTaylor #girl Hello, #84daysofsummer! ☀️ 

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But this made me wonder: how do we know if a book is going to be weird, contain elements we don’t like, or go places that don’t make sense? I don’t like to read much about a book before I read the book. Usually, I do a better job of picking books for myself. 

#KHTreads #bookstagram #booklover #donotrecommend #bookofthemonth @bookofthemonth
I needed this low-key weekend that was pleasant we I needed this low-key weekend that was pleasant weather, a mixture of productivity and rest, and had plenty of wide-open space to enjoy our property and each other. 

#weekending #TeamTaylor #poolpeople #countryliving #favoritethings #choosingJOY #maydays
And that’s a wrap on soccer season! I love watch And that’s a wrap on soccer season! I love watching them both play. 

#soccermom #weekending #springtime #momlife #girlmom #boymom
On Mothers Day, I wanted to sit by the pool with a On Mothers Day, I wanted to sit by the pool with a book, but I didn’t know what I wanted to read. Whenever I have indecision about books, picking up a thriller usually helps because of the story’s pace. 

“The Only Survivors” worked well because there was a lot happening! Lots of creepy, mysterious moments. Only so many people could be guilty of infiltrating a small group who had lots of secrets! 

I loved the timeline of this one. The back story about an accident was told in seven one-hour segments. The present mystery was told in seven days. 

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Y’all we are very ready for summer. ☀️ And Y’all we are very ready for summer. ☀️ 

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I want to savor the #84daysofsummer and I want to embrace this new season. And it’s almost time. Three more days of school. (Deep breaths.) 

Meanwhile, I’m going to keep collecting the moments — the hard, hurried, happy, and heartfelt. The seasons do change, but this is the life we are living. 

“The moments you collect may not be loud or flashy. They might be quiet or covered or a far-off view you were lucky to catch. But this I know to be true: A moment savored says to your soul, ‘You have lived something beautiful.’ And it keeps you buoyed. It sustains you when you’re running empty. It lifts you up and carries you forward.” — Joanna Gaines in @magnolia summer 2023 journal issue no. 27 

#momlife #reallife #momconfessions #livingfaithfully #summerisbest #teenagedriver #choosingJOY
I’ve read quite a few World War II novels, but t I’ve read quite a few World War II novels, but this one by Soraya M. Lane focused on three nurses, their friendships, and how the war changed their lives. It’s a hard story, but it’s full of love and hope despite the destruction around them. 

And it’s the second historical fiction audiobook I’ve listened to in a row! #KHTreads #bookstagram #booklover #audiobooks #Audible #KindleUnlimited #historicalfiction
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