Getting to Know Jessica Rintisch, Author of “The Travel Mug”
Jessica lives with her husband and their three children in a farmhouse near Spruce Grove. The couple’s two daughters feature prominently in Jessica’s story, “The Travel Mug,” but their son is a recent addition to the family.
Last year, Jessica hung up her dancing shoes and closed the doors to her dance studio, Parklandance ltd./KaRAR Studios, after seven years. With no regrets, she is embracing her role as full-time mom.
Prairie Dog Publishing: How are you enjoying your time with your children now that you are at home?
Jessica: My oldest daughter is now six. She and I are learning how to be pioneers: how to garden and how to make bread. I am slowly learning what my housewife role is. It sounds very old fashioned, but it’s something that I am very interested in. No one ever taught me how to make bread, so my daughter and I are learning how to make bread together. We made ice cream from scratch in the freezer. Pasta is the next thing we’re going to try. Our son can’t have anything that’s not pure. If he eats anything that has chemicals or preservatives, he gets a rash. He is my inspiration. He has really made us aware of what we are eating and what’s in other things like our soap.
PDP: Do you do much writing?
Jessica: Off and on. It depends on what I’m going through or what I’m experiencing. I don’t have a whole lot of time with the three little ones. They are never all quiet at the same time, so it’s hard to find time to write.
It was difficult to find time to write “The Travel Mug,” especially with a deadline, but I really enjoyed it.
PDP: Is this the first piece you’ve had published?
Jessica: The only other thing I’ve had published was a Dear Santa letter that I wrote in grade one. I wrote about how all I wanted for Christmas was to go see my mom who lived in Calgary. I didn’t see my mom very often. It was published in the Devon newspaper.
PDP: Do you feel like getting this piece published will inspire you to write more?
Jessica: I think so. Writing is something that I’ve always thought about, but I never actually thought I would ever have anything published. I never thought it would happen to me. But it’s been an interesting experience, and I’ve recently made a front and back cover for someone else’s book that is also being published. So it’s neat how they both happened at once.
PDP: Have your recent Christmases differed from your experience in “The Travel Mug”?
Jessica: Yes, we’re not starving anymore. So that’s a good thing. It’s changed our view on Christmas. We’re not so focused on the things anymore. Our Christmases have been a lot simpler and more focused on the reason for the season. But we’re not strapped for cash like we were, so our Christmases are not as stressful. Actually, this past Christmas we got to host it for my family, at our house. That was a blessing.
PDP: Does it mean something to you to be able to share this experience with others?
Jessica: It’s a bittersweet thing. My husband doesn’t like reading it. He gets stressed out reliving the experience. For other people, the truth of us is coming out because we did our best to hide our situation. I also hope to encourage other people who are going through similar situations, but at the same time, it’s kind of like showing my underwear. It’s private. But it’s okay. It’s good.
PDP: How did it feel to write the story?
Jessica: It was a healing process for me. I hadn’t really dealt with any of those feelings until I wrote the story. I put them away because we weren’t in that situation anymore. Recalling those memories and remembering how I was feeling in that moment – it stirred up a lot of emotions. But I think it was good for me to do.
PDP: Do you think it will be something nice for your children to read in the future?
Jessica: I actually read it to my oldest. She was three at the time of the story, and she remembers things from when she was three, but she doesn’t remember it that way. She says, “Oh really.”
So now when she doesn’t eat her supper, I say, “When you were three, we didn’t have any money, and we didn’t have any food.”
PDP: Do you have any plans to write anything else?
Jessica: No immediate plans, not with raising three little people.
But I’ve been talking a lot to them about loving their neighbour. I ask them, “Are you showing love and kindness?” I’ve had little snippets of children’s stories in my mind with that being the moral of the story. So that’s what I’ve have been thinking about.
