Sara Kinser Jones is an educator, mother, wife, and pursuer of joy! When she was seventeen, Sara was asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” To her, answering that question with just one answer seemed as impossible a task as it does now thirty years later. However, she answered that she wanted to change the world, write a novel, and be a teacher.
Sara grew up being very active in causes that meant a lot to her. As an adult, she has started and/or run non-profit organizations that continue to make a difference in our community. She is still working on that novel, but has a blog that she enjoys pontificating through; Over the past 18 months, she has received her Masters in Elementary Education as she teaches third-grade. Of all these things that have some resemblance of what she thought she wanted her life to it be like as a teen, the one thing Sara thinks defines her most is something she never dreamed she would ever want to be–a mother. “There is no title I am more proud of than that of being mother to five of the most exceptional people I have ever known. Through this most amazing occupation, I have worn more hats than I ever dreamed I would. My overall ideology? Be open to learn and try new things, everything is figure-out-able, and the best, most beautiful things are often the unexpected things you never planned for,” Sara says.
Sara has been a leader and feels comfortable in that position. “I love to organize, develop, grow and lead people and ideas. However, I find myself identifying much more as a creative worker,” she adds.
The greatest influences of Sara’s life have been her amazing husband, Nathan Jones and her precious mother whom she lost this year, Cathy Kinser. “Nathan and I have been married for twenty-five years and I marvel at his ability to bring out the very best parts of me. I grew up overly-confident, hot-headed, and saw debate and argument as a sport. We had not even been married for a few weeks and I, as I was used to in my family of origin, would argue anything and everything. I would yell and raise my voice. He would meet that with a whisper. The louder I went, the quieter he would speak. It was impossible to keep yelling–which for a while really frustrated me. Yet, through the years, this simple contradiction helped me to refine my arguments; No longer could I just get louder, I had to get better at communicating. He has challenged my thinking, softened my words, encouraged me in all the best ways and partnered with me in every idea and dream. I think I am a better version of myself because of my partnership with him.
If I am a bull in a china shop, my precious mother was the elegant swan in the lake. My mother would say to me every time I left home as a child, “Be a Lady.” That was asking a lot of me. I could get dirtier than anyone I knew without trying and was the least refined person you could imagine. I was strong-headed and believed influence could be best won by force. However, I learned by watching my mother that strength, true strength, was not the kind of brute control I wanted to wield, but instead the strength that comes in discipline, character and unfettered determination. My mother was kind and gentle, yet she was stronger than anyone I ever met. In her forties, my mother began to suffer severe health issues. Over the years those issues were compounded in severe ways. Yet, she never let the struggles she faced be a deterrent from her doing the things she wanted to do. She pursued excellence in everything she put her hands to. Her soft demeanor was never an invitation for others to mistreat her. You could see her strength in the way she carried herself. If perhaps someone misunderstood her sweetness as naivete, they were quick to learn of their mistake through a strongly, perfectly executed letter. My mother’s greatest gift was that she knew how to make everyone she encountered feel seen and special. She would listen with interest and she would remember your birthday. If she noticed you were sick, she would send you a card and if she knew you liked something, it would find its way to you. She loved people well. She made you want to love people well. I am still in need of refinement, but if there is any goodness or kindness in me, it is because my mother willed it to be there.”
When asked of her greatest accomplishment to date, Sara said, “This is such a difficult question for me, because I feel like I should share about professional accomplishments. But as I have thought about this, I just keep coming back to this: my greatest accomplishment is having raised such amazing children. I heard recently that the greatest success you can have is having your adult children want to come and spend time with you. My Dad used to say to me when I was a child, “I am not your friend, I am your Dad. I am going to act like your Dad, so that one day, you will want to be my friend.” It thrills my heart that my children will call and say they want to meet for dinner. But even greater is that they want to spend time with each other. Outside of my faith and Nathan, there is nothing I am more proud of than being the Mom of Noah, Macy, Molly, Emma and Jordon. There are no accolades or titles that will ever compare to being their Mom. The icing on the cake is that I now get to be their friend. What exceptional people to have as friends!”
Sara is a believer and her faith is central to her worldview and philosophy of life. “I think the greatest lesson I have ever learned comes from a tenet of my faith which allows joy to be my strength. In this past decade, my sister has had an ongoing battle with cancer, Nathan was diagnosed with cancer, we collectively experienced the pandemic, my children have had some significant struggles, we have had difficulties that have broken our hearts and my mother passed away…we have had some amazingly difficult days. However, there has been joy. Great joy. I see joy as an amazing gift. It is a mindset which states that my environment nor my circumstance can impact the essence of who I am and how I think. It is hope in action. Joy does not require me to be happy. It does not mean that my hard days can’t be acknowledged and grieved. Joy is the strength that the adversity and trial cannot consume me. It can not identify me, nor can it define who I am or where I am going. Through the darkest of days, joy puts light on the renewal of tomorrow. In the midst of grieving and tears, it points to the sweet remembrances of days gone by. Joy celebrates all the victories, even if the victory is just one step forward.”
During COVID, Sara’s husband was diagnosed with Cancer. Somewhere in the midst of all that was happening in that period of time, she stopped writing her blog, Sara Jones Presents. “I am working to relaunch the blog January 2024. On it I speak of cultural phenomenon, political ideas, slice of life anecdotes and of faith. I am proud of what it has been and I am hoping to breathe new life into it again this next year. It can be found on Facebook, Instagram and by going to SaraJonespresents.com.”
Sara is looking to continuing her education and beginning to work on her doctorate in 2024. It is her goal to work with international students to build literacy and educational enrichment. “For five years, Nathan and I ran a non-profit called SMILE2. The mission of SMILE was to bring educational enrichment and support to low-income, international students. Going back to school has been a step toward a future goal of taking what we were doing with SMILE2 and making it an organization that serves the entire family. Who knows, maybe I will finish that book soon!”
After twenty years of homeschooling, going back to school and returning full time to the workplace has been a big change for her. With her last two children being at home, but independent and self-sufficient, it has been a big life change to be focused solely on her career. “I am heading quickly toward 50. This year, I celebrated 25 years of marriage, got my Masters degree, had two children graduate with their Bachelor’s degrees, one child graduate with their Master’s degree, enjoyed a new career in the classroom, and said goodbye to my mom. It has been a year full of great highs and devastating lows, but joyful sorrow is creating in me a new zeal for the future. I feel like there is so much left for me to know and explore. I look forward to chasing new dreams as I close out my forties. On a more micro-level, I have just recently had all of my laundry done at one time, folded and put away. I really thought that would never happen in my lifetime.”
Sara says she is pretty much an open book, so there is little kept secret. But only those who know her best know she have a great love of dancing. “I used to tell my family I was born to dance. Somehow, I did not get the rhythm that should have accomplished such a birthright. However, on any given night in our home, there will be a dance party happening. We have taken swing lessons as a couple and we do many YouTube tutorials for the latest trends. We are not very good, but we are full of heart!” she says.
Sara loves to travel and her favorite city to spend time in is New York. “Recently, Nathan and I have been traveling to New York and doing deep dives into the neighborhoods. We spent a long weekend in the Lower East Side and explored the diverse culture found within these blocks. We found a list of restaurants with their best known offerings. We explored block after block, stopping in throughout the day trying the items on the list. From the hole in the wall spots to the finest eateries we seemed to enjoy the best tastes from all over the world. As we walked from place to place we found beautiful gardens, stunning street art, inspiring architecture and fantastic people who shared their stories with us. At the end of the day, we landed at Rockwood Music Hall where we saw a Bluegrass Trio from Kentucky playing their NYC Debut. We ended up on the rooftop restaurant, Mr. Purple, with the bass player and several of our friends from our time being in the company of Kentucky Repertory Theatre. That is what I love about the city, you can feel like you have gone all around the world and run into people from home in just a few short blocks. It is magical.”
Sara says that she has not had a ton of free time recently, but she loves to travel, she writes every day, enjoys cooking new things and learning more about different foods. She adds, “I enjoy exploring, and I love to dance in my living room.”
This year has been such a challenge between being in school completing her Masters and dealing with the loss of her mother. She has had so little time to pursue entertainment and most of her reading was related to her degree. “However, my guilty pleasure is watching the British show TaskMaster. It is such a brainless form of entertainment and I find it hilarious. I also have consumed the show The Bear. It may be the most perfect development of character I have ever enjoyed. (I feel compelled to give a warning that both these shows have strong language).”
As far as her bucket list, Sara commented, “The day after my 39th birthday, I made a 40 by 40 list. I believe I accomplished 32 of the 40 things on my list. The one thing I have carried over to things I would like to accomplish by the time I am 50 is learn to finally do a cartwheel. I just can’t seem to get out of my head enough to make it happen. If any of your readers are willing to take this middle-aged chubby lady on a journey to success with that, I would be ever so grateful!
The thing I want to do more than anything is to wake up every morning with a heart of gratitude. I want to travel anywhere and everywhere. I want to see my children grow old and I want to pursue joy as an occupation. I want to help those I come into contact with and I want to write a book.
I guess if I were to say what is on my bucket list it would be 1. Learn to do a cartwheel. 2. Live everyday fully.”
As far as contacting Sara, “I am available for coffee dates pretty much any time after 3:30 Monday through Friday or you can find me on Instagram. Please feel free to visit SaraJonesPresents.com and watch as I relaunch in January!”
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