OH! I almost forgot...

Would any of my wonderful followers be interested in joining an online book club?!

I'm thinking of Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.  I've heard it's wonderful, but haven't had a chance to read it yet.

Yes, I know..... It's been a while

Let me tell you... the past six months have been quite a wild ride!
Here's what's happened:

• Landed a job - I teach special education at a disciplinary alternative school.  Challenging, yet surprisingly stress-free.
• My fiance and I bought a house.
• Yep, I said fiance up there! We're engaged!
• Aaaaaannnnnnndddddd... I changed my master's degree major from counseling to Education Leadership.

Therefore.... Let me leave you with these words of wisdom:

"Never leave the house without a resume; Go to EVERY cheap book store you can until you find a worn copy of your favorite book from childhood; Don't step on caterpillars; And eat your desert first at least once in your life."

Life is good.

past lives

"I should have been a great many things..." Jo, Little Women


Many things, I, too, should've been, and
many things I already, briefly, was...  Am.
Skinny girl with curly hair shall I never be;
never, either, a flighty fool, 'cept in being wooed.
Lately, though, I ponder most what my future
tense will be; and tense this verb should I also be.
Favorite songs are helpless now, for readily
they tell lies - of happier times and memories,
send me longingly beyond - fixed upon their melody.
So many things I'd like to be, yet I am cursed as what?
A writer with no publisher? A teacher without a class?
Turn the radio up a bit, to drown out these silly thoughts.
I want to drown my sorrows in the many things I'm not.

A big thank you to Jennie for the comment, and to all of my new followers! Looking forward to blogging with all of you.  

LET'S DO HAIKU!!

Rain falls sideways and
gathers in reflective ponds
mirroring my gloom.

Fastidiousness
is the only word I need
for that initial line.




Funny little butterfly
wobbles all around, looking quite
suspiciously at my eager cat.




Crazy lady in white walks
up and down Main Street, picking up cans,
wearing a giant smile.


Have a Happy Friday!

I'm not broke... yet.

I haven't told my dad about my current job situation, yet.  Why? Well:

1.  He supported me growing up (obviously).
2.  He supported me during college.
3.  He supported me after my divorce when I still had a huge mortgage payment.
4.  He supported me when I moved to a brand new city and needed help.
5.  I owe him, literally, a million dollars.  Which he is too generous to ever ask me to return.

I have, needless to say, the best father in the entire world.  Yet I can't bring myself to admit defeat to him.  His first response will be "Do you need money?"  And I, shaking my head 'no' with tears in my eyes, will probably have to say 'yes.'  Again.

I'm in my late (ugh) twenties, and I still need my daddy's support.  How sad is that?

And, in case you were wondering... this new "job" sucks.  All I've been doing is wasting money, time, and energy.  Keep your fingers crossed out there in the blogosphere, will ya?  I could use a little luck right now.

Sigh.

Here's a poem:

"Journey to Damascus"

It all went wrong without asking my permission.

Everything I wanted, gone,

like the dew on new spring mornings

after the sun yawns, stretches, brushes it aside

like wrinkled sheets.

Wonder, if you must, why a lady young as I

could be so broken.

It was just a vase, a cheap, empty vase, and a careless

mistake.  Dropped on cheap laminate,

imitation of wood.

Imitation of life.

It was so long ago.

Ashes, ashes, we all fall down.

Drove from dawn til dusk that muggy July.

Crying, when I wasn’t screaming songs

of broken hearts, broken lives, broken people.

People just like me.

Following the signs, though not really reading.

Speed Limit: 70

That must be for those who don’t want to crash.

I’m going 90, faking happy at last.

Don’t think I’d mind getting lost on I-20,

somewhere between ATL and the end of it all.

Wasn’t I happy once?

God, where did my life take this critical turn?

And I don't mean that religiously, though maybe I should.

Thought I followed the right signs, but I didn’t really read them.

Should have seen the inevitable from the very beginning.

Been almost a year.  Been quite a restless year.

Looking around this house full of wasted time:

memories gone or fading, missing out on life, but I'm alive.

I'm a statue here, waiting for a shine, stagnant, filthy, 

Left here alone with these broken pieces of time
Waiting for a voice to call me toward a direction -
any which way will do. 

Just call, and I'll answer - 

and maybe, for once, I'll follow through.

Have Pen, Will Travel

Tomorrow, I begin one of my two new careers.... so....

Here's a poem:

Please, mister, let me have

a moment of your precious

time.  I'm here to tell you

how wisely to spend your

dime.  Buy from me this

thingy with buttons, and

I will swear to you, you'll

not be disappointed. So

here is what you need to do...

Let me fill out this paper

with my little, ballpoint

pen, and you will sign

here and here, and sir,

we both shall win!

You will have these

buttony things and I

will cash this check.

Then shall we both

triumph!  For all the world

is right today - buyer and

seller unite!

Midnight poetry II

Your hand heavy on my hip

as I sleep, grazes my shoulder

with a fingertip, a feather-light

kiss just behind my ear, a touch

to let me know you’re there.

To let you know it, too.

Is love this needy, this wanting,

forever?  Or are we simply

two lonely souls who sought

each other out for comfort

and solemnly wait for

Happiness?

He finds the soft curve

between ribs and hip,

and here his hand rests,

heavy and comforting,

through this dark night

as peaceful Sleep finally

wraps me in her arms.

Do you remember

how to find the one

called Happiness?

Walk slowly, head bowed.

Take steady, deep breaths.

And sleep in the company

of strangers until

they are strange

no longer.