It's Been A Long Time

and I completely missed posting during my birth month, March.  What happened?

Highlights:

My birthday, which included three nice dinners, and lunch with my Pilates class.  And, I finally got my camera (more soon).

Seattle Arts and Lectures series evening with Marie Howe, which was wonderful.  I found her inspiring in many ways. I could relate to the content of the work she shared, having recently lost my dad to disease, and she, her brother.  Of course, her poems echo a strong spiritual sense as well.  This is something that was prevalent in many of my poems, and something I feel has changed in mine.  But that is a topic for later.

I got the latest launch done for our gym's strength training program, and feel relatively good about the results.  Tried it out last night, too, because I just couldn't wait.  I love my class participants, many of whom are friends at this point.  

And, spring break.  My daughter was home for a week and a half.  This week my son is off from school, which is nice for us all - we get to sleep in.  A definite plus.

There have been challenges as well, and I've felt divided into many parts.  The Mother part emerged the strongest, and received the most wear.  The fitness instructor part hasn't received enough.  The artist and poet?  Oh so little.

So.  I made a little Lenten pact with myself (which I also shared with Marie Howe when she graciously signed a copy of the Kingdom of Ordinary Time) - to write something every day.  And, for the most part, I have done that.  But the poems are not coming easily.  And today we launch into National Poetry Month, where I feel compelled to write a poem a day, no matter how bad it is.

Then again, maybe something will be good.  Maybe I'll find time to spend with friends, doing timed writes and poetry exercises, which I find so helpful.  Something else I found I could relate to:  Marie Howe mentioned how hard it is sometimes to generate poems.  Unlike Billy Collins, who seems to crank them out on a regular basis, with little or no editing, and the results are good.  At least, it sure seems that way.  But then, what do I know?

The artist also wants to have her day, and now that the camera is here, I'll do my best to post a photo often.  Photo a Day?  We'll see.