When Plans Don't Work

As soon as the website loaded I heard Cora whimpering.  She's supposed to be asleep for another 45 minutes at least.  I had it all planned.  I was finally going to sit down to right a blog post.  A blog post that was long overdue with the 'ugly' Christmas sweater pic I promised (read the post here).  I had it all planned to take a cute photo of me 'adjusting' Pete's fake tie with my back to the camera so the picture on the back would show.  That didn't happen.  I had other blog posts planned about the stockings I finally made for Cora and Pete (still one to come for myself) and Christmas traditions.  Obviously those didn't happen, and now it is January 18th.  Too late for Christmas tradition posts, too late for New Year's resolution posts (good thing I didn't resolve to post more).

Christmas was wonderful and full of time with family.  But that left little time for things like finishing my Montessori Math Album (my self-given due date of January 1st has come and gone), and even less time for things like blog posts.

Unfortunately that's how I've been feeling lately, too late or running late, or about to be late or that I'm trying to play catch up.  It's a vicious circle that I'm trying to break.  It's hard to have grace for myself.  But I know that my Math Album is almost done and will eventually be done despite a toddler and a new weekend grad class this semester.

Here are some of the things I did back in December:

Our sweaters.  Unfortunately we didn't win.

The front of my sweater.  The sequins on the pockets were already on the sweater.

Cora's stocking on Christmas Eve

His grace is sufficient for me.

Found Poetry

I’ve thought about starting a blog for over a year now; mostly to have a place to explore writing.  Now I’m busier than ever: getting my Montessori Teaching Credentials and starting my Masters while my daughter is just a few weeks old (what am I doing to myself?).  But I also feel that this is the perfect time to work on my writing, perhaps because it is so busy, so full.  I cannot promise my entries will be timely, but I will do my best.  As I wrote in my journal a few days after Cora was born: I haven't had time to write about life, I am too busy living it, but here goes.

I have only written a few poems; and most of those when I was nine or ten.  Last night in my writing group we collectively wrote a found poem.  I enjoyed combing random, unrelated works for phrases and words to compile into something cohesive.  Here is what we came up with.

The Rattle Watch

Lifting the corner of the curtain

The pope did as others before him had done,

Crawled up with his bucket

-- Accumulated dirt of centuries  --

Embarrassed for all kinds of reasons.

The rattle watch was near at hand.

I drew nearer to the abyss.

Can this be dying?

Perhaps.

Coming nearer and nearer

Hanging out your lights --

Fools!

When I am not, what will there be?

God only knows,

I must calm myself - must think it all over from the beginning.

He sees this --

A white ribbon, serpenting from top to bottom

Written out in large clumsy letters

“Jesus Saves”.

Just that way, just there.

“Jesus Saves”.

--John, Rachel, Susie, Sue, Russ, Margaret, Gregg, Cindy