Welcome, and happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I’m so happy you’ve dropped by. Whether you’re a regular participant in the Poetry Friday world, or you ended up here from a search or a link, please know that we’re a welcoming community! Read, comment, think, share, and enjoy!
Thanks for all the good wishes for my Florida trip for ash scattering, memorializing, etc. Everything went well, and I’ll share more soon. Still processing.
Meanwhile, just before Florida, I was in Des Moines, IA, to speak at a fabulous SCBWI conference. Y’all know I’m an introvert, and that I find large gatherings sometimes really fun, but also exhausting. But this was a lovely, small conference–well organized and friendly and inspiring! Here are just a few photos–you can see the faculty names here, but that doesn’t include RA Kailey Mgrdichian, ARA Tina Cho, and many other fabulous volunteers. Although poetry wasn’t specifically on the topics list, I picked up two delightful rhyming picture books (It’s Corn Picking Time and Hard Hat Hank and the Sky-High Solution) and one lovely lyrical picture book (One Can Be). Highly recommend all of them. And, I even picked up a graphic novel–a genre I rarely read (The Other Side of Tomorrow). After Tina Cho’s inspiring keynote, I had to pick it up to give it a try.
Given the large amount of peopling I’ve done lately, and the upcoming peopling I’ll be doing at NCTE, I thought I’d reshare this poem, “Thank You for Asking.” I don’t always feel this way, but this poem definitely shares how I feel when I’m overwhelmed, as I seem to be all this year!
I truly did have a wonderful time in Des Moines, and I know I’ll also have a lovely time at NCTE. Will I see you there?
And for lots of terrific poetry, don’t miss the Poetry Friday Roundup with super-kind Carol Labuzzetta!
17 Responses
Glad you had a good time at SCBWI, Laura — looking forward to seeing you in Denver! Love the poem, by the way, which captures how so many feel!
I totally get the introvert thing. While I look forward to NCTE, I know it will exhaust me. Thanks for the poem of kind excuses. I also love a SCBWI conference but I haven’t been to one in a while. I hope to see you real soon!
I can definitely relate to your poem, Laura. It’s been way too long since I’ve been to NCTE. I’ll always remember your kindness in reaching out to me to join a gathering of poets several years back. Thank you.
It’s those little things, isn’t it? Even when you feel you don’t belong, really, you can reach out and include someone else, and somehow you both belong more, then. <3 I’ll be mentioning your mentor texts books in my session <3
Love your poem and can relate so much, especially the “It’s a shock to miss/lockdown..” Have fun at NCTE, Laura!!!!
Laura, Thanks for sharing your poem and feelings of being overwhelmed by invitations and events. I am in the same camp. I want the invitation but know I would be overwhelmed by some of them. Recently, I had the opportunity to teach on the environment again in Wausau, WI. I enjoyed it but was (yes, knowingly) exhausted afterwards. Subsequently, I turned down an offer to do it again in early December. I am glad to know I am in good company! Good luck at NCTE — you’ll be great and hopefully, the sense of being exhausted and/or overwhelmed will pass. xo
Saying no is SO hard isn’t it, when it’s something that’s satisfying or exciting–but also just too much.
So True!
I love that poem, Laura. Wonder why? 😏
Great poem, Laura! One of my kids was very ill during that stage of COVID and she appreciated that other people were as unable to do things as she was. My son (the only extrovert in the family) really struggled. The picture of Randy with the gingerbread fellow is great 🙂
That gingerbread fellow is me :>D A friend of mine had leukemia treatment during lockdown (and long after). It was so much easier when everyone was in lockdown, as they still had to isolate once things opened up. Funny how we kind of accept the generally stated opinion (lockdown is horrible) as fact, when the truth is it’s a different experience for people for different reasons, and there were lots of silver linings too. NOT to downplay the covid deaths and long side effects, etc. But the enforced downtime and solitude was welcome in some ways.
Your poem is so relatable!
Looking forward to seeing you at NCTE!
Hooray for conferences. I get such a recharge from them. November and March are conference month. So much learning and laughing and connection making…makes me a happy school librarian, reader and writer. I look forward to what you process from all these experiences.
Ha, I LOVE “the party of/a bare calendar.” 😀 I’m an introvert too, so I feel (live and breathe) this poem. I DO love gathering with kindred spirits, meeting marvelous people, and all that stuff, but I DO need lots of recharge time when things are over. I hope you can rest up a little this weekend before NCTE!
Love the poem — so relatable! Thanks for sharing the great pics at SCBWI. Great to see you with Tina and Pat. That Hard Hat Hank book looks adorable. Have fun at NCTE!
You have been so busy and you still made time to Zoom with my class–another huge thank you for that! Oh, and the “party of a bare calendar”–I get that to my core! Still, I’ve been pushing myself to do more, mostly because I don’t want the majority of my energy to be spent focusing on my job and the stressors within it. I can’t change that commitment, but I can dilute it a bit and feed other parts of myself. Last week a literary event, this week a poetry event at the museum. On school nights! I’m scaring myself a bit! lol Safe travels and have fun at NCTE!
Your students were fun–loved their enthusiasm and questions! Yay for pushing yourself a little bit. I’m trying to do that too. I’d like to connect more in person with my local writing community. Of course, I’ve been saying that for years. Now to actually do it–sigh. You go, Molly!