I am taking a few precious moments out from my morning to write because it needs doing and because I need to do it. I’m really not doing well at this daily posting thing…
The prompts helped, as I was aware, but even they were no match for the relentless press of the end of the semester. This is the time of year that I most dread, the six weeks or so between Spring Break and Mother’s Day. End of term projects, writing portfolios, senior comprehensive examinations, awards, committee work that needs to be finished, article deadlines, grading grading grading–and that’s what I can see right this minute, not the other things lurking in the background, meetings to plan and execute, summer activities to queue up for me (work and research) and for Mark (fun and learning). Life presses down on us all, and this is the part of the year that always brings that reality into stark focus for me.
I have various ways to combat it–knitting, chocolate, trashy novels–but I usually create a soundtrack to act as a calming layer beneath the mad frenzy. This year, it’s all about the guitar and its cousins, my current iTunes playlist (titled “Strumming and Twanging”) featuring folks like Bill Withers, Gordon Lightfoot, Cat Stevens, Indigo Girls, Johnny Cash, and the incredible Valerie June. Have a song. Suggest one if you’re so inclined. I’ll be in my email…
Anita DeRouen 