Start of a new chapter

Well, I have embarked on a new chapter in my life.  This is my second week on six months long service leave.  What a feeling, waking up when I am ready – not that I am sleeping in.  Just a nice feeling not to have to get up at 6.00 a.m. every morning.

After feeding the animals, then my husband, exercising, playing ball with our dog, showering, then having my breakfast I am ready to  hit the computer. Not literally!  My study area is stress free at the moment.  And I even have a clear way from the doorway to my computer chair.  Yes, I have had time to clean. Hurricane Helen has moved on, replaced by dusted and organised bookshelves, some semblence of order of my notes, writing magazines, etc., and I even discovered a mushroom carpet under my feet.

So much is planned for this six months sabbatical from teaching.  Having a full time teaching career, whilst working with a publisher and an illustrator; developing my own marketing strategies; fulfilling book orders; re-energising websites; writing new material; undertaking professional development in children’s writing, and writing in general; maintaining a regular blog;  catching up with family and friends, etc. etc. etc.  And  staying happily married, hasn’t allowed a lot of breathing space.  So it was time to  put aside teaching for a while.

But of course my problem now  is trying to do too much each day.  I am so mindful of not wanting to waste this six months, that I am on overdrive.  I have made lists, lists and more lists,  but I know they are too long.  So my plan now is to do one thing each day that will make a difference.  I got this ‘pearl of widsom’  at a recent marketing seminar I attended (see a previous blog).  I have related this to my marketing and promotion of my new children’s book, Bubble Gum Trouble, and of myself, as a writer, children’s writer/poet, and poet, in general.   I have allowed myself some time to unwind, smell the roses, tidy up my websites, get into a regular blogging routine, plan a marketing strategy for my new children’s giggle poetry book, and work on new story and poetry ideas.  Then in the not too distant future, I will hit the promotional circuit.  Still working on that one.

However, didn’t think I’d get back into writing other poetry forms (not necessarily for children, but everyday observations of life) in the way that I have during the last couple of weeks.  It could of course be due to the inspiration from meeting Arts Queensland poet-in-residence (see previous blog entry)  but there have also been some competitions whereby the deadline date is this Friday.   Yikes!  So the creative juices in the form of Haiku, Rooku, short poems, and just a little bit cuckoo, have been flowing forth, like a cascading waterfall.  I have so many thoughts, captured on shopping lists, envelopes, and message books that I have just stuffed them in a folder. Item 3 on the list – write down all story and poem ideas into ONE book.  Mmmm.

And on top of all this,  I have  discovered. Tweet Haiku. Tweet Heaven

Anyway, have captured a lot of my inspirational sources on camera.  Could only download two at this point of time.  Item 10 on list.  Read up on downloading images onto blog.

8 month old Pooky, doing hair.  I get my hair done everynight.  He uses sharp utensils so  tends to hurt a bit.

Crayfish for tea. Yum!  No, I didn’t give it to them.  I heard a thump in the kitchen, and knew that they had  helped themselves.

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Short Poem whilst sitting at a cafe, people watching.

FOOT TRAFFIC

Sitting

Watching

People bustling

Going somewhere

Going nowhere

Do they know where?

© Helen Ross

LOVE  FROM A KITTEN

Sitting on the bed

A little head nestles under my arm

Paws gently caress

Softness

Like a huge cotton ball

My heart warms

Such love

© Helen Ross

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