"In March I'll be rested, caught up and human."

"In March I'll be rested, caught up and human." You may have seen this Sylvia Plath quote floating around the internet recently, and the general response has been, “When, exactly, in March, Sylvia? What day??”

I, too, had hoped to feel rested, creative, and ready to share deep thoughts this month after not posting on Substack since January. I’ve started working on a few longer, more thoughtful posts about creativity and learning, but every time I sit down to write, I get a few sentences in and then have to walk away to think some more. I’m excited to share them with you—eventually—but they are definitely in a crock pot and not a microwave.

However, I am still chugging away at my “300 Haiku” project (all of which you can read on Instagram). I’m even still on track at 60+ poems! Having this little moment of creativity almost every day continues to bring me a lot of joy. It also acts like a canary in the coalmine: if I can’t write one, or it feels like pulling teeth, I’m over-tired or not present enough in my own life. It reminds me to slow down and ground myself in the here and now—a skill that feels increasingly important in an era that feels less and less stable “out there.”

I’ve also slowly begun to re-incorporate my 5-Minute Poetry Project into my life leading up to April, where I’ll attempt to do it every day for National Poetry Month. Plus, I need to keep creating new material so I can put together another collection at some point (can’t wait to have a backlist!).

On the non-writing side, school is going well for the kids and adults in our house, though there’s been a little mental stress added by recent proposed regulations on homeschooling in our state. But we’ll cross that bridge if and when it becomes a reality. We’re also gearing up for our 9-year-old to get her tonsils out next week, clearing out garden beds as spring slowly arrives, and rearranging our kitchen a bit after the questionable decision bold move to remove our dishwasher. My favorite writing assistant, Cricket, had her yearly vet appointment today and is doing remarkably well for a geriatric cat with an overactive thyroid. Overall, a satisfactory start to spring.

Anyway, that’s what’s happening around these parts. As a little treat for reading this, here’s a recent fave from the 5-Minute Poetry project (Substack exclusive!). ;)

“Huh?”
Considered by linguists
to be a real word,
we voice our confusion the same way
from France to Ghana to Ecuador
(same simple sound, same rising intonation).
What could be more fitting a thread
to weave together a tapestry of our shared humanity
than one syllable
of sheer bewilderment
at this predicament
we call life.

On my nightstand: Scarcity Brain by Michael Easter
I’m a sucker for a brian science/psychology read, and this one’s been great so far! I’m also very excited to read John Green’s new book, Everything Is Tuberculosis, which just came in the mail an hour ago (literally as tornado sirens were blaring—the Amazon driver joined us in the basement).

On my headphones: Mayhem by Lady Gaga
Still a Little Monster at heart. My kids are obsessed with “Disease” and “Abracadabra,” so they’ve been on repeat around here this week.

On my desk: Haiku and homework. I’m also trying to decide what to do with a collection of short horror stories I wrote for Kindle Vella now that it’s defunct. I’m talking with a couple friends who are in the same position, and we may release an anthology of our work later this year. Time will tell.