Happy 2021! Off to a rainy, windy, book-filled beginning..

Starting the New Year right with typewriter and thirties-style robe (inspired by Myrna Loy in The Thin Man.)

Happy 2021! A Rainy, Windy, Book-Filled Beginning

Hello, my friends! If you’re reading this, you’ve made it safely into 2021, a year which I hope will give us more health, hope, peace, and comfort than 2020 did. Welcome!

We’ve had crazy weather here in the Seattle area, so mostly I’ve been staying inside, writing poems,  trying to read several books at a time, and looking at online classes for creative non-fiction and fiction. I made a list of the books I read last year and wanted to start out the new year getting reading (and writing) in during these days that force us to hibernate with flooding rains, high winds, and generally unpleasant to venture out into weather.

Here’s a list of the books I’m starting out with: The Last Neanderthal – Claire Cameron (with my mom), She Should Have Known – Jean Hanff Korelitz, The Red Comet – Heather Clark , The Colossus and Other Poems – Sylvia Plath (I’ve read her collected, but wanted to see how she put this book together),  and Margaret Atwood’s Dearly. A mix of genre fiction, poetry, and biography). Last year I started with a lot of Virginia Woolf and Joan Didion, so I’m taking a little easier this year (with the exception of the thousand-page Plath bio). (Here’s an article with a little bit about what I read last year during quarantine for Salon.)

Last Full Cold Moon of 2020

We also got a new printer after our old one (20 years old!) finally conked out, and I immediately printed out the two manuscripts I’ve been circulating. I also realized when I printed out my Excel spreadsheet of poems that I had written a ton of new work last year, so I’m thinking of incorporating some of it into the two manuscripts or starting a new one entirely.

I don’t make resolutions per se – but I do want to take some chances – apply for jobs I want that I might not get, stretch a little bit and apply for fellowships and grants more broadly, try to write some more personal essays and a little fiction along with my poetry, think about how to stretch my writer’s brain by taking classes outside my comfort zone. Once you have your degrees, you don’t need to stop learning – I’m trying to find opportunities that work for post-MA-and-MFA writers who perhaps want to experiment with a different genre or try an advanced class in a different subject, like, for me, folklore and mythology.  In general, I’m looking for: abundance, joy, wellness, good magic, love, friendship, beauty, and peace. Less: anxiety, stress, feelings of failure.

Glenn and I dressed up on New Year’s Eve for our stay-in celebration

Celebrating Saying Goodbye to 2020

And what are the things you want to leave behind from 2020 (besides Trump and coronavirus)? I’m going to try to spend less time on social media and the news (not original, I know) and more on things that make me happier and healthier, like playing music on the guitar, memorizing poems, and being outside when I can. I hope that after the vaccine I can also see other people again, and visit bookstores in person, but I won’t waste as much time and money on things I learned I could do without this year. I hope to keep up with old friends in other states and countries (a benefit of 2020) and remember that taking some time out once in a while, not running somewhere constantly, can be a good thing.

I lost a lot of family in the last two years (both my maternal grandparents this year, my cousin, a close Aunt and Uncle last year), so I hope to make time to let people know I care about them while I can. Making health a priority is on my list too – this year, I’ve learned that I was never being as careful as I thought, and as someone with a primary immune deficiency, I’ve learned that taking care of myself often involves more rest – and effort – than I thought.

Another thing we’re doing at the start of 2021 is putting together a box of food for the food banks (ours are seriously empty, we’ve heard, yours might be too) and a box of clothing to donate. We’re making an effort to get the house in order before Glenn starts his classes. I probably should do a box of books and magazines as well – my bookshelves and bedside areas are overflowing. I also want to continue the practice of giving even small amounts to charities, causes, and businesses I want to support, consciously – something I became aware of in 2020 was how each dollar that goes to a worthy cause or a business on the edge is a way to make the world a better place. So, yes, I’m going to try to remember to buy that book from the publisher or an indie bookstore or from the author, to subscribe to that art or literary magazine I like to keep it alive, get a membership to a museum that’s important to you, to give to environmental or other causes when I can. Write a note to someone who’s made a difference to me. I like the idea that we can help make 2021 a kinder, better year, even with small efforts – small efforts by a lot of people can do great things. Happy 2021!

Post Christmas Haze, Looking to the New Year

Sleeping Sylvia with wrappings on Boxing Day

Post-Christmas Haze, Looking to the New Year

Hope everyone who celebrated had as good a Christmas as possible. We Facetimed and Zoomed and Google-meeting-ed with family in Ohio, Tennessee, even Bainbridge Island, watched the new Wonder Woman movie and exchanged gifts. On Boxing day, as you can tell, Sylvia enjoyed playing with the boxes, and we tried to recover. I know this Christmas was hard on a lot of us, not being with loved ones, not being able to enjoy some of our traditions, and some of us mourning loved ones no longer with us. For most of us, it was not the holiday season we might have hoped for. On the side of good news, my sister in law, a nurse who works the covid floor, got her vaccine, as did many of my doctor friends from Cincinnati to Alaska. That’s a good present, right?

I had a little surprise good news on Christmas Eve (see previous post) that one of my personal essays that I published this year – the first year I’ve tried to publish personal essays, really – was chosen as one of Salon’s “Best of 2020.” “Marriage in the Time of Coronavirus” was the first that I wrote and sent out, and Salon was the second place I queried. It felt like a little encouragement from the universe to continue to try genres outside of poetry, especially as I am still trying to place my two poetry manuscripts in the new year. This is also a good time to remind you that even if you are in middle age (say, ahem, 47) it’s not too late to try out new forms and experiment a little.

Looking to the New Year

It can be hard, after the sort of year we’ve had in 2020, to make sense of it, much less process it enough to think about next year. It’s hard to make goals or set intentions knowing that even our biggest hopes might be thwarted by unforeseen intervention from a sometimes chaotic universe. Maybe we need to heal a bit before jumping into the next thing. We need to mourn losses, acknowledge hard facts, come to terms with the fact that sometimes things are out of our control.

But I’m actually feeling mildly optimistic when I look at 2021. I think a new President will not, realistically, suddenly solve all our problems – coronavirus, environmental, racial injustice, economic hardship, undoing the wrongs 45 has done to us. But it will be a little better to have someone at the control’s who not out to actively do evil. The vaccine will not come to me for months – and as someone with anaphalaxis issues, maybe not for a long time – but any amount of people at risk getting the vaccine will lower our numbers of deaths, help the overflowing hospitals, allow some amount of normalcy to return at some point.  I’m hoping for antivirals and tests for monoclonal antibodies. So there are reasonable reasons for hope – not for everything to magically become good on January 1, but for a gradual improvement to our quality of life as teachers get vaccinated so kids can get back to school, as nurses and doctors don’t have to be afraid of dying if they spend too much time with covid patients, as nursing homes might be able to receive visitors and front-line workers won’t be risking their lives selling flowers or cleaning teeth or putting out fires. I’m hoping people will prioritize the arts and reading after this tough year, that we can return to museums and concerts and readings, book release parties and casual celebrations of all sorts.

For myself, this has still been a tough year health-wise – I spent almost the whole year on antibiotics for a tricky infection, not covid – and my mental health, for the first time in a long time, took a dive. I hope that I’ve built in some life-supporting lessons that I won’t forget in 2021. I also hope, maybe it’s silly, to try for a new job, to try to make new friends, to find new opportunities. Anyway, I am no collage artist, but I think the exercise of building a vision board both relaxing and helpful in thinking about what our true goals are when we think about how we are leading our lives. Here’s mine for the coming year. I am wishing us all a healthier and happier 2021, and I hope you all achieve your dreams.

Vision Board for 2021

Happy Christmas Eve…and a little Writing Good News – a Best of 2020 Essay on Salon!

Christmas Ornaments

Happy Christmas Eve! A Little Early Christmas Present/Writing Good News for me – a Best of 2020 Essay on Salon!

Hello my friends! Happy Christmas Eve to all who celebrate.

I had a little piece of good news to celebrate today that I wanted to share, because I know I’ve talked on here about how discouraged I’ve been with my writing life lately, so here you go…

Though I have written journalism articles, tech writing, and book reviews for years, it’s only this year that I’ve attempted publishing personal essays. (Of course, I’ve been writing versions of personal essays on my blog for years, but not trying to publish them elsewhere.)

So, it was a huge deal to find out that Salon.com had chosen my essay, “Marriage in the Time of Coronavirus,” as one of the “Best of 2020” picks. It felt like a huge honor and I am truly grateful. (And this will definitely encourage me to try more personal essays in the future!) A huge thank you to Salon.com and to their editor Erin Keane!

Best of 2020 Salon – Marriage in the Time of Coronavirus

Merry Solstice/Christmas Week to All, and to All…A Good Riddance to 2020, plus Setting Intentions for 2021

Sylvia, looking nonplussed in laundry hamper, with Santa hat

Merry Christmas/Solstice Week to All Who Celebrate

It’s the solstice today, a day for retreating and rest, and for resetting. I know I could use a reset, A little bit more cheer, a little less gloom.

Maybe the vaccine and the new President will help this country reset itself. I hope so. It’s grey and groggy with rain here in Seattle, though I’ve been hoping to get a glimpse of the planetary convergence of Saturn and Jupiter, which they sometimes call “the Christmas star.”

Glenn and I with Michaela’s fox painting and white Solstice/Christmas tree

I’ve been practicing meditation exercises every day, and started a creativity journal (practicing any kind of creativity seems almost impossible right now, doesn’t it? But it is supposed to be good for depression, anxiety, and even pain management.) I did some crafting yesterday (making homemade Totoro ornaments) and writing exercises. I have still been pummeled by rejections, and my MS symptoms have been acting up – muscle spasms, fatigue and vertigo with nausea. I was in so much pain this week I actually almost cried from it (my MS isn’t always that bad, but this week, it was.) I’ve been sleeping like crap. I’m sure some of you can relate. One thing that makes this time of year so hard is we are supposed to be aggressively cheerful, but this year that seems like an unrealistic expectation. So many of us are dealing with loss – lost loved ones, lost jobs, lost health. lost opportunities. This year has seemed to take it out of the best of us. We are trying to practice our Christmastime rituals in the hopes that they might help bring a little bit of brightness.

Seeking the Light Where You Can, Saying Good Riddance to 2020

Space Needle with Christmas Tree lights

Some scenes of December Seattle that are my attempt to find the beauty and the light during the darkest time of year here – in our neighborhood, sunset comes in around 3:30 PM. So I drive around looking for different perspectives.

To the left, the Christmas tree lights on top of the Space Needle at twilight (about 4:30 PM.) Below, a few shots from the winter Lantern Lights at the Zoo, shots of sunset at the Space Needle, a Double Rainbow shot from a Floating Bride, and a Sparkly Reindeer at a Woodinville Winery.

I know we are all saying “get out and good riddance” to 2020, I try to remember the good things that came from this year, too. I spent a lot of this year sick (not with covid, just other weird stuff) so I became acquainted with weighted blankets, the Queen’s Gambit and the Mandalorian, I started a novel (still not very far,) applied for jobs in poetry publishing, and applied for grants I normally would avoid. (I even got two small grants this year, which seems miraculous.) I did a lot of bird watching. I got published in a few “dream” journals, including Poetry and Ploughshares. I tried to find as many inspiring things close to home as possible, since we couldn’t travel or do our usual about-town entertainments.

I am certainly hoping that with the vaccine, it will be a little safer to visit friends, the doctor and dentist, and generally go about the business of living. I have been sheltering in place since February since I am high risk, and here are some things I’m looking forward to at some point next year: visiting my favorite bookstores, hanging out in person with a few friends and family members (maybe still outdoors, but better than nothing,) and not feeling afraid on my short walks in nature when I see other people.

Holiday Ornaments at a local wintery

Setting Intentions for the New Year

This year, I am thinking harder than usual about setting intentions for 2021. What am I hoping for? Thinking about health, work, relationships, the whole shebang. Quality of life. Maybe a new home, a few new friends, a new publisher, a new job? Better health, and I’ve got to get a handle on managing my health problems without getting angry or resentful of my body (after all, it’s gotten me this far, if not perfectly.) Mental health wise, trying to tackle depression (mild) and anxiety (more acute) head on with all the resources I have.

If I want, say, a new place to work or walk, or to find more friends who are supportive of my writing, or to find a publisher for my next two manuscripts, how do we set that intention?

You can imagine things in your mind. You can say mantras, or pray. You can make a vision board, which involves trying your hand at collage (another creative exercise that’s really good for those of us who aren’t visual artists, necessarily.)

At any rate, set a little bit of quiet time tonight to let go of the old year, and think about what you’d like to see in the year to come.

Discouragement During the Holidays, 2020 Edition

Ornament Closeup

Discouragement, Depression, and Disappointment: Holidays 2020 Edition

I try to be honest here on this blog, and so, in the name of honesty, I’m talking about something I’m sure a lot of you are feeling this year around the holidays – discouragement, depression, and disappointment. And of course, writers live in a world of constant rejection, it seems – so they are more prone to this than others.

So, in the name of honesty, this week, I received some really crushing rejections – of book manuscripts, of jobs I applied for, and you know if you read this blog, this last month has brought its share of losses and stresses, including my grandmother. One of my publishers – New Binary Press – is closing, sadly.  I feel like the universe says been saying a lot of “no” to me lately, and not a lot of yes. Physically, mentally, emotionally, I think this year has really taken it out of me. Even thinking about the new year feels exhausting. Like, yes, it might be better, but it’s going to be a while before the vaccine gets distributed and the economy recovers and Biden can right the many wrongs of Trump’s last four nightmare years. I don’t know, as an immune-compromised person, when I’m going to feel “safe” seeing friends and family again, besides outdoors and socially distanced (which is easier here in the summer than the winter). I’ve struggled with my health this year – mostly from long, serious complications from my first two root canals ever – even without seeing people, I ended up in the hospital a couple of times, which seems unfair – like, I’m shielding, I never do anything, and my body still manages to find a way to get sick? Gah.

I’ve written a lot this year, so it hasn’t been a lack of writing. I’m even a little proud of some of this year’s accomplishments, such as they are. But searching for a part-time job, trying to get these two manuscripts I’ve been shopping around a home, even just sending out individual packet of work – all feel like they have ended in despair, not celebration. I even tried to write a novel for NaPoWriMo – I’ve never done that before – and tried for a couple of grants that were difficult and daunting ot even apply for. I’ve been trying, is what I think I’m trying to say, but not getting exactly a ringing sound of endorsement from said universe.

I think about giving up on my dream of being a writer, sometimes, honestly. This year especially. I was good at my job as a tech writing manager, I liked advertising writing and working in publishing as an acquisitions editor for technical books. I liked getting a steady paycheck and the nice feeling of people praising you for a job well done – very absent in the poetry world, you may notice, except for a chosen few. I liked feeling useful instead of useless. When I was healthier and younger, I spent almost as much time volunteering as I did working – and I was sort of a workaholic. I miss being able to “do things” for people, physically, that I used to be able to do. I resent my disability, honestly, my immune system’s weakness and the symptoms of MS – vertigo, nausea, muscle weakness at odd times – and the feeling of a shrinking life those things can bring. I love my husband, who has always been very supportive of my writing career, and I’m happy he’s embarking on his own adventure, getting his first Master’s Degree, but I wonder: what’s next for me?

Anyway, I apologize for this downbeat post. All writers feel discouraged at some point. I hope your holiday will have a lot of joy, comfort, and light in it.