{Back to School, Back to Writing} By the Dashboard Lights

How many hours spent moving?
How many hours spent traveling?

this nomadic life

every three years
a new place
a new house
new friends
a new me?

every three years
longing for roots
a place to call home
family

family feels so far away at times
all the miles in between
so many road trips
so many miles

watching children grow up in pictures
longing for the days I could just play with them
now they're grown
teenagers
starting their own road trips

so many miles logged
so many miles spent staring out the window
wondering about the passing farm house
what life must be like growing up surrounded by corn
not traffic
not noise

in the quiet of the night
on the road for so long
the kids are finally asleep
no more yelling
no more tears

in the quiet of the night
I'm almost home
traveling the miles for family
taking as many moments as I can
before they grow up

in the quiet of the night
by the dashboard light
I catch a glimpse of my babies
already growing
already well traveled
already nomadic


---------------------------------------------------------------------------


In the 18 years since I graduated high school I've lived in three different countries, seven different states, and have moved a total of 12 times.  Each of my children have already lived in two states and the youngest has visited 10.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------


Are you interesting in getting back to writing?  Join Creative Soul and get Back to School, Back to Writing.

{Back to School, Back to Writing} The Beginning

I want chocolate!

What does that have to do with "The Beginning?"

I have no idea, I simply want chocolate.

The Beginning

I've spent much time the past two weeks preparing for a new year of Homeschooling.

I'm working on being more...

more prepared

more organized

more purposeful

more diligent

I'm learning what it means to model behavior.

Telling my children how important it is to read but never taking the time to read.

Teaching my children how to write but never sitting down to pen a letter

or write in a journal.

They occasionally see me on the computer but only my oldest has figured out that this is a type of writing.

So this year I'm starting fresh

I'm beginning anew

While learning about writing, I'll be writing with them

While learning about reading, I'll be reading to them {not just at bedtime}

We'll be memorizing poetry together

I'm not just teaching my children history and math, reading and writing, Latin and English grammar- I'm teaching them how to learn

And I'm learning

                   that it to be modeled.

I'm joining Creative Soul and following the daily prompts in effort to get back into the habit of writing. To show my children, words matter.

Just Writing

I've missed writing, missed composing poems.

I find myself here next to a sleeping child, my mother-in-law entertaining the other, new life kicking inside and I want to write.

I want to catch up on all the lost words, months of words, excitement, happenings. But it just isn't feasible, too much was missed, too much time gone by.

Time continues to carry on while I sit and watch. Watch the children grow, watch my stomach grow.

The ebb and flow of life carries on, hopefully I'll be able to put some of it into words.

My Journey: My writing

I was once told people write the way they speak, to which I emphatically disagreed saying I wrote much more eloquently than I spoke.

That was 5 years ago.

I've looked on some of my past blogs and I have, indeed, been writing as I speak. Using slang and improper English, some of my ramblings truly rambled. This afternoon in the shower I pondered on the past few years and what has changed... EVERYTHING!

5 years ago I was writing as an outlet for my depression. Coping with island fever in a job I hated, my husband deployed, I needed something. My rambles were much less rambling and more essay like. I wrote a lot of poetry, which I actually miss writing.

Over the years I've written less and lost a bit of my eloquence. I've taken time out to transfer, have children, live the crazy life of a stay-at-home mom. Until recently my darling children haven't afforded me the opportunity to get my thoughts out as I'd like. Little Bit is finally getting to the age where I don't have to watch her every moment. But with yet another transfer looming I don't know if I'm going to be able to devote myself to writing as I'd like.

I was thrilled when the blogging revolution took off, I saw it as a chance to get my thoughts "out there." I've wanted to be an author for some time but haven't compiled enough to submit anything. I enjoy writing short stories, children's stories (I have an entire series in my head waiting to be released), and of course, poetry. Haiku's! I love the simplicity and imagery, I'm sure it doesn't help that the first poetry contest I won was for a Haiku.



**A bit off topic but this came to me earlier**

Tear glistening down
An awaiting daughter's cheek
Father, I love you

I'm praying for you Friend!

Journey: Writing

The journey of my life and how writing effects that.

Cyril Connolly said, "It is better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self."

I've been having a bit of writer's block as of late. I have a few drafts but nothing to publish. My thoughts don't seem to finish and I'm left with fragments. I have this blog and contribute to two others and, unfortunately, I haven't been able to post anything on those either.

I get an idea to write but that's where it stops. Most of the time, words seem to flow from my head to my fingers without too much effort but that hasn't been the case for the past couple of weeks. Until today.

Today, right smack dab in the middle of Bible study I felt the need to write my sister, so I did, on a napkin. I'll send it to her tomorrow.
Then again this evening, I picked up my old journal. My last entry was October! But when I went to write, it was with such ease.

Writing is my therapy, my outlet, my peace. When I can't get the thoughts out I don't seem to function well in most aspects of my life. Like a stopped up drain, everything backs up, inevitably causing a dirty sink. My house is that sink.

Hopefully if I can't get the words here, I'll get them in my journal. And hopefully, I'll get caught up on my chores.