Trying to find some sort of balance to make it through summer July 10, 2009
Posted by catiporter in Antioch MFA, Books, Domestic notions.trackback
Yep, it’s summer. We’ve doing lots of fun things like visiting botanic gardens, staying overnight at a hotel for the 4th, with lots more planned. Yesterday we took the training wheels off of Bradley’s bike and he’s now zipping around. Took them to the park where he could hone his skills (and Jacob could ride farther and straighter than he can in our yard, a boon for him). I watched them ride, but mostly I just sat in the shade and read.
I took Sharon Olds, Dorianne Laux, Molly Peacock, and the Bedside Guide to No Tell Motel with me (a little ambitious, I know, but I wasn’t sure which one I would be drawn to; it was Olds, in case you’re curious). I’m doing some preliminary research for the paper I’m doing. I’m not just going to document how Gurlesque poets tackle sex and sexuality, but try to compare it with the generation before them to see if they really are doing anything different, or if it’s just the same thing in updated packaging. But reading about sex all summer doesn’t seem like such a bad deal!
Today I’m taking the boys to breakfast — more Mr. T’s! And running errands, of course. Taking them to the market with me is always a challenge. How many boxes of cookies, fruit by the foot, and sugary cereals can two children actually eat? I mean, without, you know, puking all over the house? I’ll surely have to reign them in, but we’re out of essentials so it’s a necessity, not optional, today. And we’ll even get the van washed. It’s full of garden debris from our excursions last week. I did install the soaker hose yesterday so hopefully all of my new plants will make it through the heat of the summer. Also hung up the hammock! It’s in the shade, and is a treat to lay in and stare up at (the neighbors’) pine trees.
Hopefully I’ll get more reading done today, too. Actually wrote a new poem yesterday, too. So I seem to be getting back into some sort of gear. But it’s hard to write when they’re knocking on the bedroom door every five minutes. Breakfast? Who needs breakfast? This eating thing is *highly* overrated.
Oh, and I was thinking of posting the text of the intros I wrote for Molly Bendall and Marilyn Nelson. Perhaps when I get back — if I don’t give the natives something to eat they may very well eat me!
Cati, I love that photo of the boys! And your description of reading, writing and summer-fun. You sound energized for all kinds of creativity. Pat
Thanks, Pat!
Hope you’re finding some time to delve into something creative this summer, too; I’ll have to pop on over to your blog to see what you’re up to!
what a terrific stack of books to be reading! can’t wait to hear more about your research :)