Therefore....if I am asking them to practice piano every day, then I should too. I don't have as much free time as them, but I can at least make an effort. Even 5 minutes is better than nothing.
Also, if I am asking my kids to write in their journals everyday, then I should have a journal too! (and post more often on my blog, eh?) So last week I bought myself a journal...my first one in over 4 years! That tells you how often I write these days! I used to keep a daily journal.
This is sad because I have always wanted to be a writer. As a child and as a teen it was my fondest wish and desire to write books, novels, and poems. I filled notebooks full of story ideas and story outlines. The summer I was 14, I lived in front of the computer for hours and hours each day writing my novel. I think I'd still like to write it someday. I have kept a large collection of my childhood writings...but I have only occasionally taken the time to write as an adult.
The last time I wrote regularly was when I was attending BYU. I was an English Major, so I had several opportunities to write all sorts of things! I have really really missed that! Whenever I have written a poem I have wondered to myself, "why don't I do this more often?"
One of the most obvious reasons why is my family. Raising kids is exhausting and time consuming even if it is the most rewarding adventure in life. And frankly, it sucks my will and creativity right out of me. So this has been my excuse for years for why I don't write.
It is important, however, for anyone who wants to write well to do it daily! I remember my creative writing teacher saying over and over again that the most important thing for a writer to do was to write something every day...just to keep "in shape" as it were. Whether it was a journal, brainstorming, poems, short stories, exercises....one must actually physically write SOMETHING.
So I've decided to give writing a try again! My life doesn't have to be bare of creativity! I don't find joy in hands on projects like sewing, etc. I'm not naturally "crafty". But creating things feeds the soul and the spirit...and I have really missed that joy. I want to reopen the outlet of creativity.
I am very rusty after years of not writing much...except for my occasional entries on this blog! ;)
But it has been super fun for me this past week. I made a goal for myself to write a poem everyday...long or short...any kind of poem...even if it was a bad one! I don't have time to write a novel or even a short story. But poems? I can do that! :) It's been very enjoyable so far.
I am considering starting a new blog to collect my writings in just to have a place to put them all. It won't be fancy, it won't be professional, and I'll be doing it just for me. (But I am happy to share and get feedback! ;) I'll post here when it is up and running.
Here are two shares from this week's musings:
The first is a collection of Haiku-like poems. (They don't follow the exact format, but they are reminiscent of that style.) The second was written on the same day in a similar theme, but in a different format & style.
Moments with Children
Children are honest
Their faces clear as glass-
They speak no guile.
The young tread lightly
not glancing at their feet-
wondering at the sky.
My sweet ones smile,
not knowing how it hurts-
innocence cannot last.
She speaks with jewels,
casting pearls at my feet
I reap what I have not sown.
Purity, love, and trust-
God's divinity shines
in my child's eyes.
The Gift
The sweetest gift was entrusted me today:
Soft chubby arms around my neck.
She clung--without a fear,
without a care she sung.
The brightness of those cheeks,
The clarity of those eyes
The knowing looks
and winsome quirks
took my by surprise.
The sweetest gift was entrusted me today:
A child's wiles.
