Confession Tuesday

If it's Tuesday, it's time for your confessions. Share a little of yourself and we promise to do the same.


This is my last full week of teaching classes.

*smile*

I've had lots of fun this semester teaching a full course load, and my students are great. But I need a break. Also, this is the first time I will have a month off. Hello! It's not like I won't be busy, however. The O'Neil household has officially entered the silly season (a.k.a. the holidays). And the Mass Poetry Festival never sleeps.

****

I'm thinking about writing the next poem (not the last poem), which is a good sign. It's too early to say I'm working on a new book, but the poems are coming. They are hiding underneath other poems. I wake up and there they are waiting to be noticed. They wait patiently for me to turn ideas into drafts. So I am writing, scribbling, jotting, musing, singing, twisting, poeming.

Keep calm and write poems.

****
And on a sad note, my granddaddy passed away this past Sunday. So I will be flying down to Atlanta this weekend for the funeral. He and my grandmama, who passed away last May, were part of a generation quickly disappearing. They enjoyed the American Dream: they worked steadily, they raised a family, they were active in their community, and they owned their own home. Not to say that life didn't throw them challenges, but my grandparents were humble people who prospered. I hope I am that lucky.

My granddaddy lived a good life. He will be missed.