Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

Today is a happy day for me. My first ever published poem is out there. Honestly, I don't care if I don't get anything else done today. I just want to keep opening the website where my poem has been offered alongside many other wonderful poems for all to read. I feel very honored to have been granted this opportunity. If you'd like to read "Shivering in the Passenger Seat," click here . You'll be taken to the latest issue of Tipton Poetry Journal . Read all of the poems. I know you'll find one, maybe two, perhaps even ten that will move you. With just a little over a month left of my sabbatical, I'm feeling a bit sad. The time off from prepping for five classes, from grading 100+ essays several times a semester, from committee work, etc. has been just wonderful. I finally got a sense for what it's like to be a full-time writer. I've always wondered what this kind of life would be like, and now I know a little bit better. I wish I could live t...

Yesterday, around 2 in the afternoon, I was checking my email, not really paying attention to the one I opened as I was talking to Hubby at the same time. We were chatting, my eyes scanning the opening of the email, and all the sudden I saw the word submission . My mind went on alert status. I went back to the beginning of the email to read it through slowly. The first three lines were the usual Dear JK, thank you for your submission to, we appreciate you thinking of us. The next line then said the words all authors want to hear: your piece has been selected for publication. At that point, I threw my hands in the air and waved them around, telling Hubby my happy news. The next paragraph, though, is what really warmed me through: "We have received a large number of amazing submissions for this issue and the selection process was very challenging. Your entry stood out as a high quality creation. Kudos for a job well done. " How nice is that?!? Nothing else in the world ma...