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What I Write About:
50th Birthday Acceptance Across An Aqueous Moon: Travels in Autism Adoption Advocacy Anger Anxiety Art Authenticity Autism Behavioral Issues Change Creativity Dating Divorce Expectations Family Fear Finishing Line Press Gratitude Holidays IEPs Letting Go Memoir Milestones Open Mind School Parenting Poet Laureate Poetry Rapid Prompting Method RPM Sensory Integration Shame Single Parent Social skills Soma RPM Special Education Special Needs Speech Delay Story The Blank Canvas Blog Hop Transitions Truth Unplanned Life Writing Life
A String of Firsts
Last weekend, I coordinated Poetry Day at the Alameda County Fair. (I know, who knew?) in the morning, I hosted an open mic for all the poets whose work was accepted and displayed at the Fair, plus in the afternoon, … Continue reading
Summer Vacation
It’s June, and my daughter Katie has a one-week break before summer school starts. (Actually Open Mind School operates year-round, so unlike most public school programs, it will be regular school that happens in the summer months.) It might be … Continue reading
Katie Graduates
Tomorrow my daughter Katie graduates from 8th grade. I honestly have no idea where the time went. It’s such a cliche, and yet, utterly on point. My brain keeps shouting: How did this happen? It’s simply not possible. You have … Continue reading
Summer of Love
As if the month of May had not been crazy enough, I had one last poem to write. Yes, one more. Number Six. Every year the seniors at Granada High School compete to design and paint a bus shelter mural. … Continue reading
Heroes Among Us
Earlier this month, I described the process of writing four poems for four sculptures being installed simultaneously downtown and then moving on to a volunteer poem for the City’s annual Civic Appreciation Dinner. Five poems in under three weeks. Here’s … Continue reading
Four Sculptures in Four Seasons
In my last two posts, I described the process of writing four poems for four sculptures being installed simultaneously downtown. I was under a tight deadline and wasn’t sure I could pull it off. Here’s what I came up with. … Continue reading
Poetry on Demand, Part 2
I needed four poems about four diverse sculptures, and I needed them fast. But I now had a structure and a thread to tie them together. I sat myself down and started writing. Since I wanted to end with Peace, … Continue reading
Poetry on Demand, Part 1
Back when I was debating whether or not to apply for the Poet Laureate position, the thing that gave me pause—okay, most worried me—was the task of writing poems “on demand” for the City. My three predecessors had been required … Continue reading
