Inspired to Journal

This blog has become a number of things for me - a sounding board, an emotional dumping ground, a place for my random (and, sometimes, bizarre) thoughts.

And now, as I push myself to write again (poetry, and maybe, once again - plays), this will be my creative journal. Yes, I know this has actually been a journal, but now I need to to help me develop my writing voice. I have made a choice to write; I need to use this to get motivated.

Next on the agenda: notes for the first draft of my next poem!

Weathering Change

Each morning as I take my dog out for his daily walk, I notice little differences that mark a change in seasons. It wasn't that long ago that the red berries on the trees were encased in ice, and the ground beneath my boot soled feet was frozen and snow covered. Now the berries are nearly hidden by leaves, and I wear sandals as I walk through the soft grass.

Cold and snow gave way first to the cold, dreary rain of March and April, and now to the sun-filled warmth of May. And I am brought back in my mind, memories of where I was one year ago as I prepared to move to this "new" place. Now I am a resident, comfortable in my surroundings, no longer a stranger. I am home.

Some People

I learned today that some people just make it impossible for me to stay in a bad mood. Here's the story: I came into the post office today, "loaded for bear" because they had returned two packages that I had tried to send using their automated system. The packages were weighed through their system, and postage was calculated through their system, and then they were returned to me for incorrect postage. Grrrr!

So I waited in line (something I hate doing, being the somewhat impatient person I can be when I am late for work because I started off my day late by waking up late). And then I almost threw the two packages on the counter, and told the postal employee that these were weighed here and the postage calcuated here and why were they returned? Now I would need to pay for Priority Mail to get them to their destination on time.

The postal employee patiently explained these were parcels. I said, no, they're envelopes (padded envelopes, but envelopes all the same). He said that there should have been a message that explained the width and rigidness of the package made it a parcel. Well, maybe that did come up; I don't know - I don't have time to read through all that, rushing through my day as I often do.

And then, without my asking, he discounted the price I had already paid from the cost of Priority postage. We had a discussion on how the package going to Texas would get there faster than the one going to Tennessee because the first one was travelling by air. Interesting. And then I left, much happier than when I arrived.

I made sure to give him a good recommendation in the online survey when I returned to my office.Because something good should be said about someone who made it possible for me to have a nice day.

A Wall of Water

A little bit of rain can be a good thing - it helps plants grow, cleans the air (as well as the dog doo from the lawn). A little rain is refreshing, particularly after an extremely long dry spell.

A lot of rain is, however, downright depressing. It is an unending wall of water, a flood of green on the weather map, unending puddles of cold sogginess to be sloshed through while taking the dog out for his daily business. It messes with the mind and makes me want to sleep.

I don't dare wish for the rain to end, though. That would, most definitely, start an unending dry spell. Given the choice between too much rain and too much drought, I would, most assuredly, prefer the former.

I just wish it would be, perhaps, just a little bit less.