Poetry

Something funny has been happening lately.  With Tyler working on his dissertation 24/7, I have had barely a second to sit and do any work whatsoever.  Painting, drawing, illustrating-- all of those projects have been put on hold (with the exception of the Hourglass Kickstarter campaign). 
But with little time to actually sit at my desk, I have started to write-- mostly in this giant spiral notebook that looks like something a 6th grader would use for biology class.  I leave it out when I'm doing puzzles with V, or when I'm sitting folding socks on the floor in the middle of the day (yes, we stay-at-home parents lead a glamorous life...).  Then when she is napping, I bring what I have scribbled in my book back to my desk and frantically type it out, encouraged by my lovely furry assistant who tries to nuzzle under my hands as I figure out what goes where and what doesn't belong at all.
It's fun.  And I have discovered something interesting:  writing poetry is very much like scientific illustration.  You kind of look at one little thing in life (oh, for example, the way your kid's feet look like tiny apples when she's dancing ballet in the living room-- something Tyler's grandma used to say), and then you very carefully pick a few choice words to set the scene/tell the story of what's going on.  Pretty soon you have this very tight little piece of work that is complete in-and-of itself, the way a drawing can be when hung framed on your wall.
So, anyway, I have started writing poetry.  But that's not the amazing thing.  The amazing thing (and I do feel justified to brag here, because, as Tyler so eloquently put it the other night, I have been allowed only about 27 minutes total to launch my hobby career as a poet), -- the amazing thing is that in letting these little poems out into the world, they have already hooked a few awards!
Last night I received an award from the Seattle Public Library with a poem that I entered for their poetry month competition.  It was very fun; I got to take home a stuffed walrus as my prize (who Violet has named "Baby Paul Poetry Walrus"), along with a certificate.
The other award is with Hallmark (yes, Hallmark, maker of cards and other feel good gifties).  I submitted a short poem to a contest they were running this past month, and yesterday I learned that I am one the winners!  So my poem will be published next year in a small book of poetry/short stories that they will be selling in their stores for Mother's Day 2013.
So, anyway, that's my big news.
Apparently I'm a poet and I didn't even knowit.

Also, again, please please please if you haven't done so already, PLEASE contribute to our Kickstarter campaign.  The minimum pledge is $1.  To put that into a language Seattleites can understand, that's less than a cup of coffee.