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Summer Break

I know a lot of homeschoolers that school year-round so they don’t have that “Summer Slide” of lost information and review in the fall. I can see the value in that, but I also think it is great to just take a break and come back to it later. We take 8 weeks off in the summer, and I’ve been thinking of letting myself take a little summer vacation with writing too.

I don’t take breaks from writing very often–hardly ever–I am very diligent writer, since my time for writing is limited by the responsibilities of being a homeschooling mom of five kids, and my online adjuncting, and, and, and. There’s always something or other trying to nip away at any time I have for writing, so I typically hoard it pretty jealously and am loathe to give an inch of it.

However, writing 30 poems in 30 days plain wore me out! I ended up creating a chapbook out of it (which I just signed a contract for–hurrah!–and more info soon!), and I’m happy with the work I did, and the couple of poems I wrote in May.

I think I can get sort of bent on “output” and productivity as a poet though, and lose site of just letting myself sit, wonder, daydream. I need to refill with long walks and working in the yard and swimming in the neighborhood pool.