Hello, World!

First of all…let me know if you like what you read…or if you don’t…hell — just let me know that someone is out there, reading!

Now, an introduction.

I am a 50-something writer (mostly a poet). I am also a wife and mother of two young adults, an avid knitter, a devoted doggie-mom, a yo yo dieter and, oh yeah, a market researcher in my day job.

I should really take these one at a time.

Poet: I’ve been writing poetry since 2001, when I retired from a Corporate job (a great day in the life, let me tell you!). I’ll publish my poetry here, so if you like this poem, come back and read more. This is the title poem from my book, published in 2007 and available at Amazon. The collection is called Unfinished…as is the poem.

Unfinished

Melancholy descends like a mother-in-law
arriving unannounced,
peeking through all your cupboards,
in all your most private corners,
until you throw your hands up in disgust,
leave your bagel on the plate
unfinished,
crawl beneath the covers to hide
from the obvious transparency
of all your flaws.

The painting sits,
only pinks and mauves daubed on the canvas,
as you forget
where you put the keys to your life.
One stanza of a poem moans with loneliness,
a one-sleeved sweater sits,
knitting needles akimbo.
The linen closet’s contents strewn
in the hallway attest to the fog,
descended
as you were matching striped pillowcases to sheets,
watermelon washcloths to their cousins the bath towels.

All the while, she lurks, reading your mail,
commandeering your haunts,
until there is just a tiny slice of you left,
peeping through the keyhole,
watching instead of living.

Then one day, fed up, you decide to throw her out,
summon the courage to tell her it is time.
You make the plane reservations yourself,

and when she is finally gone,
you batten down the hatches,
watching the midnight lift,
sunshine melt through the house,
buttery and rich,
alighting on that morning’s bagel.

Unfinished
on its blue willow plate.

You sit alone and begin to eat again.

Wife and Mother: If you are still with me, after that, I am a wife and mother. The former for 27 years…my wonderful husband is funny and handsome and very handy around the house. More on him in another episode.

My two kids are a son 23 and a daughter 20. More about my son in another blog. My daughter is learning classical drawing and painting in Florence, Italy, taking a 4 year course. Her work is amazing…I hope to post some of it from time to time. I know, I know…I’m doing the proud mama thing. But I AM a proud Mama! And she really IS good.

My son is amazingly creative too…a writer. Check out his blog at Diabeetus Moustache on this site. He has one semester of college left.

Knitting: This is a relatively recent addition to my life. Though I am now tackling a pair of socks! I’m learning new stitches and patterns all the time and I’m getting a bit addicted. I take knitting everywhere with me. I would take it to work if I thought I could get away with it (…not so much…).

Woof-Woof: And now, for the piece de resistance…my dear doggies. I have a 13.5 year old corgi, Erin. She is now on special shots for her arthur-itis and they have turned her into a young pup again. I keep asking why they don’t have these injections for humans!

And then there is my beloved Sophie, who is our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She is 2 and is my empty next baby. It was “adopt a baby” or “get a puppy” when our younger child left home. We got the puppy — a wise move. Lot’s less effort than a child and tons of unconditional love. We snuggle. She bonded with me right away and follows me everywhere around the house.
She was bred to be a lap dog, which means she lives to love. I could have done worse, I’d say!

Oh, I almost forgot about the dieting. I often “forget” about the dieting…which is why I Yo-Yo. I’m a perpetual Weight Watcher…who loves ice cream (not so good) and green beans (good…but not together!).

Well, that’s an introduction to me.

BFF: The only person I haven’t mentioned who is a part of my everyday life is my BFF. We are joined at the hip, and have been friends for 44 years! We can definitely blackmail each other…and have pictures of the “awkward” years to prove it! You’ll here some BFF tales here, too.

Market Research: Yes, in my day job, I’m a focus group moderator…meaning I wrest people’s opinions of products and services from them for money. They get paid. They share their thoughts. We all go away happy…including, I hope, the client who pays me to do this. All in all, it’s a great job. I get to talk to nice (for the most part) people and I get to write reports on what they said…not bad for someone who likes to write.

SO — do come back for laughter, the occasions tear or whine, an occasional knitting pattern and, I hope, what you will think is thought provoking poetry. I plan to add pix of the Dear Doggies at some point, too.

TTFN,

Anni

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Tags: diets. BFF, dogs, kntting, market research, Poetry, writing