Shaking Off the Seasonal Sadness

I have a felt an unshakable sadness, as I often do this time of year.  One of my favorite holidays has come and gone, a signal that it won't be too much longer before ALL of my favorite holidays have come and gone--that's true in the annual sense and true in the life-is-short sense.

It's been a good week.  Let me count the ways and shake some of the sadness off of me:

--It's been the kind of week that I like best at school:  a week of pumpkin decorating and a costume contest.  This year, I got into the spirit.  I brought the following to school on Halloween:

I wrote this blog post:

"Can you see the costume? Do you recognize the influence of both Laura Ingalls Wilder and Barbie? Can you create a poem about the Ghost of Girlhood Past?"

And then I made this costume:

I wrote this blog post:

"The Ghost of Girlhood Past: who needs a costume made in China, when you have your wedding veil, your childhood dolls, and a string of battery operated Christmas lights!"

--An added bonus:  now those lights are draped around the leftover Halloween pumpkins and the autumnal trees in my office:

--A week ago, I made pumpkin cinnamon rolls.  Today, even though I have to be in the office, I will share those rolls with a friend who is coming to the office to have some catch up time.

--One of my colleagues in Career Services said that I am one of the most creative people she knows, along with our registrar and the colleague's mom.  I'll take that compliment.

--Yesterday we ordered smoked turkeys and a ham for our annual Thanksgiving potluck at school.  It was good to reconnect with our source for the smoked turkeys and ham and good to work with the Director of Admissions in the way we once did.  It's good to remember the aspects of my workplace that I love.

--Yesterday I also had a flash of insight for a new collection of poetry.  About 6 weeks ago, I thought about using one of my newer chapbook manuscripts as a base for a larger collection.  I had put the the chapbook together by only allowing myself to use poems that I'd written since 2016. 

When I tried to assemble a larger manuscript, it was clear that I was duplicating the manuscript I already had in circulation.  I use circulation loosely.  I send it out about once a month.  I still like that manuscript, but I'd like a different manuscript to also be submitting to places that have already seen manuscript #1.

Yesterday, I thought, what if I include the poems that are rooted in mythology, fairly tales, and a literary character or two (Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird and Nancy Drew).  An added bonus:  those poems aren't included in manuscript #1.

--Now let me settle into this Saturday.  Even though I have to be at the office, I plan to do some baking later today.  I am going to experiment with a Pan de Muerto recipe and transform it into a Tropical Pan de Muerto.  Stay tuned!