Friday, June 8, 2018

Home, Home On The Blog - Or, For The Love Of A Blog

.
Howdy, Campers ~ and Happy Poetry Friday!  (My poem and a link to this week's host is below.)

We, at TeachingAuthors Central, are celebrating our ninth (9th!!!) blogiversary and feeling pretty darn grateful.

Carmela, our Chairwoman of the Blog, started the celebration back in April, writing about our origin story and previewing coming changes.

Still in a celebratory mood, we're each posting on the topic: What I Love About Being A TeachingAuthor. Mary Ann posted the wonderful Think Write Love--with apologies to Elizabeth Gilbert, Carla writes her appreciation of sharing the real life issues of being an author, and Carmela posts her appreciation to you, our readers.

Now it's my turn.

When I was invited to join this blog, I remember thinking two things: 1) What's a blog? and 2) Why would anyone want to blog? But what I discovered is that I'd moved into an online home with five extraordinary roommates in an online galaxy (the Kidlitosphere) with an infinite number of generous souls. My village. My peeps.

So after nine years, what do I love about being a TeachingAuthor?

“The ache for home lives in all of us.
The safe place where we can go as we are
and not be questioned.” 

Why blog? Because for the writer in me, this blog is home.

* * * * * * * * * 
And now, for your listening pleasure, a poem (that mentions home):

I HAVE NO
by April Halprin Wayland
.
I have no rain inside my house,
no grass instead of rug,
no tiny living dinosaur,
no belching monster bug.
.
No piano-playing fish with wings,
no daffodils on skates,
no snowmen in my bottom drawer,
no unicycling kings.
.
But do I have
a waggish dog?
Oh, yes, I have
a dog.
.
So, there’s no end of wonders
nor subjects
for a poem
in our exciting, topsy-turvy, dog-invaded home.
.
poem (c)2018 April Halprin Wayland, who controls all rights.

(I  initially wrote that poem in 2012, when our doofus dog, Eli, was a puppy.)

May all your blogging bring you joy.


posted with affection by April Halprin Wayland with help from Eli

14 comments:

Irene Latham said...

Dear April, I love your Eli poems! And yay for you finding your blogging home... congratulations to all of you on 9 years of making the world a better place! Thank you! xo

Tabatha said...

Grateful for you! "An online galaxy with an infinite number of generous souls" is a beautiful way to put it! A dog is a wonderful subject for poems, for sure.

jama said...

Happy 9th blogiversary to all the Teaching Authors. Love visiting this blog and your describing it as "home." Yes! And thanks for the Eli poem. :)

Ruth said...

I'm glad you blog!

Whispers from the Ridge said...

Congratulations, April! Blogging does fulfill you and other in so many ways. Thank you for sharing your poem with us!

Jane @ www.raincitylibrarian.ca said...

Nine years of blogging, what an accomplishment! Happy blogiversary! :-)

Mary Lee said...

Happy Blog Anniversary! May there be many more years of posts and dog poems!

Molly Hogan said...

Congratulations on 9 years of blogging! I love the Maya Angelou quote and your phrase: "an online galaxy..with an infinite number of generous souls." What an incredible thing it is to find a home in an online writing community.

Michelle Kogan said...

Oh what fun your poem would be to illustrate, along with your "topsy-turvy" dog!" Glad you are blogging April, and happy 9th Anniversary to all the Teaching Authors, and to many more to come!

Linda B said...

I've read all of you for a long time, but maybe not 9 years. Congratulations on that anniversary. It is nice to find "home" & one with a puppy in it is twice the pleasure. Hugs to you this summer, April!

Linda Mitchell said...

What a boost of energy this posting is. Thank you for deciding to find out what a blog is and to become part of the blogging community.

Carol said...

Happy Anniversary! I have been blogging about the same amount of time, and regularly consider closing it down, but then I think about losing connections with all of the people I have met, and I can't stand that. Your poem describes my house. There are no little people any more, only grumpy young adults, but I have a dog who is always happy to see me and be with me! Perfect!

Ramona said...

April, congrats on celebrating nine years of blogging. I love the way that blogging connects us to so many like-minded friends. Love the poem of your topsy-turvy dog.

April Halprin Wayland said...

Irene, Tabatha, Jama, Ruth, Kiesha, Jane, Mary Lee, Molly, Michelle K, Linda B, Michell L, Carol,and Ramona!

Sorry for this delayed response to your kind comments. All of you are generous souls in our online galaxy!

As much as possible, I am trying to stay off social media this summer--actually this lifetime.

It is an interesting balance between the home I've found on-line and the life I aspire to live on Mama Earth!

xox