2023-09-20: milestones

the title both literal and figurative. i have a half marathon coming up soon. i've trained as much as i can. not enough, but some, the same as every year. all that's left is to show up, run for a couple of hours, and then breathe. the same race i do every year, the course brutal, frontloaded with hills. every year, reverse splits. once i pass the halfway mark, i start to speed up, the worst behind me.

my poems accepted: the chapbook will be out...i'm not sure. later this fall? maybe early next year? no rush. this group of poems put together by going through all my unpublished work and finding pieces with similar themes and feel/vibes, then working out an order. i'm so happy with how it turned out, and seeing the proofs, it looks so sharp on the page. i'm proud of this. i'm proud of myself. i'm beginning to find my tiny little place in the literary world. for years i feared i never would.

the weather turning here (finally; happily). cool in the mornings, sometimes cold. i haven't broken out the slow cooker yet, but soon; i haven't put away the bbq and adirondack chairs yet, but soon. i'm starting my fall rituals. i'm getting back into music lessons. i'm starting to think about writing projects. i'm teaching myself fiddle tunes on the side. road to lisdoonvarna, swallowtail jig, tenpenny bit, etc. my time's in such a crunch. i feel like i don't have enough time for everything, but, who cares? "i could've been good if i'd focused on just one thing": the story of my life. should i give up writing? coding? music? better to do many things badly than never try them at all.

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