September Changes & Poetry Changes

September is here. I will soon be spending my days following a schedule, a structure. I will be leaving behind my days of freedom to amble about the house in pyjamas, eating orange-yogurt ricecakes and reading blogs until 5 in the afternoon. From next week, I'll be rising at an early hour, pairing the right shirt with the right trousers (or trying to), making sure my shoes aren't scuffed, and my hair is straight as I leave the house. I'll be sensible about breakfast. I'll check that I've got my paperwork in order. I'll be a grown-up, a member of the workforce again.

But only for the mornings. I'm planning to get to the gym some afternoons. And to nap in others. I'm thinking how precious my weekends are going to be; how I'll be wanting to use those days for all the things I love best, and how necessary it will be to maintain order around me if I'm not going to have to spend my weekends just restoring order. I'm reminding myself that I have good habits established in using my calender and diary, and that I just need to keep that up, so things don't get lost, so I can see what my commitments are, and not feel I'm losing touch with my life. I'm wondering what will be good coffee-times for my friends, if I'm no longer free for mornings or lunch. I'm wondering about alternatives. I'm just a little bit anxious moving into this new phase of my life (again).

And just when this change comes along, along come others. Last week saw the demise of Poetry Thursday, and now it seems that the efforts to install a replacement project aren't going ahead. There are plans for the community to take it forward by posting a poetry piece in their blogs on Thursdays, and for one person to 'host' comments linking to their post. The wonderful Delia is going to be the "Blog-Momma" for the first round tomorrow. I don't know how much blogging time I'm going to have over the coming months, but I really want to continue the connections with all the wonderful poets who appeared in my life via Poetry Thursday, so I'm committing to doing something each week. Last week, I mentioned that, along with Poetry Thursday, I'm part of two "real-world" writers' groups, and very lucky I felt to be. Well, this is changing too.

Life just IS change, isn't it? Things happen to cause people to move on. - Work, education plans, relationships shift in our lives, and so our lives have to move to accommodate the changes. In one of my groups, too many members have reached times of change all at this time. The group couldn't hold, and a graceful goodbye is being said to Glass Apple Writers. Then, at the first post-summer meeting of my other writers' group, we learnt that two members are moving away for a while, - but another, who had taken some time out, has returned. Enthusiasm for the same type of projects we've done in the past is flagging. There's a feeling that something needs to shift, a need for a new energy - for change. Yes, I can take change, but not too much. After we'd had some time discussing business, checking in, we got to the work of the evening, - sharing our writing, and oh, that was when I breathed, that was when I realised that This is what draws us together. We love to write, we love to read , we love to get inside the piece of writing, or to let it get inside us. This is what feeds my soul. This won't change. I know that this won't change.