My One Little Word for this year is really 3: Ready...Steady...Go.
I've been doing well with Ready: keeping my eye on things as they develop in my family, in my classroom, in the world, and being better prepared for things not to be 100% rosy.
And Go has always been a strong point for me--I prefer to be Ready before I Go, but I can get Going even if I'm not quite Ready. In fact I'm a little notorious for Going before all the possible research and analysis has been Ready. There are models which call people like me "Drivers."
The tricky word for me is the middle one: Steady. With that word I was trying to remind myself of two opposing grips (which may explain the challenge I'm having).
How, you may be asking, is all this introspection related to Burma-Shave?
Well, I'd been holding firmly to the idea that my congregation's bazaar will happen this year on a new date the way it always has--with only my smallest contribution of effort. Good and steady, Heidi. But when a gust of request came from the new bazaar chair for some Burma-Shave style rhyming advertisements, I was holding loosely enough to reach for that fun challenge--which is why I spent time this week writing, formatting and printing 100 pages of Burma-Shave jingles instead of writing a blog post in good time.
Here are a few of them. Try not to think how much time I spent tracking down a Burma-Shave font (for which I then paid real money).
The peaceful roundup this week is hosted by Michelle at Today's Little Ditty.
I'm totally sold on coming to the bazaar!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with keeping steady.
Heidi, I connect with your meditation on the word "steady." The rudder is a great metaphor for the balance we need between driving forward while being prepared for the unexpected. My favorite bazaar poem is the first -- "hurly burly" fits so well with this font!
ReplyDeleteHow fun, Heidi! Totally worth the effort and cost, I'd say. :) Goodonya for walking that line between steady and steady.
ReplyDeleteWow. No post needed, when you've created those little beauties! #steadyasshegoes
ReplyDelete(I have no idea what Burma Shave is, btw.)
Interesting rumination on the word steady. Watch out for rope burn. Your verses for the bazaar are truly clever. They are lucky to have such a poet among them.
ReplyDeleteHi Heidi, I like your three words and your effort to not skip the first two steps. It's a challenge with me, too. I like to go, but I see your point. Being ready and steady are good life skills. Especially for a writer submitting... I like your Burma Shave poems.
ReplyDeleteThose signs would entice me to come and donate to your bazaar! I'm glad you took up the challenge and had fun with it.
ReplyDeleteI'm the crazy woman who asked Heidi to do this. I spent today wreathed in her playful poems as I got them mounted and ready to display. It was bliss. Thanks so much, Heidi, for saying yes. The Bazaar is November 4th, and I think it is safe to say that we are the only Bazaar in the DC area (perhaps in the entire United States) that has our own poet laureate! How lucky we are!
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm laughing with you......I seem to have stepped deep into tasks that I agreed to do when they sounded good and simple. But, I love your commercials. They are fun and rhyme-y and for a most wonderful cause. You can absolutely and truthfully say you are a working artist! Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteYou've hooked me on your "donation fairy," hope it is a grand success!
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