#atinylife gonefishin’

As I scuttle off for the summer months, I just wanted to say some ‘thank yous.’

Thanks for sticking with me.

Thanks for telling me you read tinylife every week.

Thanks for the likes and comments: here, on Facebook, on Twitter.

Thanks for letting me whine, ramble, rant, figure things out as I go along, say very little, say far too much, say things in a roundabout way, say things in a direct way, say things with brutal honesty, and talk on a range of disparate subjects.

Thanks for putting up with my God-awful drawing skills.

Particular thanks to Cheryl for not being cross when I forgot (again!) to post her guest posts.

Thanks to Cheryl for her guest posts.

Thank you for supporting my writing, my poetry, my novels, and my creative life.

tinylife will be back in September.

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#atinylife mornings

‘Sugar Puffs? Weetabix? Hoops?’

‘Sugar Puffs? Why didn’t you say you wanted them when I asked you?’

‘Go get dressed.’

‘Are you dressed? Why aren’t you dressed?’

‘It’s 8:15 now. Are you dressed?’

‘I’m setting a timer. If you’re not dressed in five minutes, no screen after school.’

‘OK. Stop that. You need to brush your teeth.’

‘Putting a toothbrush in your mouth on a timer is not the same as brushing.’

‘Nooooo, brush all of your teeth, not just the bottom ones on the left hand side.’

‘Do you want your hair up?’

‘OK, you just need your snack and then you’re ready.’

‘You said you didn’t want your hair up!’

‘OK. Yes, I can put it up. No, I need to brush it properly. Well you haven’t, it’s got tangles.’

‘Go. To. School.’

‘No, you CAN’T stay home today.’

 

#atinylife JuneAgain

Oh, it’s June again. I probably blogged the exact same whine last year.

June 2019 highlights so far include:-

• waking up at 3:30am and making a ‘June’ calendar from an IKEA paper roll
• colour co-ordinating said calendar for each family member
• saying to myself ‘well, that’ll be OK, I just need not to add in anything else.’
• organising two more things that same day. For June.
• scheduling a mental health day for my youngest and thinking ‘oooh duvet day for me too!’
• losing all patience with a child who doesn’t want to go to school and telling them ‘I would be carted off to the loony bin’ if I home-schooled them. (Extra points for bad parenting AND derogatory language surrounding mental health all wrapped up in one grumpy sentence.)
• counting down the hours to July, summer holidays, and sweet, sweet freedom!

#atinylife The Last News

So, the submissions period for the anthology has come and gone. I only got two poems a day too late!

I’m delighted – I received over 70 poems for consideration. I have been in touch with everyone who submitted, so if you’ve not heard from me, please let me know.

It has been a real joy to read all your submissions. From funny poems to heart-breaking ones, poems that were super inventive with the theme, to poems that seem to have forgotten there was a theme in the first place! Thank you all for trusting me with your work.

Please remember if your poem wasn’t selected, it doesn’t mean anything in terms of its quality. Some amazing poems didn’t make it into the book – there just wasn’t enough space for all of them.

Whatever the outcome, you are a poet – keep writing!

#tinylife binaryfree

It’s tricky to make sure everyone feels included sometimes. Here are some non-binary terms for everyday use.

For a mixed group of people

Folks (see also, Folx)

People (see also Peeps)

Everyone

Team

Gang

 

Foolish Mortals, Rat Bags, Noodles, You Horrible Lot, Hominids [these are all to be said in a nice way, and as a joke, just so you know…]

Children: class, weans, kids, kiddies, wee-ones, possums, lambs, loves, my loves, campers.

For Family

Offspring, Siblings, Niblings (your sibling’s children), My oldest/youngest, My nibling, Parents, Family, Grandparent, Nuncle (goes with nibling and probably better than nunty?)

For a person of any gender

Mate, Pet, My lovely, Duckie, Honeybun, Chicken-poodle, Lambie,

Doctor, Professor, Judge, the Right Honourable, Bishop, the Reverend, Very Reverend

Your highness, oh Great One, Mighty Ruler, Wonderful Counsellor, Your Grace, the Everlasting  [these will usually be sarcastic?]

 

 

Cheryl Smith: #atinylife coming home

And we’re back.

We were only gone for three days, but the place has changed in that time – don’t ask me how. The furniture is the same, the rooms haven’t morphed into something other than what they were, and our pets are as healthy and happy as we left them – possibly more so, because our house sitters were wonderful and I suspect they’ve been spoilt.

Maybe that’s where the difference lies. Our lovely friends had left by the time we got home, leaving cleanliness, order, and the sense of their recent presence as parting gifts. I imagine that somehow their routines have infused the fabric of the place too, because – and this always happens when I leave and come back again – I’ve forgotten how things are done round here. I shall have to re-learn. It’ll take at least three days.

#atinylife Humility

I was always good at learning songs and poems off by heart. Mr HB used to refer to it as ‘my super power,’ which made me feel special and precious.

Of course I’m now in my 40s and have two children. My head is so full of dentist appointments, maths homework and what on earth are we going to have for dinner tonight that the lyrics have all fallen out of my brain (science).

What is wonderful about this is that my oldest has inherited ‘the powers.’ They are regularly asked to regale their classmates with screeds of Hamilton, the musical. On the flip side, they are horrified at the draining of my super powers. I try to sing along with Hamilton in the car, and get berated constantly. NO, MUM THAT’S NOT THE RIGHT WORD!

Aaaah, humility. Thanks kids.