Thank you for this lovely post, Tara, and thanks for mentioning me! I was in tears when I read your poem. It reminded me of my own son. He had a difficult adolescence, and never fit into our cultural expectations of masculinity. But he’s grown to be one of the most compassionate people I know. He’s a teacher of autistic children, most of whom come from challenging situations. I couldn’t be more proud of him.
The February poetry challenge has been exciting. I’ve been working on each prompt daily, but have only posted one poem. Maybe a weekend project.
You do a great job of capturing emotion without stepping over the line into the sentimental. Not an easy task.
Thanks for sharing the Tom Cox post. I’m going there now. Have a wonderful day.
Thanks, Mary. Your son sounds like such a good soul. I’m so happy he’s found his place. And I hope you post some more of your poems. I’d love to read them. I love how the daily push to write makes me less precious and careful. It’s fun!
This was awesome! The body image issues and the conditioning of little boys to shut off is so tough to navigate. All we really can do is be there for them with good examples and a soft shoulder.
I read all the Percy Jackson books a number of years ago, along with my older kids. When I was pregnant with our fifth child, I got the name "Annabeth" stuck in my head but couldn't remember where it came from. Now we have a seven-year-old Annabeth and I'm watching the PJ series with my thirteen-year-old and loving those books all over again.
Thank you for this poem. I agree with your no schmaltz rule, but for me this is properly moving. Thanks too for the thoughtful commentary on raising a young man - it resonates.
Beautiful poem and gorgeous vulnerability shown above. Thank you for the mention, Tara! I'm so glad to virtually know you and benefit from the beautiful words your share with the world. Thank you!!!
Thank you for this lovely post, Tara, and thanks for mentioning me! I was in tears when I read your poem. It reminded me of my own son. He had a difficult adolescence, and never fit into our cultural expectations of masculinity. But he’s grown to be one of the most compassionate people I know. He’s a teacher of autistic children, most of whom come from challenging situations. I couldn’t be more proud of him.
The February poetry challenge has been exciting. I’ve been working on each prompt daily, but have only posted one poem. Maybe a weekend project.
You do a great job of capturing emotion without stepping over the line into the sentimental. Not an easy task.
Thanks for sharing the Tom Cox post. I’m going there now. Have a wonderful day.
Thanks, Mary. Your son sounds like such a good soul. I’m so happy he’s found his place. And I hope you post some more of your poems. I’d love to read them. I love how the daily push to write makes me less precious and careful. It’s fun!
And again, another great poem. The very last line!!! I have enjoyed reading these immensely this morning.
Thanks so much, Nelly. I really appreciate you spending time with my words. 🙏🏻
This was awesome! The body image issues and the conditioning of little boys to shut off is so tough to navigate. All we really can do is be there for them with good examples and a soft shoulder.
Thanks so much for reading!
This is such a touching poem 💕. Beautiful.
Thanks so much for reading. 🙏🏻
Your poem is beautiful.
I read all the Percy Jackson books a number of years ago, along with my older kids. When I was pregnant with our fifth child, I got the name "Annabeth" stuck in my head but couldn't remember where it came from. Now we have a seven-year-old Annabeth and I'm watching the PJ series with my thirteen-year-old and loving those books all over again.
I love that! What a great namesake for your daughter. Thanks so much for reading.
Thank you for this poem. I agree with your no schmaltz rule, but for me this is properly moving. Thanks too for the thoughtful commentary on raising a young man - it resonates.
Thank you so much for reading. I really appreciate your words and I'm so glad this spoke to you.
What a beautiful poem Tara, such a touching tribute to your son, and joy overly sentimental either. Well done!
Thank you so much!🙏🏻
Beautiful poem and gorgeous vulnerability shown above. Thank you for the mention, Tara! I'm so glad to virtually know you and benefit from the beautiful words your share with the world. Thank you!!!
Right back at you, my friend. You’ve become my favorite guide to Notes. I read anything you restack. 💕
Wow. That truly means so much. Thank you for sharing that with me. ❤️❤️