Write Your Life!: June 2009

Friday, June 5, 2009

Rictameter from a Morning Person

Mornings

Mornings:

"Time to rise and

Shine," they say. I do that,

Facing each new day with courage,

Anticipating challenges, new joys.

Why do some despise alarm clocks,

Resist the call of day?

Time to embrace

Mornings.

About Me

I live on the thirty-fifth floor of a senior highrise on Chicago's Gold Coast. I retired in 1999 after 40 years in the English Department of Wilbur Wright College, on Chicago's Northwest Side, where I was department chair for 7 years and Wright's Distinguished Service Professor for 1995-96.

In late 2005, I found myself retired, widowed, 73, and depressed, so I set out to find contentment through reflection and writing. My first published book, Reinventing Myself: Memoirs of a Retired Professor (2006), is a series of personal essays recounting that quest and some of the experiences that came before it. My second is Seniorwriting: A Brief Guide for Seniors Who Want to Write (2007). My third is poetry, Elder Expectations: My Life in Rictameters (2008). My writing also includes a column for eGenerations.com.

I advocate writing for everyone, and hope to encourage my fellow senior citizens to write. I am a member of the Illinois Woman's Press Association, The Story Circle Network, The Authors Marketing Group, and the Chicago Writers Associaion and a volunteer at the Chicago Cultural Center. Please comment on my posts!

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