First, if you are one of the many people who have landed here by searching for “patchwork poem” or any variation on “patchwork pattern,” I do apologize! This is a blog about my life, my thoughts, and my work, and I don’t actually do any patchwork, except for the metaphorical kind.
Naming a blog is a tricky decision. Since nothing on the Internet ever truly disappears, and this blog is my first under my own name, I really took some time deciding what to call it. There are already so many variations on “juggling,” and I didn’t have a cute nickname to fall back on, and the more I thought about it, the more I knew that I didn’t want to have a single-issue blog. This is not a pop-culture blog, mommy-blog, teacher-blog, or writer-blog; it’s a little of all of them, and that’s how I want it to be. I felt a little bad about choosing a sewing-influenced name when I only meant it metaphorically, but a few more minutes on Google should reward anyone looking for quilting tips, right? I connected this blog to my real name because my first purpose was to have an online home for as many links to my writing as possible, which this blog has done nicely, but my second purpose was to finally use blogging as more of a writer’s tool, and I think the accountability of using my real name has helped me work toward that as well. But I also did like the idea of a theme to tie it all together, and I think “patchwork” does that well.
My life is accomplished in bits and pieces, it seems to me, and sometimes it’s a struggle for me to see how this little piece connects to that little piece over there, which connects to that one piece way over in the corner. I like to think that the little bit of writing I do in free moments helps make me a better teacher, and that the fulfillment I find in both those areas makes me a happier mom when I’m volunteering at the book fair or helping my girls build Lego cityscapes. I’m not on a traditional teaching career path, and I’m not a product of the MFA process, so I’m figuring it all out as I go along, and it’s hard for me to step back and see the larger surface of what I’ve managed to piece together sometimes.
These are just some of the reasons why I like having this space to collect and contemplate my patchwork life.
I love the name of your blog. It’s so homey and comfortable. Reminds me of having a hot cup of tea next to the fire, while I’m cuddled up to my favorite blanket.
What a lovely thing to say, and exactly the mood I am usually going for! Also, much nicer than “trying to juggle crystal balls while riding a unicycle backwards,” which is how I often feel these days!