randomness

when i was in 5th grade(ish), I remember going to the library and checking out this book: Best Loved Poems of the American People.  It has over 575 poems in it, and was originally published in 1936.  i have no idea why, but i read the whole book.  i've never been a huge poetry reader, but i kept re-checking out this book for a couple months.  i hadn't thought about the book in about 15 years, but the other day i was at barnes & noble and i saw the book and recognized it from the cover, and the memories flooded back of reading this book.  i remembered i had a favorite poem from this book, and i searched the book until i found it again-

Photo of the Rose Garden Door - Johnson Park, Tenafly, NJ found here

Death is a Door

by Nancy Byrd Turner

Death is only an old door
Set in a garden wall
On gentle hinges it gives, at dusk
When the thrushes call
Along the lintel are green leaves
Beyond the light lies still;
Very willing and weary feet
Go over that sill
There is nothing to trouble any heart;
Nothing to hurt at all.
Death is only a quiet door.
In an old wall.

Now, let me remind you, I was in 5th grade.  This was also around the same time I was obsessed with ghosts and "true" ghost stories, and asking every grown-up I knew if they had ever seen ghosts (by the way, my grandma and aunt have pretty extensive ghost-seeing pasts).  So I'm not sure if that had anything to do with me being taken by this seemingly morbid poem, but if you read it a couple times, it's actually really soothing.  There's just an old door in a garden wall, and one day, when you've lived your life and you're ready to go, you can step over the sill and there's nothing troubling or hurtful beyond that wall.  It paints such a serene picture of this old door in an ivy-covered wall.

Random, I know- I just read a different poem and it made that book and poem pop into my head. 

state of the union (or, of my resolutions)

There's been a little bit of progression with my resolutions, so I figured I'd post an update.

start writing in a journal or online to get more comfortable with my writing style, and then start writing my book, and not quit after 2 weeks, i will write at least 10 pages every other day.
well, i've come up with a couple ideas for some books and have written some notes, and I wrote about half a page of the beginning of a story, but so far I haven't stuck with my 10 pages every other day. haven't done any extra writing.

work out at least 30 minutes 4 times per week. drink more water. quit spending so much money on lunch, eat lean cuisines. take my dog for more walks.
i actually have been working out (3 times last week) and since my car is broken and my husband has been driving me to work every day, i have no choice other than eating lean cuisines and not spending money! yay! and as a side note, i love my dog and wish we were doing more walks but it has been freezing and raining a lot lately. i know, excuses, excuses...

travel somewhere new that requires a plane (hopefully nyc or ireland), also i want to go somewhere with my mom & encourage her to do something exciting in life
my mom and i have planned a trip to go to savannah at the beginning of march! no planes required, which means i guess i need to get my car fixed, but it's something!

take a class for something artsy & crafty, like painting or jewelry making
umm nothing on the horizon for this at the moment.

start reading to expand my knowledge: three things that i want to learn about are: religion, current events (i will read parts of the newspaper i never even glanced at before), and science
well, no newspapers, but i am 1/3 of the way through pride and prejudice, which i have tried to read before but could never get into, and this time i actually am enjoying it!