It's been a long work week, and while I don't usually pull the "TGIF" thing, for some reason I'm particularly happy that this week is over. Not that I don't enjoy my job. To the contrary, I accomplished some satisfying things since Monday: I attended a valuable, day-long seminar, submitted a grant proposal, edited the Land Trust's Spring newsletter, and had a few great one-on-one meetings with board members. All stuff I find gratifying, but adding up to a full schedule. In addition, my husband has been sick with a bad cold that has caused him to hack loudly all night long, so my sleep hasn't been uninterrupted. To add to the week's excitement, I got a glimpse of a beautiful little poetry anthology that includes one of my poems: Maine in Four Seasons (Down East Books, June 2010). And to top it off, I went out after work three nights out of five this week--incredibly social for me. And the Winter Olympics start tonight! So between the busy-ness, various excitements, and spotty sleep patterns, it's been a full week, and I'm relieved to know I can sleep in tomorrow morning...

This isn't really the stuff of poetry in itself, but that ephemeral feeling of gratifying relief--combined with the simple pleasure of being able to sit down now and lose myself in Olympic fervor--is one to savor:

End of the work week,
start of Winter Olympics--
torches lit in snow.