it's time

Spring has been slow in coming to Minnesota this year, but finally, it's here. The plants in the garden have begun to fill out, the grass is green, and even our spindly Maple in the front yard has sprouted leaves.

All of this means that it is time, yet again, for the annual Mother Words haiku contest. Whoop! Whoop!


For those of you who are new to Mother Words, I launched the annual contest in 2008 when Zoë was just a couple of months old and I developed a raging case of mastitis. D was traveling, so I was on my own, juggling an infant and a four-year-old. It wasn’t pretty, people. You can read more about that here.

But from my experience with mastitis, the annual Mother Words haiku contest was born. And now, I'd like to introduce the topic of the 4th Annual Mother Mother Words haiku contest. (Drum roll please.)

Topic: Surprise. What is the thing that has surprised you most about motherhood? About being a parent? About parenting your specific child/children? (Anything along these lines...)

I am happy to announce that Caroline Grant, editor-in-chief of Literary Mama and co-editor of the wonderful anthology Mama, PhD, will be the judge this year. And in addition to the $10 Amazon gift card that I provide to the winner, Caroline has offered to donate a copy of Mama PhD. So get your haiku pants on and start writing.

I love funny haiku, but anything goes. Just remember, it has to be 5 - 7 - 5. Post your haiku as a comment below by Monday, May 23rd. 

Haiku! Haiku! Haiku! Come on and haiku today! (Clearly I've been spending a little too much time alone in my office...)