A Richer Kind of Time - A Poem

When you are slowly dying

You spend a lot of time

Thinking about quality.

Quality of life

Of medical care

Of relationships.

Quality of your time.

You try to fill your days

With constructive

And positive

And useful things to do

You concentrate on the good

And try like hell

To fix the bad

And push it away

When you can't.

And it's okay

To cry

When your life clock

Stands at 3 minutes

To midnight

And you don't want to go yet.

Me, I don't fear it

I also don't seek it

I know it's coming

And I realized

It could happen tomorrow

In a car wreck

Or a Walmart shooter's spree

Or I could defy

My multiple diagnoses

And live another 25 years.

Nobody knows for sure

When the Reaper

Decides to show up.

So I live for the day,

I make them count

I love on my family

I love on my friends

My dogs

And really most importantly

I love on myself.

I am not living

On borrowed time

I merely live

On shortened time.

And when 

You make it good

That is enough.

Copyright Jennifer Thomas, 2026

Mean Girls, You've Got To Be Kind!

I was at Walmart one day and there was a guy sitting on a bench at the front near the registers. He was very obviously profoundly developmentally disabled, completely in his own world, and just having an absolute blast. I can't remember exactly what he was doing, but he was making a fair bit of noise, maybe listening to music because he was singing and chair dancing right there. 

Then these three teenage girls walked by. They were about 16, really pretty, fashionably dressed, the total cheerleader popular mean girl types. They noticed him and immediately started laughing and pointing, mimicking him and just being incredibly mean about it. 

The Windy City and Me

The roots of Chicago stay with you, no matter how many miles or years pile up. For me, that footprint started when I was eleven years old, living for four unforgettable months on South Kedzie Avenue with my Gramma Mary. Down on the Southwest Side, near Gage Park and Chicago Lawn, the city had a distinct, working-class grit. At eleven, that stretch of Kedzie was my entire universe. It was a world of brick two-flats, corner stores, and the constant, lively hum of the neighborhood. It was an eye-opening introduction to the real heart of the city. 

Years later, I returned to Chicago as an adult, but this time, the city showed us a completely different side of its character. 

Big Yellow Taxi of Life

I have no life, am bedridden by chronic illness and mobility impairment, so I have all the time in the world to read and do my hobbies.

But, I miss being busy

"Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got til its gone?" Man, if I'd known how much i would miss those insanely busy days!

I used to wish i could stay in bed all day. the reality is, doing that sucks. It's insanely boring and repetitive, each day is the same as the one before, the only differences are what you're reading, what you're watching, which hobby you're engaging in.

I'm glad to be alive, though.

Why I Write

Ever since penmanship stopped being a burden and became something that I could do well (around the age of 12, I was a late penmanship bloomer), I have been an avid writer. It did not come easily, though.

I remember suffering over "Creative Writing" exercises in 4th, 5th, and 6th grades. Being told that I was not writing poetry correctly because my poems had neither rhyme nor meter, being told that my choice of subject matter was uninteresting, being told that my stories lacked (pick something)..

The Hands

Early morning memory...

This is who I am

I’m a proud, raging liberal democrat and a fierce LGBT+ ally who raised three amazing fucking kids while navigating a world that usually needs to get its shit together.

I’m elfi, and along with being a 61-year-old artist with a house full of animals, I’m a proud, raging liberal democrat. I’ve lived through enough history to know that standing up for people matters, so being a dedicated LGBT+ ally isn't a choice; it’s just who I am.

I spend my time designing Zentangle patterns like Infinite Eights and putting together The Eclectic Freak Manifesto because I’m a fucking artist, not some hobbyist.

I’m also the mother of three amazing fucking kids (Lis, Ian, and Ava). They’re the best things I’ve ever done, even if the rest of the world is a goddamn mess. I spent my time moving from Boston to San Francisco to Texas, and honestly, only finishing the 8th grade gave me more common sense than most people with a PhD.

The elfi Essentials:

The Music: I worship at the "Holy Trinity" (James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, and Carole King). But don't get it twisted; I’ve got enough punk in me to run a Ramones fanzine.

The Diet: Get those goddamn fries away from me. I want the burger, an Arby’s gyro, and a white birch beer. That’s it.

The Vibe: I watch Bob Ross to stay "relaxed," which is a miracle considering I’m currently stuck using a laptop while waiting for a friend to send me a new computer.

I’m one step at a time, simple solutions only, and for the love of god, stop assuming you know what I’m thinking.