The Resolution

Another long delay between posts—sorry.  Amends must be made.  If I’m tardy again I will let you pelt me with water balloons.  Deal?

‘Kay.

 Life’s been busy but I am doing my best to be a good blogger.  I did just receive an e-reader for Christmas so I’ve been a little distracted.   I thank you for sticking with me.

            My holiday was lovely, as I hope all of yours was as well.  I find myself full of enthusiasm for the New Year.  

            And as New Year’s Eve approaches I need to perform what has become an annual tradition.  In addition to writing, I journal and take photographs to scrapbook my memories, and each book becomes the chronicle of that year of my life.  The first page of each book is always titled the “Buh-bye” page and is made up of a collage of pictures representing all the major events and trends that happened in the previous year. 

The second page is my “Resolutions” page.  It’s a bullet-point list of all the goals I have for the New Year.  The ritual is that I pull the current book out after Christmas to add the last of the year’s pictures, and then I look back at that the resolutions I’d listed.  I get to see if I’d accomplished what I’d set out to that year, and the number of the resolutions I cross off is always a mixed bag.  Inevitably I hit the big goals, but there are the years when unexpected changes occur, the “lightning-strike” events that you never see coming. 

“The only constant is change.” - Heraclitus

           And while reading through, I noticed that my big goals for 2011 had a way of coming true despite the challenges:

·         Attend RWA 31^st Annual Conference in NYC

·         Have formal author photos taken

·         Take birthday off

·         Spend a week in the Adirondack Mountains

I sat looking at the pages with great appreciation.  Life is made up of memories.  What you do and accomplish sticks with you forever, and the concept had me thinking about the big adventures I've had in the past.  “Life material” from trips that started as little bullet points on my Resolutions list.  Sitting cross-legged on the floor, I flipped through this year’s words and photos, the memories looking up at me from their preserved pages.

That is what I love about storytelling.  Writing takes a moment and makes it permanent.

And right now I have some good news, a new moment to share, I just need to wait a little bit longer before I can announce all the details.  To be truthful, I'm afraid of jinxing it.  But expect a full entry about it soon.

And with my resolutions for 2012 there is this static electricity in the air, a sense that this year is going to bring with it some big changes.  It’s a good feeling—exciting and a bit scary.  I think that’s why I’m hesitant to type the words. 

I mean, what if it doesn’t happen?

            *staring at the blinking cursor*

            It shouldn’t be this hard, typing a sentence.

            I mean, come on –I’ve climbed a mountain, seen a masterpiece up close … *deep breath*

            Here it goes…

            Resolutions 2012

·         Publish my first novel

*staring at the words, mouse hovering* 

I’m letting it stay there.   

*Moving hand away from mouse and the Delete key*

It needs to stay where I can see it.  Where I can come back to it a year from now.

I can.  I will.

If not, there’s always next year…

           

-          SNG