Words from a Reader

The “Writing Life Stories” e-mails I receive are such treasures. As soon as I see there is one in my inbox, I read it immediately. I look forward to them and never know how they will touch me. They can be interesting, informative, humorous, and/or touching.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

A New Year and New Beginnings

2009 , tonight less than one hour old, is as new and as innocent as this beautiful baby.
It is now 2009 at 12:35 AM. No one is awake but Tiger the bob-tail cat and me. Barry was determined to make it till the Ball Drop in Times Square, but I didn't need to see a ball drop, a peach drop or as they do in Brasstown, a possum drop, to know another year has flown by and still, I have so much yet to do.

Today was windy, cold but sunny and that lifted my spirits which are not the best on New Year's Eve. I even gave myself time to be pampered with a good long massage by Linda at Murphy Mountain Therapeutic Massage and now I feel more prepared to face a new year, with new challenges and new hopes and new goals. Always new goals. Last year my goals were more for NCWN West than for me, but in 2009, my goals are more personal.

Number one is to help my husband and partner heal and be well. Secondly, I want to submit more of my writing and possibly publish a book. This will take more discipline, more time given to myself, and a writing schedule such as Kelly L. Stone advises in her book, Time to Write..
When the Christmas tree, the few decorations I put out and the cards are put away, I look forward to beginning the new year with my class at the John Campbell Folk School in January. February will hopefully mean the end of Barry's chemo treatments and the beginning of a few weeks in Florida. We will both be ready for that down time.

March brings on the Blue Ridge Writers' Conference in Blairsville. I have not missed this annual conference since it began and I've enjoyed every one. My good friend Carol Crawford has created an excellent event for writers.
April weather inspires me to garden even though my planting usually takes place on my deck with pots of geraniums and in my yard, impatients line the bed beside the driveway. Thanks to Robert, a wonderful man who does the heavy work, our daylilly beds, our shade bed and our azaleas will pop with color and our twenty five dogwoods will brighten our wooded areas like left over snow mounds.

So now I go to bed and wake up in a brand new year. I will open my new journal and begin, January 1, 2009 and I hope and believe I will fill this journal with good things, things of which I'm more appreciative than I was last year. At the top of each page of this journal I will list what I'm grateful for and why. The more we emphasize our blessings, the less we dwell on our hardships. The more we give, the more we receive and the happier we are. This year with our shortage of cash, we plan to live a more frugal life and dispose of much we have that others can use.

I know what it is to do without. I saw my parents sacrifice and I can do the same if need be. Material things that have no active purpose are unnecessary if we need food and shelter. I see the country moving away from the greed and keeping up with the Joneses, and embracing a simpler life which will make for a kinder more compassionate society.
Happy New Year to you, my readers , to those who leave comments and let me know you enjoy this blog, a special thanks.
May all the best be yours in 2009.




3 comments:

  1. Happy New Year, Glenda. I hope you will move your writing to the finishing line in 2009.

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  2. Thanks, Nancy. I plan to work toward it.

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  3. Glenda,
    Happy New Year and I enjoy very much reading your stories. I too want to do more writing in 2009. Best wishes with your writing and publishing this year.
    Brenda Kay Ledford

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I really appreciate your comments, and I love reading what you say.