That Big New Year's Eve Resolution

Christmas 2014 went by in a flash of blinking lights.  First there was a whole lot of grading, then a whole lot of cleaning, then a trip to the airport to pick up Mom.

There were shopping and cooking and then some wonderful warm moments with friends and family--presents to unwrap, bread to break, and, finally, even a little bit of downtime.  

Nico chills with Grandma

And now it's almost--but not quite--time to take down this year's tree.

Just before we ripped into the presents

Now that we're poised on the brink of 2015, I'm starting to wrap my mind around my one big New Year's Resolution, not counting the perennial lose weight/hit the gym/give up chocolate: Write a novel.   

The story and characters have been taking shape in my head for a while now,  and I've started putting down words on paper.  So far I'm twenty-five pages in--admittedly not so very far.  But I know the town where my heroine lives. I've walked its streets in my dream.  I can see her best friend and her little sisters.  And I can hear her voice.  I've been hearing it for weeks now, while I cleaned and cooked and graded and wrapped.  

And now that it's New Year's Eve I need to set aside the writing for a day or so, maybe even do a little bellydancing with Red Elvises:

But that's okay: my next story is waiting.  

photo lifted from http://centrum.org/2014/08/creative-nonfiction-workshop-nov-6-9/

May good things await us all in 2015.

Roo Roo wonders where all the presents went

Out of town visitors