The Calm after the Storm

Another Christmas has come and gone.  Done is all the planning, preparing, decorating, shopping, baking, wrapping and making an attempt to be in too many places at once in order to spend the holiday with those you love.  Although it is a crazy, busy time of year, I enjoyed every minute of the time I spent with my family. 

But I do enjoy the calm after all the frenzy and activity.


Some may have the Christmas blues…whether it’s after spending too much money, eating too much food, or just doing too much, I guess I can see where the excitement of the holiday leads to a letdown afterwards.  I don’t feel the Christmas blues because I thoroughly enjoy the calm after the storm.  I enjoy looking back at the year, both the ups and the downs, as I prepare for what is to come in the New Year.

It is time to take a breather, look at what has worked, what hasn’t and what is still to come.
 

It is also the best time to make new plans.

Rainbow over Olympia

To begin looking at new dreams.

To see new possibilities.

Many will be heading into the New Year with the same old resolutions and some will be met while others will soon be forgotten and set aside like last week’s junk mail.  In years past, many of my resolutions were usually the standard type; eating better, exercising more, weighing less, and breaking any bad habits worth losing.  

But I want to do more than that. 

The days after Christmas and all that hustle and bustle is a great time to reflect and consider what the New Year can bring.  It is also the best time to reflect and consider what you can bring to the New Year.  Rather than expecting change to happen just because we are moving into a New Year, it is more beneficial to take ownership and make something happen.  Positive change is what it’s all about…which includes what you can do for yourself and for others. 

And positive change is the plan for me. 

I began this last year when I first posted on NewYear’s Eve my big secret about my passion to write and the fact that I had completed a book I hoped to publish.  I later made the decision to take another job so that my husband could make a big move in order to find true happiness with work.  I pushed myself to learn the ins and outs of publishing and I eventually published my book as an eBook and then in paperback.  Through others I learned about promoting and marketing my work and held my first book signing.  I joined National Novel Writing Month and won the challenge by completing more than 50,000 words of my second book in less than 30 days.  I opened myself up to family and to strangers not only with my writing, my book and a Facebook page, but I have continuously been open throughout the process of writing and publishing on this Blog. 

Without question, it has been quite a year. 

Next year doesn’t have to outshine the current year but it doesn’t hurt to try and I don’t want to lose the positive momentum.  I have a lot to look forward to with my writing and with my personal and professional life; it is all very exciting and holds nothing but promise.  I resolve to do what I can to stay positive, work hard and enjoy every single moment of what is to come in 2013.

"Approach the New Year with resolve to find the opportunities hidden in each new day."

 ~Michael Josephson~