Observations: January, 2017

With the new year comes possibility. Sure, many of us are afraid for the health of America's states. We worry about the integrity of our new administration, we worry about basic human rights, we worry that families won't be able to afford basic healthcare and that our educational systems are broken beyond repair, but 2017 could surprise us. Our mistakes and complacency and greed are being amplified, and this can teach us a lot.

We got here together, to a time of disbelief and propaganda-fueled beliefs. We need to listen to each other more than ever before, and we need to talk to each other more than ever before. Things may seem dark, but I believe real change will come from it. In the words of the late Leonard Cohen: "There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in."

In 2016, I learned:

• Family is everything.
• Fear can either be turned into energy or it can sap energy.
• The weak and uninformed follow anyone who gives them a common enemy and an excuse, but there is no enemy greater than hate and division. #resist #listen
• If there was an award for person who places as a finalist in the most contests, I'd win in 2016. (Or be a finalist.)
• I wrote that last bullet point before I got the good news below.
• The word elitist seems to fit as many republicans as it does democrats. 
• When you help someone to achieve their dreams, yours are more likely to come true.
• It's OK to say NO.
• It's not OK to avoid answering questions you don't want to answer.
• I'm getting old. ("I don't understand why these young people don't look people in the eye...")
• Transparency is fine, so long as you're a willing participant.
• With all the loss of talented artists this year, we have a lot of powerhouse angels.
• Art is more important than ever.

In 2017, I will:

• Write unapologetically and as often as I can.
• Stand up for what I believe and listen to those I do not agree with.
• Buy my first home.
• Eat well.
• Exercise well.
• Try new things.
• Call those I love, even when things are going well or I have nothing big to announce.
• Support my writing friends.
• Learn from my students.
• Support my family.
• Tackle big problems one angle at a time.
• Run on my own terms.
• Find the perfect computer bag.
• Age gracefully.
• Drink more water.
• Travel every chance I get.
• Say NO to what is too much without guilt.
• Say YES to what I want but scares me.
• Post to this blog monthly.
• Listen to everything and make the best decisions I can.

I'm excited to announce that my unpublished short fiction collection, The Glass City, won the 2016 Americana Prize for Prose. I'm hoping the book will find its way to print soon. I also received word that my short story "Running Toward the Sun" got finalist status in the Aestas Short Story Competition 2016 and will be published in Fabula Press's Aestas Anthology soon.

Prompt: Write a short story or poem that begins with the line "The curtain parts, and..."

Happy 2014

I hope you brought in the new year in a fantastic way. If you didn't, you will next year. This is the beauty of a new start. Moving forward.

My new year was brought in with family, and though I've never been the type of person to pretend everything is perfect in my life when it is not (despite this being common online etiquette), I can honestly say I wouldn't have wanted to bring in the new year any other way than with my mother. It was just about perfect.

My husband and I returned to Columbus a few days ago, after visiting my grandmother in Toledo. My family is okay but could be doing better. My grandmother's neighborhood in Toledo is rough and her health is declining. My mother's foot is hurting after multiple surgeries. My sister is having health problems. We all argued quite a bit. My husband wasn't feeling well. I am allergic to Mom's cats. And yet, it was just about perfect. We ate; we laughed; we fought but made up; we pet the dander machines because allergies or no, cats are adorable; we talked about hardships but also set our worries aside; we played Royalty (I kicked ass), which is a cool  little game that should make a resurgence; and we laughed together. We reflected and resolved. 

In other words, despite the challenges we all have, New Year's Eve was near perfection. 2014 comes with promise and love, and this is exactly how it should have come. I have no doubt that this year will be fantastic. Even if this is just another day, it's always another opportunity. And I'm taking it. Just like every year, here are my resolutions...

2014 Resolutions

Eat well and stay healthy (as far as I can control)

Make a new friend this year (choose wisely) and be good/supportive to the friends I have

Get a place with a backyard for Ahti

Spend my time wisely

Read more

Write more

Zipline!

Get a novel contract (We Arrive Uninvited)

Get my short story collection published (The Getaway State)

Finish Rattle novel (My Name is E)

Ensure that Don’t Tease the Elephants is a strong little book (forthcoming March 20)

Be good to my family, and help as much as possible without trying to control or change, only support

Stay focused!

  

I wish you all a wonderful 2014, and I hope you feel the hope that the day (symbolic or not) can provide you. 

HAPPY 2014!!!