I love the smell of wintertime, watching lights come up in my neighborhood and around town. Love the smell of cinnamon and spice. Love the decorations adorning streetlamps and office buildings. I've never been big on decorating but this year I'm helping my sister make the house more festive as we're hosting the annual family Christmas party. I spent thirty minutes trying to put together a Santa Claus that runs and another twenty minutes to figure out the freakin' moving reindeer with lights. Not fun! I guess I'm more about enjoying the festivities than participating. I'm sure I'll change my tune once I'm at my own place...but getting ready for the holidays is hard work! I admire all the mothers and fathers out there who have the patience and dedication to bring Christmas cheer to their homes! Well, we took Hunterbot, my nephew, to see Santa Claus and it gave me a warm tingly feeling knowing that he still believes. You should see his eyes light up as he spoke and the excitement in his voice, the intelligence of his responses made me really proud. I miss those days when I fell asleep waiting for Santa to climb down the chimney. I miss watching those annual claymations of Rudolph, Frosty, Kris Kringle that plays on tv on Christmas Eve. I think those memories are ones I'll never forget...Too often we forget the magic of just believing--holding on to something that makes us happy. I think we all need to believe in something and even with everything that's happening in the world, I have hope that things will turn around.
I'm especially happy today because I look back on this year and realized how much I've grown. I know, I say that a lot..but I have! I scored an AMAZING agent and now I'm just waiting...waiting...waiting. Like most authors, I am continually putting together proposals, working on deadlines, and researching. There's this drive to get me moving forward and this holiday season I have a lot to be thankful for. I don't know what 2009 will bring, but I most certainly will stay positive, focused, and enjoy this career I've carved out for myself. I'm motivated by so much and because I've got such amazing friends surrounding me...I'm at peace....
