Weighing The Old Year, Welcoming The New

It has been a challenging year in every way: politically, economically, creatively, and personally. No matter the challenges, time does slip by. Here we are at the tail end of 2024, contemplating what was and what is yet to be.

If Lady Justice were truly blind, the scales would not have tipped so far toward the unacceptable. But my view is not shared by so many others. How then do I square what is right and true with has happened? I cannot. All I can do is persist in the belief that Martin Luther King espoused: “The arc of the  moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

I grew up in a home that encouraged open debate without rancor. Our family meals were lively, loud, and energetic, but we always ended as friends. I continue to welcome discussion of divergent philosophies as I search for understanding. However, my search has often been met with vitriol and hate.  That saddens me, and I am apprehensive about the future of our nation. But enough about that. On to the personal.

Recently, our beautiful basement rec room flooded due to human error (not mine, but I feel his pain!). Now we are faced with a huge disruption in our living conditions, an outlay of money we did not expect, and decisions about life going forward.

Professionally, I have spent considerable time and money traveling to venues around the state to promote my writing. I have met so many wonderful people. Not all the trips were profitable. Independent bookstores continue to struggle, their owners driven by a love of books and a desire to keep the written word alive and well. It has been interesting and exciting adventure, and an exceptionally draining one. When Introvert-Writer becomes Extrovert-Bookseller, it requires a complete reboot of one’s psyche. I’m tired. The new novel I expected to release in the fall has been pushed back so much that it won’t be out until the new year. I only received the galleys from the publisher the night before Thanksgiving. No need to say there wasn’t time to begin the final edit then!

This month I approach a birthday that brings me much closer to a landmark year than I ever anticipated. I find it necessary to re-evaluate the numbers: how many organizations should I belong to? How do they serve my goals and expectations? Who benefits from the outlay of time and attention I give to supporting and championing fellow writers? As a good literary citizen, I see that as my duty, but is it in the best interests of my work to do so? When I finish the tallying up, I may resolve to pull back on my involvement in a number of groups and taper down the events I spearhead.

Thus the weighing and the welcoming. How will you plan for 2025? What experiences or events offer the most to you personally and professionally? Whatever we decide, let us continue to be aggressive in our creativity, open to possibility, and confident that the words, when needed, will come.

Happy Holidays!