The New Years Post

It seems like New Years is a good time to take stock of my life. Family has all left and we have entered the lull of winter where the sun is returning but the ground has months to thaw. It is the time of year when coyote stories can be told and favors asked of the moon. For now I'll just look back and look forward.

LOOKING BACK

Started Writing for Travels in Paradise
Kevin Graduated from Grad School
Moved to Vermont
Started a Seven Mountain
Started Blogging
Learned to really use a sewing machine

LOOKING FORWARD

I know myself well enough that listing my hopes for the next year will lead to disappointment instead I will share my resolutions for the up coming year, and the story behind them.

1) To make our house more of a home, giving Alder his own room with a bed, keeping the house much neater, not letting my projects migrate around the house as much.

2) To bring story telling back into my life.

I don't know how you come up with your resolutions. Growing up we actually made them for each other not for ourselves, but Kevin doesn't like that practice so I have had to create my own over the last eight years. So this year I thought about what might be something that will help make my busy life happier, and having a home that I want to spend time in topped the list. We shared them as we went to bed on New Year's Eve (yes we were asleep before 11). That night I had a dream, not one that I can remember what happened during it but I know that the point of the dream was that I need to bring storytelling back into my life.

Before Alder was born I wrote a lot, every morning before work I would write for an hour or two. When we first moved to Denver and I still didn't have a job I took a two month break from hunting to finish a novel, which no one has ever read. It was an eight hour a day job and I cried when it was done because I was lonely for the characters that I had gotten so used to spending every day with. But since our lives have gotten busy with Alder and moving and business my writing has been limited to the blog and my biweekly articles. I don't even get to read a lots of novels any more.

But this dream I had made it clear that my second New Years Resolution would be to bring storytelling back into my life. When I told this to Kevin he agreed, he is even willing to help me find time during the week when I can got write away from the house. I have my stack of yellow pads and fountain pen waiting for me and I can't wait to begin.