Holiday Happenings and Lights, New Book (and New Kitten), and the Big 50 on the Horizon…

Glenn and I with Carillon Point Holiday tree

Holiday Happenings and Lights

Still struggling to get out of the hole the MS mini-flare of last week put me in, but starting to feel more normal and ready to catch up on all the things I’m behind on (Manuscript reading? Holiday cards? AWP outline I’m supposed to turn in early January? Book promotion? Probably other things I’ve forgotten?)

This week, I got out a little bit to enjoy a little bit of holiday spirit, like these pictures on a rare sunny day in Kirkland, WA, where we got to watch the sunset. I’m missing my family, but I’ve gotten good phone visits in. I’m hoping to see some friends before the end of the year and do some holiday celebrating. I even got a nice poetry acceptance—possibly the last of the year.

Which leads me to the new things that are ahead….

New Book, New Kitten, and the Big 5-0 on the Horizon

See this post from BOA on Instagram? A reminder my new book, Flare, Corona is going to launch in just a few months! So, excitement is on the horizon, along with Seattle’s AWP, where I’ll be doing readings, signings, and two panels—hopefully not too much! But I am so looking forward to hanging out with writers again. I miss them! I am a social animal that’s been in isolation way too long. And speaking of animals…

Another new thing to look forward to? We’ve decided to adopt a new kitten. Since Shakespeare’s death, my husband and my other cat Sylvia have been a little mopey, and maybe me too. So we are going to introduce a new member to the family. I haven’t met her yet but I’m looking forward to it. Would you like a sneak peek? I won’t name her until I meet her, because personality always plays a part, you know? She’s supposed to come home with us Christmas Eve. Here she is:

New kitten

And, I have to admit, turning 50 at the end of April is weighing on me a bit too. Do I look old? Do I feel old? 50 seems like such a significant number, but my mother got her PhD after 50, and my middle brother got married for the first time after 50, so maybe it really is just the beginning of new things. I get the midlife crisis thing though; I have the urge to change things—move to Paris, become a blonde, or through caution to the wind and have a big party. (I probably will have a birthday party! Hopefully the triple-demic will be over by end of April…)

It’s Solstice season, and I’m thinking harder about my life, what I want to keep and what I want to let go, about my relationships too, with my family, with Glenn, with my friends, what I want n my life as a writer, how I can help my health, both mental and physical…envisioning what’s been problematic in the last few years (besides the pandemic), and how to envision a better, more satisfying life. I had a dream in which Santa (yep, that Santa) told me “You always plan for the worst. Why not plan for the best?” And for a minute, this familiar positivity mantra made sense to this admitted skeptic. I’m hoping that the year ahead will have positive things in it to surprise me, rather than negative things, but I have to admit it’s hard to be optimistic right now, especially after the last couple of weeks which have been pretty challenging physically and emotionally. I’m even trying to write different poetry, in a new voice, with a new energy than I’ve been working with the last few years. Wishing you as happy and bright a Solstice and Holiday season as possible.