Anyone else feeling a little blue? Months of Holiday excitement – beasts to roast, gifts to buy, parties to rock – then suddenly it’s Boxing Day. (Actually it isn’t. Little know fact: if Boxing Day falls on a Sunday it gets moved to Monday. Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to effect the activity at the malls today!) We now have one week to get ready for the last party of the year, one week to make New Year’s resolutions, one week to decide how best to change our lives for the better. It’s enough to make a girl want to crawl back into bed!
How about… not? I just don’t think I can do it this year. I don’t want to take a good look at this self who has been indulging in fruitcake, chocolate truffle bars, Chex mix and booze and say, “You must go the the gym three times a week in 2011! You must put away the laundry immediately! You must read to your children and not let them play Wii all day over break!” I don’t know about you, but as a general rule, I’m pretty hard on myself ALL the time, due to a lifetime spent trying to gain my father’s approval. (WHEN will I grow out of that? Ugh.) Instead of examining my life for flaws and resolving to fix them, I’m going to look at my life and say, “Good job, you!” Trust me, that’s going to be much harder than making a list of New Years resolutions.
For example, just yesterday I was freaking out because my father-in-law sent out a mass e-mail telling all the relatives about Bottoms Up, my first-ever release which is coming out on December 28th – my kinky, twisted, deviant, angst-ridden BDSM love story. I hope at least a few of you cocked your heads in interest. You are my target audience, after all! However, the relatives? Ahhhhhhh! While I was assimilating this info by reading the e-mail aloud to my husband, he suddenly said, “Enough!” I swiveled around in the computer chair and found him glaring at me. “You are doing what you always do, finding something to feel bad about in the middle of something fantastic. Quit it. You have a book coming out on Tuesday. You worked really hard to make this happen. Be proud, and don’t make excuses for the kink- even to my relatives!”
I love that man. That is why Bottoms Up is dedicated to him. A few minutes later, my manifesto was born.
I hope you’ll join me this year in focusing on the positives instead of emphasizing the negatives. Let’s end the year believing in our abilities, our prospects and our people. Life isn’t perfect, neither are we – but it’s all good. And let me be the first to say, “Good job, you!”
For a chance to win the first author copy of Bottoms Up, enter Miranda’s Contest.
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