Goodbye, 2006

Another year is almost finished. It's hard to believe that '06 is just about gone. Where does time go once it passes?

December was a more-hectic-than-usual month for me and my family. My husband had surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff. His right shoulder. He's right-handed. So I've been that right hand, figuratively speaking. He's just started rehab and the exercises are far worse than the actual surgery, but he's out of the sling and has regained a bit of mobility, which is a good thing. Rehab is brutal, but he's slowly building his range of motion. Still, it's approximately three months' total recovery time. We'll see how sane I am, come March. Mind you, he's out of work because of this, so he'll be HERE all the time.

Both of my kids have also been sick - in fact, I can't remember the last time we made it from December 1 to December 31 without someone in the family being sick. One year my brother-in-law was in the hospital with pneumonia - had to have his lungs scraped (all together now ' ICK!') so he holds the record for worst Christmas ever. My daughter chose Christmas night (halfway between my in-laws and home and in my 3 week old car) to have a stomach virus. Then my son seemed to have a touch of the flu. It's been quite eventful.

But now, we're on the cusp of 2007. Hard to believe. But here we are and as 2006 draws to a close, here are a few things I hope to accomplish in the coming year:

1. Find an agent. I've been trying to get one seriously for only about two months. Time to crank it up and really begin looking. And no, I don't have a 'dream agent'. I am trying to find one I can work with, but I don't have a 'I sure hope I land XYZ agent.'

2. Be published by an RWA approved publisher. I don't know why that silly validation means so much to me, but it does. I am satisfied with my current publisher, and am working on another book for them, but I also want to join The Club. It's silly and I know it, but there you have it.

3. Write. I took the month of December off for the most part because, well, frankly because I was burnt out and my writing reflected that. Now, once the new year rolls around, I will take out the last two WIPs I've been struggling with, undo all of the crap I've written, and start against with a clean slate and refreshed brain. (well, mostly refreshed. Unfortunately, real life doesn't take a vacation.)

4. Try something new. I write historical romances. I love history. I love romance (and really, who doesn't?). I love writing my historicals. But it's time to stretch my brain and try a different genre. I started a paranormal back in October, wrote a category-length contemporary over the summer, and now it's time to get back to those as well. Hey, Harlequin's RWA approved. Look out - here I come!

5. Rest. Ha. I haven't slept a full night in almost eighteen months and that is not an exaggeration. Someone always finds a way to wake me up at least once a night. It's wearing real thin. It's going to end sometime this year or I'll go bonkers. And now, with my other half's surgery, I've been sleeping on the wrong side of the bed for two weeks. Not good. Soooo not good. I can't wait to get back on my side. His side is way too lame and it's near the door - which means that when a small person gets up and comes in, guess who they see first?

6. Laugh. This is so important. It seems so simple, and yet it isn't. It's tough to always find humor when you're stressed beyond belief and your daughter is barfing all over the car and there's still fifteen minutes of road between you and home. But we managed on Christmas. My husband's sense of humor is what first attracted me to him and there is no one on this earth who can make me laugh harder or longer. We'll be married ten years in June and, though there are times when I'd gladly strangle him, there is no one I'd rather be with. (Insert collective awww here).

7. Love. I will not let a day pass when I don't tell my husband or children how much I love them. I don't go to sleep at night without telling my husband I love him and we never end a phone conversation without it. I hug my children whenever possible and smother them with kisses almost every chance I get. It's too important not to and considering how fast my daughter's childhood is whizzing by, the time when I'll be bigger than her is rapidly diminishing. My family is the most important thing in the world to me and without them, I'd be nothing. And I make sure they know where they fit in the ultimate scheme of things. I cannot remember what it was like before my children came along, which just goes to show how empty it was. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

And there you have it. My goals for 2007. I hope everyone out there reaches theirs. Let me know. I know I'll share mine as well.

Happy 2007!