Why do we set off fireworks on New Year’s Eve and the 4th of July? On the 4th of July, we celebrate our freedom because of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. On New Year’s Eve, we celebrate the old year and the beginning of the new year. I think this is about hope. We also have fun on both of these occasions. On the 4th we go to parades, picnics, and family gatherings. We go swimming, boating, play baseball and barbecue. We might even dance as the sun goes down. Then we watch fireworks in awe. On New Year’s Eve we attend parties, with all kinds of appetizers, goodies, drink Champagne and make toasts. We wish each other good luck, kiss at midnight and sing Auld Lang Syne– a song we don’t understand but we sing it anyway. In the warmest time of the summer and the coldest time in the winter, we celebrate. We stop our lives for a time and are happy and hopeful and I hope grateful. I am grateful for what I have and who I have in my life. I am happy that there is something to celebrate and honor and cherish as I do my family, my friends and my faith.
As you make your new year’s resolutions this year, take a minute to be grateful for last year. It wasn’t the best for me health wise, but we worked on our memoir, I wrote the proposal and we sent out query letters and sample chapters. We also wrote many blog posts and got more involved with Facebook. I read many memoirs and have more on my Kindle to read. We attended the Buckeye Book Fair. My writers group has a great workshop and I gave a presentation on the many ways to get published. I presented my Harriet Beecher Stowe program and it was very well received.
This year we are going to continue to look for an agent/publisher and send out articles, essays, fiction, etc. We also celebrated holidays, birthdays and more occasions with our family, visited my Dad and Larry and Linda in Cincinnati, explored some new places with Ron’s father including book stores, quilt shops and restaurants. In many ways, it was a good year and this year will be even better. (I am the optimist in our family.) We hope you have a good year also.
I do write New Year Resolutions, but to me it more like organizing and being more specific about what I want to accomplish this year. I have a planner and I also keep a journal so I will have a record of my progress. I think the key to keeping resolutions is to be very specific about what you want to do and not generalize. But many people generalize and accomplish their goals. Writing something down on paper is a good start to begin any project or objective. I hope to write memoir reviews in this blog this year. I have read many of them so it won’t be hard. There are some very great ones out there.
Ron’s Corner:
I have to apologize to Crystal for not getting this in to our Blog earlier. She will forgive me. She always does. That is one of the things I am thankful for in the New Year and always.
As for her topic, the key to the resolution is to be as the root word resolute. Pledging, or promising, or writing something down isn’t enough. As in anything in life, the key to achieving is persistence. How many of you have already forgotten what you pledged at midnight after those glasses of Champaign. Be Honest. Crystal’s idea of writing it down only works if you put it somewhere where you can see it, and apply it every day . What was my New Year’s Resolution, and how am I doing with it, you might ask. To be honest, I stopped that practice years ago, when I failed to keep one or two. You know the old saying; those who can do. Those who can’t teach!
Have a Great Year!
These fireworks were fro the 4th of July, a couple of years ago, at the Coshocton County Fairgrounds