Happy In Between Christmas and New Year

Okay, so this isn't exactly a Christmasy image, but we are betwixt and between now, and one of the over-riding images of Christmas this year for me was settling down on Christmas Eve with my boys and watching the Snow Chic documentary.  It was a fascinating insight into the life of penguins without being too highbrow.  My youngest son adores penguins, so this made it even more enjoyable.

The other image of Christmas for me was my 14 year old son sitting on the end of my bed on Christmas morning, opening the presents from his stocking.  My mind kept floating back to when they were little and although he showed as much enthusiasm as in years gone by, there was rather a lot less room left in the bed for us.  Its nice that he still has that youthful exuberance though, I wonder if it will still be there next year, or whether I will have to drag him out of bed!

I hope you have all had a lovely Christmas and have survived the food, the drink, the excess and the water!  My heart goes out to all those people who have been flooded out of their homes this year, I can only imagine what that must feel like.

It's been a difficult year for our family this year and perhaps because of that I was counting my blessings this Christmas.  I've blogged about my difficulties at work, but now I'm in a new job and am enjoying it so much more - what a difference nice people make - although it's been a challenge to get my head around it all, which has left very little time for writing.  Towards the end of this year too, I have also encountered some family problems which, although not resolved, I feel at least we are coming to terms with now.

My main thought just before Christmas was that I would be glad to see the back of this year,  but then came a little ray of sunshine in the form of editor, Alison Cook, from The People's Friend.  Alison is such a lovely person, even when she's rejecting my stories, but this wasn't a rejection but an acceptance!

My story had been with them with September which proves that you should never give up hope, and it's just about the only story I have out for submission at the moment, so you can imagine my delight.  It gave me that extra boost I needed to believe in my writing and really made my Christmas.

I had decided that I wasn't going to make any New Year resolutions this year but this has made me determined to put more effort into my writing, and get more stories written and out there - after all you've got to be in it to win it.  

I'm getting myself organised in the lull between Christmas and New Year, and now that I'm more settled in my job, I hope that I can get into a better writing routine on the days when I'm not in work, and have a bit more enthusiasm to continue writing after work on the days that I am.

I'm also aiming to be a better blogger this year - but I say that every year!

Happy belated Christmas everyone.