Going all to hell

Last Sunday in church the speaker took a page out of the Fox News playbook (our friend Rick passed me a note saying it was like the speaker was trying out for the Mike Huckabee Show) to decry the state of the modern world.  I knew the speaker was sincere and meant well, but the talk annoyed me the way all LOOK AT HOW EVIL WE ARE NOW rants annoy me.

Not that I don't think there's bad stuff in the world, because there is.  OBV.   But these kinds of talks always focus on the wrong things, it seems to me.  Not only that, but (and this is the thing that bugs me the most) they always display a lack of historical perspective.  There's this underlying assumption that somehow the world--and specifically America--used to be a better, more moral place.  And I always want to say GO READ SOME HISTORY.

Right now I'm reading THE BLACK COUNT--a biography about Alexander Dumas' father who was the son of a slave and an aristocrat.  Who knew?  Anyway, the point is this:  there was nothing pretty about the French slave trade.  There was nothing pretty about the class system in France.  So don't go around saying that the world is going to hell in a handbasket.

We've pretty much already been there.

2014

Well, hello there, 2014!  I'm wondering how long it will take me to start writing "2014" as opposed to "2013" on my checks.  I KNOW!  I STILL WRITE CHECKS!

Anyway, I've been thinking about what I want to accomplish this year, and because I feel absolutely sated with everything--food, activity, food, family, food, shopping, food, food, food--I have the strongest urge to spend 2014 consuming less.  Of everything.  Less fuel (yes to walking!), less food (yes to veggies and nourishing soup!), less in the way of material goods.

This could change in a few days when I am back to my regular life.  But right now less really does feel like more.

Happy New Year!

What I gained by blogging (almost) every day

Wow!  2013 is almost over?  I feel like I just got home from my extended February stay in St. George--

Anyway, I've been thinking about this blogging exercise and here are my thoughts about the thing.

1.  I'm glad I did it.  It was fun, and (surprisingly) it never felt like a burden.

2.  Blogging every day made writing my column easier.  For years I've told my creative writing students that writing is like shooting baskets.  You have to do it regularly to be good at it.  That doesn't mean, however, I always followed my own BRILLIANT advice.  But this year I kinda did, and I must say it made sitting down to knock out a column a lot easier.

3.  Blogging is the writer's equivalent of an artist's sketchbook.   Blogging regularly allowed me to capture moments and half-formed impressions before they flitted away.  Occasionally I was able to make later use of those scraps of writing.

4.  Blogging every day has kept me engaged with my own life.  I had to pay attention to what was going on around me--the weather, the conversations, the craziness, the stuff that otherwise would have scuttled away to my brain's forgotten corners.

5.  Blogging every day meant comments from you.  Thanks for responding.  Thanks for paying attention.  You guys are the best.

Will I blog every day in 2014?  Right now I'm gonna say "sort of."  And by "sort of" I mean I'll blog Mondays through Fridays after which I'll spend my weekends catching up on celebrity gossip and eating nachos.  This, I think, is an excellent plan.

Happy New Year!

Column alert!

I was surprised to see my column up and running so early in the week.  But I'll take it!

Resolutions

This time last year I set a few goals, and honestly I didn't achieve very many of them.  But I actually feel good about the stuff I DID achieve.  This is apparently what happens when you start taking Celexa in the middle of May.  I recommend it!

Meanwhile, I'm thinking of a few things I'd like to accomplish in 2014.  Most of them have to do with writing and finding ways NOT to be distracted from the task at hand.  Online stuff is the biggest problem for me, so maybe I'll spend a few more days down at The Rose (no wifi!) this year.

I'd be interested to hear what your writing goals for 2014 are.

Holiday Fatigue

Okay, first.  I have this fabulous friend who always assumes you know the same people she knows.  So when you're having a conversation you often have no idea who she's talking about.  And I've been guilty of the same thing.  The Becky I referred to yesterday is Becky Thomas, my friend who passed away nearly ten years ago.  We grew up together and stayed connected--even more profoundly connected--as adults.  I still think about her every day.

Okay, second.  I think I need the holidays to be over.  It feels like a non-stop party from Halloween until the end of the year, and while I always love a good party, I am feeling the need for plain wholesome food, brisk walks, tall drinks of water, lots of sleep, and a regular writing routine.

I feel a little guilty even saying I've had it--like I'm on the verge of breaking up with a perfectly good and also dazzling boyfriend named "Christmas 2013," simply because he's too dazzling and he's wearing me out.  But there it is.

Time for a change.

Geez

Well, all I can say is that I did a damn good job of blogging every day until about the middle of October and then WHAT?!  What happened?  My days have gone all slippery and have begun disappearing like unfortunate goldfish down the drain when you're cleaning out their disgusting bowl.  Which only goes to show that it's better not to clean out your disgusting goldfish bowl.  Unless, of course, you want goldfish slipping down your drain.

Anyway.  I just realized it's Friday.  Which means I forgot all about Thursday, probs because I was so DEAD after Christmas Day, even though I am now officially old with no small children to wrangle.  I'm astonished that I'm still so tired the day after Christmas . . .

But we had a lovely holiday, and I extended the loveliness of it all by going down to Provo again yesterday so that I could visit Becky's daughters and parents.  Her girls are good.  As I sat there talking to Emma and Alex I couldn't help but think how proud Becky would be of them and how much they're like her in so many ways.

Afterwards I visited Tom and Sheila, Becky's parents, and sat in a cozy room with them while this year--and all the years before--fell quietly away.  I'm so glad I saw them.