I said that at the end of this year, I’m going to ask for a few days off before the next one starts.  I think a 3-5 day period that didn’t fall in either year could be really amazing, don’t you?  Enough time to finish up a few things, and plan the start of some new ones.  This year, I’m going to pretend the year ends the day after Christmas, and all those days between will be days of nothing- nothing due, nothing not tied to either year.  A few days to orient myself.

Of course, in 2012, we used a few of those days to get the last of our developmental edits done on Peripheral People and turn it in to Riptide.  That, and ponder the lumpish manatee.  But mostly editing.

I’m convinced that 2013 will be a creative, inspiring year.  My health is improving, the words are coming back to me, and I have all kinds of plans for improving things- my house, my studio, my garden, and me.

A friend told me about a concept I fell in love with.  Instead of (or in addition to) resolutions, you pick a single word as a theme for your year.  Some people carry that word around on a token to remind themselves.  I bought a bracelet from Honey&Ollie with my word on it, so I can look down and see it when I need a reminder to consciously create it in my life.  I’m struggling with a lifelong anxiety disorder that was relatively controlled before my illness, but seems to be doing its level best to grind me down lately.  I spend more energy remembering all the ways I’ve failed, and imagining all the ways I will, than I do actually LIVING, these days.  So my word for 2013 is “Present”.  I want to live in the Present, enjoy memories of the past, and be able to plan ahead without turning it into a way to run through a hundred scenarios that all get progressively worse.

So what’s your 2013 going to be?  What’s your word?