Life is Full of Surprises

Happy New Year!!!

Okay…it’s that time—the time when we reward ourselves for all we did that was good last year.

Right?

Or, are you guys like me and skip all the good things you did, and go straight to all the things you didn’t do? Now, don’t get me wrong, 2007 has been one heck of a year for me. But I’ve been so busy, I sometimes met myself at the door, kissed my cheek goodbye, and insisted I come home early. Then on top of just being busy, I’ve had some . . . well, crap to deal with. So, a few things may have fallen through the cracks.

Yup, I’ve got good excuses for not accomplishing everything on MY LIST. In all honesty, I’m not beating myself up over my unmet resolutions. Well, not too much! But those “things” have crossed my mind one or two . . . hundred times in the last 24 hours. So, what’s on my didn’t-do list?

I haven’t fit back into that size-five dress yet. I haven’t yet trained my dog to retrieve the mail while losing all jury summons and unwanted bills. I still have boxes of clutter in my office. My bedroom’s walk-in closet still can’t be walked into, (partially due to a lot of size five clothes—from seven years ago) and I haven’t learned to speak French yet. (And those computer programs promised I’d be fluent within six months. Maybe they don’t work just sitting in the bag under my office cabinet, huh? However, they really should have stated that on the box!)

Okay…so maybe I have some things to work on this year. At least, making my list will be a little easier. Just pull out the old one and re-date that sucker. But to my credit, and probably to yours as well, we need to stop and rethink about all we did accomplish. Some of those accomplishments may have even appeared on our lists (be thrilled for those) but others may have popped up, inconveniently of course, and demanded our attention by shifting our worlds ever so slightly.

Yes, some of them I could have done without—like that 48-hour stomach flu I caught (nasty), my dog’s stomach flu (really nasty), my son’s near excision of his big toe while kayaking with his dad while I was at National. (also nasty). Let’s not forget my lumpectomy (getting your boob cut open just isn’t a lot of fun) and my dad’s surgery (talk about being scared for someone you love.) And there was the closing of the company that employed my husband. Yeah, I could have done without several of those. But the truth is, some of those bad things led to some pretty good things. Life is full of surprises like that.

My bout of stomach flu kind of helped me research a few scenes in my upcoming book, Wedding Can Be Murder—nasty, but really funny. My dog’s flu, well, I can’t think of anything good about that! Now my son’s toe…we spent a lot of mommy-and-me time while doing some serious doctoring to make sure he got to keep the little digit…which he did. My lumpectomy—which wasn’t cancer—will also end up in a book—plus I can brag that I’ve been felt up by more men this year than I have in ages (okay ever.) And, as you probably remember when I blogged about it, I passed out tons of business cards with my cover on it to anyone who stood still long enough for me to reach for my purse. And I might have chased one or two down that got away. My dad’s surgery? Well, he and I had a lot of father and daughter time, laughed and created memories as he recovered. And my husband’s company’s closing led to him having a better paying job. Yep, life is full of surprises.

Now, all of this isn’t meant to imply that I’m against resolutions. Oh, heck no! I’ve already got my list re-dated and a few new things added to it. I’m big on goals. I guess what I’m really trying to say is that life isn’t just about meeting goals or resolutions, it’s about dealing with the crap that comes out of left field and lands unceremoniously in our laps—or, in my dog’s case . . . never mind. But to put it more eloquently, “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass . . . it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” I didn’t write that, but I was smart enough to buy it on a plaque to hang in my house.

So here’s my New Year’s wish for myself and for all of you. This year, may we reach as many of our resolutions as we can, may we avoid as many storms as possible, but when and if the storms hit, may we all learn to dance in the rain.

Now it’s your turn. Can you share a few of your resolutions? Or better yet, maybe tell me about some of your storms and how some of them maybe even brought about something positive. Life is full of surprises.

Happy New Year.
Crime Scene Christie