Looking Back at 2013

As the year comes to an end, newspapers and television reports give us the "best" and "worst" of 2013. In world news as well as our personal lives, we tend to remember more of the bad than the good. Or maybe it's our Puritan ancestors still whispering in our ears that to talk, or write, about our accomplishments violates the 11th Commandment (Thou shalt not brag).

We made all those resolutions--or set goals--back in January. How long did they last? Many of mine fell by the wayside. A few went beyond expectation. And some events happened that I never anticipated.

Here's a few of my best and worst of 2013:

Best: built a house and moved close to our grandchildren
Worst: packed the contents of a house where we lived for 14 years; unpacked hundreds of boxes and tried to find a place for everything

Best: welcomed two great-nephews into the family and a new nephew-in-law
Worst: lost another uncle

Best: released two books--Switched Resolution and One Red Shoe
Worst: haven't finished The Chameleon, an Outer Rim novel (soon, I hope)

Best: invited to be a regular contributor to 2 blogs--The Roses of Prose and Paranormal Romantics; joined a monthly blog hop, Insecure Writers Support Group; blog "tours" for new releases
Worst: coming up with new topics (LOL)

Best: discovered Doctor Who
Worst: watching Doctor Who episodes (ad nauseam, according to Hubs--who gave me Seasons 6 & 7 on DVDs)

Best: supportive family, friends, and readers
Worst: (none)

There are many more events that I've either forgotten or didn't share. I've worked hard to further my writing career, yet dropped everything to play with my grandkids or go to a movie with Hubs. I'm trying to find balance in my life. Not always successful, though. On the whole, I've been very blessed.

And I still haven't done anything with hundreds (thousands?) of photos still in shoeboxes. Maybe in 2014.