MY WISHES FOR YOU . . . by Kathy Ivan

This blog post really should have happened yesterday. Unfortunately, I have fried brain cells due to the flu and completely forgot I was supposed to do my New Year's post. So even though this is a day late, here it is. The sentiments still hold true—even if they are a day late.

With a bright and shiny New Year approaching in just a few days, most people are busy thinking about their resolutions; the things they plan to change about themselves or the things the want to do in the upcoming year. I've done that more times than I care to count. I start out with all the best intentions with my goals clear. I'm going to lose the rest of the weight I need to lose. I'm going to complete at least two manuscripts during the year. I'll work less and spend more quality time with family and friends. Don't we all promise ourselves we'll do those same things and more.

Then every year, before a few weeks are gone, so are those resolutions. Life interferes, work interferes, or in my case "laziness" interferes. :-)

So, instead of making resolutions this year, I've decided to make wishes. Not wishes for myself, but instead wishes for you, my friends.


Wish #1: Health. My wish for all my friends this year is for each and every one of you to have a healthy New Year. So much happened in the last couple of years, I seem to have become more attuned to people's health and well-being. So big or small, my wish for you is that you enjoy good health throughout the coming year. Take extra care of yourselves, because I'll be watching.

Wish #2: Happiness. I know it sounds trite, cliched even, but it's nevertheless true. I could wish for world peace, and I do, but I also wish an extra dose of happiness for each of you. Romance readers and writers tend to have a positive outlook overall, but we still have an occasional bad day, can get grumpy and depressed, panicked or stressed. We work on deadlines and writing can be a solitary endeavor. So I'm waving my magic wand and sprinkling a little extra happy dust on all of you, sending special wishes for happiness throughout this upcoming year.

Wish #3: Humor. What kind of wish is that, you ask? Our day-to-day lives can get so hectic and stressful we sometimes forget the simplest things. A baby's laugh, a puppy rolling on it's back kicking its legs in the air, or watching a runny scene in our favorite movie. We're so busy rushing from place to place; frantic to make appointments, get to the next meeting, work that couple of extra hours of overtime we forget to take just a moment to smile at the pleasant things in life, to find the joy in the things around us. I've always heard laughter is the best medicine. If we take a minute to laugh at a stupid joke, smile at a child's playful antics, maybe for just a brief span of time we'll feel a bit better about ourselves and our day. (Plus laughter is contagious—you can't hear somebody else laugh without it tugging up the corners of your mouth or even joining in. Remember, it's good for you, too.)

I'm not even going to mention my wish to finish those two manuscripts . . .

These are my three wishes for you this coming New Year. What about you; do you want to make a wish? Share your wishes with the Plotting Princesses. After all, wishes can come true.