Reflections

Traditionally, the new year is the time when folks pause to reflect on the past year and set goals for the future. I'm a little odd I suppose as I take that pause on my birthday. Today I turned seventy. For some reason, that just doesn't compute for me. In my heart I don't feel like I'm seventy. Seventy is for old people.

Anyway, one of the things I ponder is how the world around me is changing. The last few years have been tough out there. If one only based our neighbors' attitudes on the things on the news or social media, one would believe our civilization is doomed.

This morning I had to be up and about very early for some bloodwork. Then, after a celebratory bagel and coffee, the hunk wanted to make a quick pass at the grocery store. I sat in the car people watching while he did his thing. And this is what I observed. I watched people smiling at total strangers and offering help. I saw people greeting each other. It didn't matter what color or ethnicity they were. It didn't matter what age or gender they were.

The truth is out there. In the microcosm of one-on-one interaction, we are all human. Maybe in the larger arenas, people show hatred and anger. There always has been--and will always be--those who believe they are better than everyone else, based on the skin color or gender or sexual orientation. But in the people-to-people spaces, the good, the friendly, the compassionate prevail.

I think it's important to observe this. It's important to celebrate our commonalities. We are one. Those others out there only prevail if we forget this. Smile at someone today. Greet someone today. We are more alike than we are different.

Reader Wish List

Every reader has something they would like if they had their 'druthers'. We enjoy the stories. We faithfully follow the authors. And yet...well there are a couple extra things we could wish for. Since Christmas is just around the corner, here's my list.

1. Title your series on the cover. This isn't a difficult thing to do. What's the overriding theme? Or maybe it's about a specific group of characters. Some authors have fifty or sixty books with multiple series and there's no clue to say which books go together. I'm too short on time to try to sort it out. There are so many others out there to read.

2. Number your books on the cover. Instead of scrolling through pages and pages of book covers on Amazon or Kobo or...well, I'm sure you get the idea...and then having to read every synopsis to figure out where it belongs in which series, just do this simple thing. If you normally write series, even if you're not sure every book will end up being part of a series, slap a number on the cover. If the book never makes it to a series, it will always be book #1, so that's no lie.

3. If possible--and if you're an Indie writer, you make the ultimate choice--try to settle on a specific 'look' (font, color, cover art) for your series. A few notable series authors do this and it makes it so much easier to group the books together at a glance.

The point is sales, folks. I have a busy life and if it's too hard to find your books, or figure out which ones go together, then I'll lose interest and move on. And that would be a shame.

Behold!

I was searching for inspiration for my blog and I found this pic. It speaks to me. Behold! Isn't that a great word? It demands our attention. It expresses wonder and dares us to join in. It begins one of the significant greetings in the New Testament, "Behold! I bring you tidings of great joy!"

Language is a living, changing thing. Every day we add new words and discard others. Behold is one of those losses and that saddens me. What if we woke every morning with the word? This elegant word promises excitement and new beginnings and grabs our consciousness, urging us to seek out the future.

Behold! Seize the opportunities and possibilities!

Queen-ager in Progress

Went to the doc today for my 'six month' checkup...just like a toddler. He checked all the usual things, asked me about any new stuff, gently reminded me I could/should do my exercises while lying in bed, and broached that scary discussion about anemia and iron deficiency.

In a couple weeks I'll roll out of bed on my 70th birthday to visit the morning vamps at 8 AM. Mostly, it's normal stuff, but one test to determine if high cortisol is why I'm sprouting a handsome beard has to be done early, early in the morning.

Sometimes I feel like Lucy in the candy factory episode--never quite getting all the pieces sorted. The creator seems to have speeded up the line so whenever I get one thing under control, something else pops out.

Never the less, I persist! That's what life is about. Keep on going.

I have to go for x-rays on the spine. The hunk 'mentioned' I don't do stuff because my back hurts. So, of course we had to have a discussion about that. The doc explained--very patiently--that the back, my back, was not going to get better or improve or magically be alright. It is what it is, but I'll be seeing the specialist about better pain management. Won't that be fun. However, he also told the hunk to lay off...since I'd no doubt spent the better part of our marriage doing the stuff.

Apparently, I have more new experiences in front of me. When I look back and remember how terrified I was at the prospect of insulin injections, I have to laugh. I do them everyday without a thought. If I can do that, then I can do the next thing, whatever it is.

My friend, Amarinda, assures me age is just a number. I believe I'll call it a level. Level 70 sounds more positive.