|
http://www.romancingtheblog.com/blog/2009/11/11/holidays-and-deadlines/ http://www.romancingtheblog.com/blog/?p=3161
EVERY year I swear to myself and my family that “next year” I’m going to take December off. I’ll be caught up and I can trim the Christmas tree with the family, go shopping and stroll through the malls, bake Christmas cookies . . . well, you get it the idea. (No, I won’t be signing Christmas Carols, I’ve got a serious tin ear.) The point is, I had plan to be ahead of the game. And every year, I’m behind, a deadline looms, copy edits are due, I’m working on a new idea or whatever. The job takes precedent. Everyone understands. But another year passes and everyone gets older.
This year I thought I was good to go. I was already doing some shopping in August. (Talk about a head of the game!) And last year I did put up tons of outdoor lights, so I had the right strands; I could start right after Halloween. Even though the ancient willow tree had fallen down in a storm. If not the bare branches of the willow, I can light up the fence, right? As for my fall deadline, it would be long over . . .
Yeah, right.
What I hadn’t anticipated was the frailty of health. My family went through some serious issues that kept me from staying ahead of the game work wise. So, once again, I find myself racing to catch up for the holidays. As I write this my mind is on revisions that are due this week. Once they’re finished, the copy edited manuscript will return here and then the page proofs. Maybe not all before the New Year, but potential enough to keep me from doing too much fa-la-la-la-la-ing. And isn’t Thanksgiving in what, a week or two? I’ve already seen a kabillion Christmas ads on TV. Seems like the retailers would really like my money again this year. I’m so far behind, I don’t know what the new “it” item is. Do I have to stand in line for a WII, or XBox, or Cabbage Patch doll this year? Please, someone, clue me in!
My solution for being behind is being ahead. (Really far ahead–like 11 months worth!) I’m keeping my Halloween decorations up! That’s right, I’ve got the creepy plastic tree on the shelf, two skulls, purple and orange candles and a string of weird cat lights strung over my kitchen window. There’s also the Haunted Hotel sign near the front door and another one inside announcing in flashing neon that “The Witch Is In.” I even picked up a poster for a quarter at the grocery store and got a really good deal on some “Boo” napkins. Since I missed Halloween because of some of those same old health issues, I figure Thanksgiving is fair game. I’ve never been a fan pinecone turkeys or dried corn or paper Pilgrim hats anyway. The skulls stay!
I’ll cook the traditional meal, of course, but we might just have tiny Snickers bars for dessert instead of pumpkin pie. Sound good? I think so. Finally maybe, I’ll be caught up enough to celebrate Christmas on December 25th. Fa-la-la-la-la!
Lisa Jackson
http://www.lisajackson.com
http://www.twitter.com/readlisajackson
Copyright © 2009 Romancing the Blog | Romance Authors and Readers Who Blog. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator or via the BlogBurst network, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact contactus -at- www.romancingtheblog.com so we can take legal action immediately. all rights reserved
No related posts. |