As I sit here writing this blogpost, it is early in the evening on December 31st, and 2018 will be over within a couple of hours. Like a lot of you, I have spent the day reflecting on what I've accomplished, what I liked, and disliked over the past year. Overall, 2018 was a pretty good year for me. I lost thirty pounds in the first few months of the year, released Deadly Passion, book two in The Razzman Files series, featuring PI Tony Razzolito, and we welcomed our second grandchild into the world just a few days ago.
That was the good stuff.
Now in all fairness, some of this good stuff was actually stuff I set as part of my goals for 2017. My doctor told me to lose the weight in 2017. I didn't. I originally had planned on releasing Deadly Passion by the end of 2017. I didn't. Be that as it may, I did both of these things - it just took me a little longer than I wanted. So, I'm gonna refer to those two goals as a part of my two year plan.😃
Losing weight is never an easy task. Losing weight as a 59 year old with arthritic knees makes that task even harder to accomplish. I'm very proud of the fact that I lost 30 pounds. My doctor was ecstatic!😀 Mostly, I did it by changing the way I eat. But I also crossed over into the dreaded Mall-Walkers club this year. Yes, I am now one of those older folks who walks around the neighborhood shopping mall to get my exercise. And yes, I am one of the people that always thought that dressing up in sweats and putting on a pair of New Balance shoes and then power-walking around the younger people strolling through the mall was just plain silly. I used to think that way. I don't anymore. I am now the guy who the young moms shoo their even younger children away from, as I speed by them donning my sweat pants and New Balance shoes.
I released Deadly Passion in April. I felt a real sense of accomplishment when I finished that book. I think it is better than the first book, Dead is Forever. Mainly, I think I'm a better writer than I was when I wrote the first one. I've learned a lot about story, and structure, and research, between the time I wrote book one and book two. I believe I found my writer's voice through the main character, Tony Razzolito, and I knew all of the characters and their personality quirks better this time around. So, the story was actually driven by the characters... I just put their words on paper.
My first grandchild was born in 2017. His personality blossomed in 2018. My daughter and I took him on a road trip back to my hometown, to visit with family and friends in August. It was a special trip for me because I really had a chance to spend some quality time with the two of them. My daughter and her husband were to welcome a new baby by the end of the year, so this would be the last time we would probably take this trip in the way we did, since the dynamic was about to change. That's not to say that the new dynamic wasn't going to be great... because it is. It's just that when my kids were, well... kids, we would take this trip every year. My son, daughter, and their mom would make the trip with me and we would visit family and friends. As time marched on and things changed, those trips also changed. Now that my kids are adults, each has made the effort to occasionally tag along. But, they are both married now and have lives of their own, so they don't come along as much as I would like. When my daughter asked if she and my grandson could go with me this year, it touched me deeply. If you are interested, you can read a bit about that trip here, on an older blogpost. Just click on the summer trip blog under the September tab.
My granddaughter was born on December 21st, and I can't think of a better way to cap off the year. I now have two beautiful grandchildren. I am very blessed.
As the remaining hours of 2018 tick away, I look forward to the new year. 2019 holds a lot of promise, but then so does every bright and shiny new year. What matters most as we cross over into 2019 are the promises kept and the goals achieved throughout the upcoming year, and not the promises made or the goals we set at the beginning. Most likely, the promises, goals and resolutions we take into the new year will change and be modified as we bump into the, for now, unknown challenges that are bound to get in our way. We all usually go into the next year believing that this will be the year we change, the year we prosper, the year we find love, the year where we finally realize all of our dreams, etc. And for some, that's how it plays out. But for most, it takes a lot of hard work and commitment to stay on task, or to even remember what we set out to achieve once the year gets rolling. I'm guilty of that, myself. Every year I start out strong, only to let it go in the middle of the year, and then push during the last month or two, trying to accomplish what I promised myself ten months earlier. The third book in The Razzman Files, Dirty Air, fell prey to this. I wanted to release it before the end of the year. I will not be doing that.
But this year is different. At least it is for me. I will mark a milestone birthday in 2019. I turn 60 years old in May. So, the finish line I am now most concerned with goes beyond the end of the current year. I have a lot of stuff I want to do yet. And 2019 is a great time to push the pedal down a little harder and get busy.
That being said, here are a few things I would like to continue, or get done in 2019:
- Be the best grandpa I can be to my grandbabies
- Spend less time concerned with things I cannot change anyways
- Set foot inside a gym and begin the weight training and toning I should have included when working on my weight loss last year - and maybe even lose a few more pounds
- Release book three, Dirty Air
- Complete a short story that will be included in a WolfPackAuthors anthology book, coming out in the first half of the year - proceeds to be donated to charity (Follow me on Twitter for more information)
- Start and FINISH the fourth book in The Razzman Files series
- Write on this blog with a little more regularity - perhaps even hold to a schedule😏
- Continue to learn and grow as a writer
- Read and REVIEW more books than I did in 2018
- Be the best, supportive partner I can be in the Twitter Writers Community
Until next time - Happy New Year!
________________________________________________________________
As always, any thoughts or comments are welcome! 😎
Visit my web page: Here
Follow me on Facebook: JoeCongelAuthor
Joe...you are awesome and I couldn't be more proud to be called your sister! You have accomplished so much and truly are an inspiration. Happy New Year!!!!! Notice it is 8 a.m. on New year's day so you know I'm not deeerunk!!! Lol..Love ya!!
ReplyDeleteAwww... thanks! I appreciate it! Love ya back😊
Delete