New Year, New Hope

Nora 29 via Pixabay

Happy first week of 2021! It may be a new year but my house is still a mix of old and new. My husband went back to work this morning, signaling the end to our family staycation (though no one went completely work-free over the holidays). The 2021 calendars finally arrived yesterday (after a circuitous trip to, from and back to our local post office) and have replaced their 2020 counterparts, but both Christmas trees (the big one in the mudroom and the small one in the family room) are still up. I don't do New Year's resolutions, but I've been plotting and planning lists and goals and, with a semblance of routine returning, I'm excited to dig in.

Truth be told, I didn't wait. I have (at least) two writing projects I want out into the world by the end of the month, and I've been chipping away at them already. One, the final book in the Marita, Angel, Charli (MAC) series is long overdue. The other, a smaller Kindle book that's a compilation of my True Confessions Wednesday blog posts, is a newer project that will take much less time, but which keeps me  at the computer when I've grown weary of the drudgery of the final polish. I have to admit, though, that the closer I get to finishing up the final read on Courting Peace (that third and final MAC book), the more excited I get about it.

2020 most definitely brought us much we couldn't wait to walk away from. But, for me, it also laid the foundation for lots of things I want to continue into 2021. In addition to the two projects above, there's my foray into daily sketchnoting, re-starting the languages I took in high school and working on finding ways to stay optimistic and mindful of the good amid so much that is anything but. I don't want to be a Pollyanna here, but I also don't want to throw out the baby with the bathwater, as they say.

So, while I'm excited to jump into 2021, I'm cognizant of the fact that I'm building on what I'm leaving behind. Our Christmas trees, always a staple well into January, are a reminder that not everything from last year was bad or sad or upsetting, and, as I was reminded in an online sermon last night, their lights are more than decorative. They offer a sense of hope -- a light in darkness -- which is perhaps why my favorite lighting of all is a room lit by only a Christmas tree and decorative white lights.

I am moving forward excitedly, carrying the hope that 2021 is the light in the darkness that all of us need. I wish the same for you.