While it seems everyone in the blogosphere is posting best of, worst of, and the ever-popular New Year's resolution lists, I find I'm ambling around the internet, looking for something else to help me say goodbye to the old year and welcome in the new.
I'm not sorry to see 2008 go. From the starting gate, it was the year of fear. Too much hatred, too much ugliness. Far too much heartbreak. In the midst of it, a few masks were ripped off and showed us what was really underneath, which no one wants to see even when they suspect it's there. Sometimes I thought "At least it can't get any worse" and then, of course, it did.
But I saw a lot of love and hope in 2008, too; far more than I expected. Tough times are hard, but they also bring out the best in people. Whenever we most had to pull together, someone held out their hands to help. Whenever we needed courage, someone inspired us with their own. It didn't make the bad stuff go away, but it made it easier to bear whenever it hung around and tried to get at us.
I guess for me it was the year of not hiding under the bed. I wanted to -- nothing much bothers the dustbunnies -- but some excellent things kept dragging me back out: the online writing community, my friends and readers, and the work. You all encouraged me to catch all the lemons instead of dodging them, and make them into lemonade. That I was a smartass and then sold the lemonade back to the people who threw them, well, that's what Zen revenge is all about, right?
I'd like 2009 to be better for my family, friends and colleagues, but it's going to be a year of change and challenges for all of us. Not a time I think we can make like the dustbunnies. May we all find reasons to come out, work together, and help each other get through whatever else the next twelve months will bring.
Related links:
PublishingTrends.com has some very good news for e-book authors: 2008 Year in Review
For everything else that happened while we were writing, check out Newsday.com's backlook linkfest: Year in Review 2008
If you must resolve, check out the best ways to make it stick: How to keep up with those New Year's resolutions, researchers find commitment is the secret of success
Added: one last limited-time freebie of the year (reported as being advertised on the sidebar of my Scribd page for Incarnatio, oddly enough) is The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen. The Adobe .pdf version being offered doesn't download for me, so you might have to read it online, but hey, free book. *Note 9/3/10: Since Scribd.com instituted an access fee scam to charge people for downloading e-books, including those I have provided for free for the last ten years, I have removed my free library from their site, and no longer use or recommend using their service. My free reads may be read online or downloaded for free from Google Docs; go to my freebies and free reads page for the links. See my post about this scam here.
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I'm not sorry to say goodbye to 2008. Even if I do wish I could've spent a lot of it hiding under the bed, I am glad that the last year forced a lot of deep thought and changes in my life. Things will never be the same, and I'm actually okay with that.
ReplyDeleteA very happy new year to you, Lynn!
ReplyDeleteLike you, I'm not sorry to say goodbye to the year. IT was good and bad, but I'm eager to start a new one off right!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
(and The Surgeon downloaded for me okay. )
Are you sure? I'd make a pretty good dustbunny. Pretending to be a plotbunny could be cool, too.
ReplyDeleteAt this moment I am on pins and needles, waiting to hear if my husband and I still have a job. If not, we will have about 24 hours to vacate and move somewhere else, so they can bring in someone willing to work for less money. This has been a crappie year all way round. 2009 can only get better, right??
ReplyDeleteI'm kinda sad to see 2008 go. Mostly because I don't feel like I got done all that I needed or could have (and that's on me).
ReplyDeleteWell for me... 2008 i discovered your books which i enjoyed and actually got Stay the NIght yesterday 12.30.08... and i look forward to what 2009 brings... 2008 brought me becoming a new person and someone that i am actually proud to be...
ReplyDeleteThanks, Chica, for all your incredible generosity and caring. One of the things you so consistently did in 2008 is offer comradary (sp?) and the hand-up to all who love books and maybe aspire to write them. May 2009 bring ease and peace and laughter for you and your family and friends. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reminding us all to catch those lemons and make lemonade--and lemon pie--instead of sitting around with a sour face.
ReplyDeleteI hope there are lots of good things and a few challenges in the new year for all of us.
Happy New Year from Munich!!! To be honest, 2008 is a bit of a blur. It seemed to speed by. I looked up and it was gone. I suppose that happens sometimes. 2009 should be interesting. Let's hope by mid-year we start to see things turn around.
ReplyDeleteAm I the only one who actually liked 2008? I had (still have) a job that I enjoy, with coworkers who make me *laugh* all night long and bosses who appreciate me enough to not only give me a pay raise for the coming year, but a nice bonus for the hard work I do every day.
ReplyDeleteI have a healthy bratling, a car that runs, and a house with a non-leaky roof. And wow, there's even food in the fridge. Mostly junk food, but hey..it's edible.
I got to donate money and livestock to people and regions who really needed it (hell, I bought cows and goats ALIVE for the first time ever. Not sure how long they stayed that way, though *g*). People gave me stuff to thank me for giving stuff, which is weird but wonderful. And I met some incredibly awesome people in the midst of all that giving.
Life in 2008 was good.
Here's wishing you peace and joy and prosperity and love in 2009. And a little Gerry in pink cashmere when you're down ;-)
ReplyDeleteThough I'm glad to see 2008 go, I have to be thankful for the things it brought me. I found your books and blog and have been hanging around ever since (and if you get tired of me, let me know ;P .) I managed to stay out of the hospital this year. I had a wayward daughter who returned home. I managed to hit a few personal goals. I laughed more and cried less, had more wins than losses, gained friends and lost some, but don't regret any of it.
And in the midst of more than 125 thousand foreclosures in SE Michigan, I'm just happy that we still have our home and my husband still has a job and I wish I could change the circumstances for everyone who now has neither. In that regard, I can only hope 2009 will be better.