New Year? Not Quite for Me (Melissa Robbins)

Many people see January as a fresh start, a clean slate.  Honestly, to me, it’s not.  You see I have three kids in school and in my head, the “new year” starts at the end of August.  The kids are a grade older.  They have new teachers.  Ah, the smell of fresh pencils and paper.  The calendar that holds all of our family activities goes from July to July instead of starting in January. 

Last fall, my youngest started half day kindergarten.  It was that new found time where I adjusted my goals.  I went from having three hours three times a week to four hours five days a week without kids. Still doesn’t seem to be enough time to write though.  Is there ever?  Like my kids are half way through school in January, I’m halfway through my writing goals, which makes me feel happy that I didn’t “accomplish” my 2013 goals.  When August 2014 comes around, that’s when I’ll make new goals.  All of my kids will be in school all day. 

So do we have any others out there that start their new years in August instead of January or am I the odd ball?  

Patricia Davids, flaws and all.

I told you earlier this month that I would post my answers to the questions I posed to you. After some soul searching, here I go.

Question # 1. What is your value?

 I have value as a mother, a grandmother and the daughter of aging parents. My value outside my family lies in being a caregiver and a writer. I also have value as a good neighbor, a teacher and mentor for people who want to become writers. I take my value seriously.

 Question # 2. What is your strength?

I have a huge dose of self-confidence. My real strength is that I believe in me. In my talent, in my ability to master whatever I put my mind to, be it writing, remodeling the house or teaching the dog new tricks. People who know me may say stubbornness and persistence are my strengths. I can't disagree.

Question # 3. What do you enjoy? The answers to this question are just about endless. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. I enjoy traveling and seeing places I've only read about, I enjoy learning new things. For me, doing research is like a sunny day in the park with homemade ice cream in a cone. Not much gets better than that. I enjoy stretching my mind.

Question # 4. What is your passion? I will tell you what it's not. It's not being a writer. Being a writer is my job, STORYTELLING is my passion. I love, love, love taking an idea and mushing it around like a ball of Play dough and turning it into a happily ever after story. Recounting events in my life and making people laugh, bringing a tear to their eye, entertaining them, that's my passion. Going to the computer and writing is plain hard work. Hitting my daily word count is torture. Making my characters say and do the right thing at the right time is often frustrating. Twenty books and it isn't any easier. Go figure.

 Last question. What is your weakness?
This was the hard question and the one that took the most soul-searching. A lack of focus and procrastination are issues of mine, but my overconfidence is my real underlying weakness. I think I can do anything I put my mind to. The truth is, I can't always accomplish the lofty goal I've chosen. Someday, when I learn to channel my overconfidence into focus and productivity, I'm going to be the awesome prolific writer I want to be. Until then, I'll continue to struggle to meet my own expectations.

If you haven't shared the answer to my question, please feel free to do so. It's about looking inward and mapping a road to satisfaction with yourself.