Skip to main content

Happy New Year 2021

Hi everyone.

So I think it's fair to say that 2020 wasn't exactly the year that we'd all been expecting and as I type this, 2021 isn't showing too many signs of being all that great so far either.

But we must have hope! "Things can only get better" as the song says and with the Covid Vaccination Programme well underway and a much-needed changing of the guard in the USA, there is a chink of light at the end of the tunnel which is hopefully not yet another train coming.

Although it surprises most people when I say this, January is my favourite month and not just because it's my birth month. One of the reasons I like it so much is the "clean slate" feeling you get at the start of every new year. However challenging the previous year was and let's face it, last year was extraordinarily challenging, there is always the opportunity to press the "refresh" button and start again.


That's why we call the goals we often set at this time of year our "New Year Resolutions" and not our "Halfway Through The Year Resolutions". We use the impetus of another fresh start to motivate and inspire us, even if we don't always keep that motivation and inspiration up much beyond Valentine's Day. 

There's no doubt though, after all that has happened in 2020, my feelings this January are pretty mixed to say the least. That is why I have designed this slightly sardonic digital print for my Etsy shop, a parody of the famous Nina Simone song lyric. 


But "whatever" it is that you are feeling at the moment, I just want to take the opportunity to say that this is OK. We're all currently living through "unprecedented" times (to use the Word of the Year for 2020) and pretty much anything goes on the feelings front. Despite that, I do hope you manage to find some peace and joy in 2021 and I wish you all a very Happy New Year.

Stay safe and well.

Melissa x

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

No Show

Sorry that there is no new post this week. I am a "no show" due to the wheels coming off my trolley on Tuesday when I tried some glandular therapy treatment for my ongoing hypoadrenalism and ended up passed out on the hall floor. At the moment, my brain feels like it is full of cotton-wool and writing anything deep and meaningful (or even anything shallow and nonsensical) seems quite difficult. Hopefully normal service will be resumed as soon as possible so please do not adjust your settings.

Portfolio Career

I have been telling everyone recently that I now have a "portfolio career". Most people don't know what I mean by this (someone even said they'd have to "Google" it!) but it's really just a fancy way of saying that you have fingers in several different pies. I have been a "professional" writer since 1995 although I have always been a writer of some sort, ever since I was at school. During this time, I have stuck pretty religiously to writing and only occasionally had flights of fancy about getting a "proper" job. (And I still do. Only this time last week, I found myself offering to manage a jazz band!!) However, for various reasons, I've recently been seriously exploring other freelancing options that I can do alongside writing and have now decided to "rebrand" myself as a writer, a crafter and a musician. I also plan to carry on working on community newsletters and do something in the spiritual healing/growth area a...

Shortlisted in the Writer's Toolkit Flash Fiction Competition

Hi everyone. A good writing week this week, despite the distractions of the cricket and the tennis, possibly because my portfolio career has been suspended, pending further enquiries (don't tell my patrons!) and I've been at my desk every night. Long may it continue! I said in my last post that I was recently shortlisted (top ten) in the Writer's Toolkit flash fiction competition. The competition brief was to write a short story of 150 words or less on the theme of 'Secrets'. My story actually came out at exactly 150 words because at the last minute, after I'd sealed the envelope, I suddenly panicked and decided that the wording of the rules could mean that the story had to be exactly 150 words. Mine was 149 if I remember correctly and it was surprisingly difficult to add that extra word! Apparently the competition attracted 182 entries (which I must admit was quite a surprise) and entries came from several European countries as well as the UK. I was particu...