The Big Change is Coming

By Sharon Page


With New Year's around the corner, it's time for resolutions. Which is what I mean by "The Big Change".

Christmas has left us reeling at my house--we ended up with a small disaster on the 24th which required a big clean up of the house. Then, on Boxing Day, our furnace quit. After a fall of spring-like weather, our furnace died on the first day it got cold (we'd even had it serviced.) Fortunately, we got it repaired that night. Our kids do ski programs over Christmas, so there was hectic amassing of clothing and equipment, lunches to be made, people to herd.

Since 2012 is supposed to be the end of everything, I wasn't sure if it was wise to make resolutions. I don't usually, but this year I couldn't resist. Of course I made the usual New Year's resolutions for a writer:

Exercise more.
Write more and get more proposals out. Hopefully see an improvement in the career. (Funny, if it's on a day ending in 'y', a writing career always seems to be stalled or slumping :-))
Lost the 15 pounds that comes and goes with more regularity than the seasons.

But I know my real resolution should be to just savor more. Enjoy things. Yesterday, when skiing with the kids in -20 degree weather (by Canadian celcius standards), I decided to savor. Laugh with them, delight in what they've learned on skis, and stop worrying about my upcoming book deadline. We appreciated the clear blue sky, our dusting of white snow, and the way the ice in trees sparkled like diamonds.

Savoring is hard: I actually feel guilty doing it. I feel like I should be rushing to do more, accomplish more, make money, clean up, etc. It feels self-indulgent slacking off to just enjoy the moment. But this year, I'm going to let go of that guilt and stop rushing through life.

As for the 15 pounds, this year I'm really going to do it. It means a change in lifestyle: instead of using tv at night for an hour of relaxing, I should go for a walk. Less wine and less chocolate (except for the dark stuff which is healthy!).

Today, I have more cold weather to savor as we ski with the kids.

Do you have resolutions in mind for 2012?

Sharon Page is the USA Today Bestselling author of sexy historical romance, including Engaged in Sin, Sinful, Blood Wicked. She is a double RT Bookreviews Reviewers' Choice award nominee this year.