As a child, I was sick every Christmas. Every Christmas! I had rheumatic fever. Scarlet fever — twice. Chicken pox. Measles. Pneumonia. The sniffles. The creeping crud. You name it, I got it.
Every Christmas I was sick.
Until I met my husband. Maybe I was just trying to show off for him. Maybe I was simply eating better. (My sudden zoftig figure was certainly evidence of all those popcorn movies and late-night dinners.) Whatever the cause, my husband seemed to be the cure. He still is.
Although I remain on the injury list (yes, still those darned wrists), I expect to be healthy again this year. This Christmas, I’ll sit in front of our beautiful tree with a glass of wine instead of a shot of Nyquil. I’ll have a smile on my face rather than a spreading rash. And pleasure will fill my throat instead of swelling, aching tonsils. Yes! I’ll once more be healthy.
I’ll also be happy.
I’ll have sent out a few more queries to be opened — one of which will surely be opened by my future big-time agent. I’ll have put the finishing touches on my manuscript and have it dressed and ready for its curtain call. I’ll have started outlining my next book while I’m waiting for my new agent to breathlessly overnight a contract for my signature. I’ll have practiced my happy dance for the moment we have a winner in the big-time editor’s bidding war over my book. I’ll have done my homework and behaved as a professional all through the process — from story concept to a fabulously-jacketed product, prominently featured in all the bookstores.
Perhaps I’m dreaming. But my dreams nevertheless contain the essence of hard work that, given the right timing and the right guidance (see the fabulous, www.annemini.com), these dreams may well come true.
Last evening I watched for the 50-gazillionth time the classic holiday movie, White Christmas. Gosh, those kids! Running off to an inn in Vermont to help out their former Army general, inviting a couple of cute sisters along for the ride, falling in love … and having their dream of a snowy-white Christmas come true just in the nick of time — well, it’s just the kind of story that fuels the hearts of dreamers like me.
So, I’ll stay healthy again this year. I’ll certainly be happy. But mostly, I’ll continue to work toward my dream of publishing in the big-time.