January.

Review. Revise. Renew.

I must confess that this winter has been a hard one. I’ve taken a couple on the chin and have spent time sulking, cringing, avoiding. Not exactly a healthy response but probably relatable.

The easy thing would be to toss a lit match on the piled up leavings of 2014 and never look back, but I’m afraid I’d miss a valuable moment of enlightenment engineered just for me… the downside – risking a massive karmic re-do and I’d rather pluck my eyes out than go through this again.

So I’m humbling myself. Scattering apologies like rice at a wedding. Did I miss you?

If so, accept my sincere regrets.

Please…

It’s times like these I’m sorry we’ve done away with the concept of Sin Eaters or Scapegoats – Wouldn’t it be wonderful to tie our failings onto the tails of livestock and chase them out of our collective villages so we can all start afresh?

Sadly we are on our own.

I suppose that’s the point of personal growth and enlightenment.

So I’m done stewing over the past and I’ve turned to ritual in order to clear out the old and welcome in the new. I’m breathing, and walking, and thanking – practicing mindfulness. Once you do that, once you throw open the shutters and embrace your life – the possibilities are endless… though the first step in any endeavor has lead me to the current state of my existence:

Chaos.

I’m hip deep in the task of revising by fulfilling a promise we made to our daughter: the transformation of her room from childhood pink to teenager cool. This means we’re living in a warren of boxes and bags and upended furniture. It’s like someone yanked our home upside down and shook it. Hard. Add-in five adult sized bodies, two cats, and a rabbit and you have my life.

They promise me we’ll have this all sorted by my birthday at the end of February. I hope by then I’ll feel renewed. I’ll need all the creative juices I can get for my writing for a better 2015.

Happy New Year.

LE Franks

Fun for 2015 – I’m part of an anthology celebrating Marines with a story co-authored with Sara York. “My Marine”. It’s on special preview through Totally Bound Semper Fidelis will be available for early download on January 23rd.