Friday, December 29, 2017

Flashback Friday: Valuable Lesson Learned

Dec 2007:
I was happily relieved at the start of December.  I'd just endured a horrible 1st attempt at NaNoWriMo; I'd managed to 'win', but the experience had scared me and turned me into someone I NEVER wanted to be again.  I was also gaining confidence in my blogging skills, and turned my attention to baking cookies, getting ready for the holidays, and even moving my hubby back into the house.

Which sounds funny; in fact go here for the rest of the story.

I also discovered not everyone shares my sense of humor, but instead of simply skimming my post, two other fellow bloggers were caught by the Blogger Trolls and threatened to pull their support.  Which terrified me at the time; I mean, what new author wants to learn she's 'offended' her new friends and have them leave her high and dry?  I was supposed to be interviewed by one, and due to the 'controversy', she chose to interview someone else.  I took down the 'offensive' part of my post, but later stewed about it.  What happened to the 1st Amendment rights?  Who were these unseen readers who objected to song lyrics that had played at least twice a day on public radio stations across the country?  On a particular show on the weekend?  It made no sense.

I tried to be philosophical about it.  Maybe different rules applied to Blogger.  Maybe I had gotten such a swelled head about the release of book #2 and the fact I'd just written my 9th book, and hadn't taken in to consideration what I was doing.

After a week of carefully censoring every word I wrote, be it in an email, a comment on someone's blog, or even my own post, I wrote this post after being 'zinged' by a sermon at church.  It seemed to work; the incident had blown over, and all was forgiven.

It didn't take the hurt away; the fact I remember it at all is proof of it.

What Did I Get For Christmas That Year?
Colts pjs, a huge box of paper, some clothing, and candy.  Mom had gotten me a new coat, but it didn't fit, so when I took it back, I hit a sale and got a whole lot more!

Both my MIL and my mom ended up in the hospital with pneumonia, so this was also a stressful month.  Thankfully, both recovered!

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Present Day:
The cold has found us!  It snowed Christmas Eve, just enough to cover the ground.  Our choir sounded wonderful, and while I was slightly croaky, my voice held.  Christmas Day was nice and relaxing; I fixed appetizers (meatballs and the Chicken-broccoli filling), then the ham later.  We played Cards Against Humanity well into the wee hours, and my spouse discovered just how twisted my sense of humor can get at times!

Did I mention my dad got me another large box of printer paper for my birthday?  Perfect timing, since we just ran out of the one he'd bought me ten years ago!

Tomorrow, we're heading to Lafayette to celebrate with my parents.  This year it's my dad's turn for the medical issues; he'd been complaining of knee pain, and after an X-ray, he was told he had an anuerism in that knee.  He had a CAT scan on Tuesday, and we're still waiting on the results.  I'm going to stay up there for a week or two.

I'll be back later with my annual 'look back' post, so have a very happy New Year!

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