Monday Meeting

This Monday, I'm reminiscing.

When I was a child, my parents got divorced. And split the holidays. So, every other Christmas we would drive from Pennsylvania to the heat of the Florida Keys to celebrate Christmas with my mom's parents, on their house boat. Did I mention my grandparents are Jewish? It was as if we were trying to make Christmas as un-traditionally Christmasy as we could. Those Christmases are etched in sharp contrast to all the Christmases that had come and gone before, when we would drive to New England to spend the holiday with my dad's parents.

But, a strange evolution of Christmas occurred. It became normal to expect Santa to visit on golf cart, driving down the beach. To enjoy the bizarre pastel Key's interpretation of Christmas decorations. To see our gifts under the Hanukkah bush, and play shuffle board and go for a swim Christmas Eve. To sing 'Margaritaville' in Key West and see Hemingway's cats. To wear bathing suits instead of snowsuits. These things became Christmasy to me--even the Hanukkah bush. To this day, I use blue lights on my Christmas tree.

I loved those Christmases.

My point? That a vacation to the Keys would be perfect this time of year? No--well, yes.

But my real point? That Christmas, and any holiday, is about spirit, not about scene, or even traditions. And, that it is more about spending time with those you love than about anything else.

But on to the task at hand:

The Monday meeting.

This week I am going to write. That's my goal. As the pressure of Nano dissolves and the holiday cyclone sucks me in, I just want to get some writing done. I'd love to finish some things up, and have a solid deadline, but my goal is just to find my rhythm and write.

My other goal is to remember my bigger goal--to get this stuff published, and sooner rather than later. This always fires me up, as I think of all the possibilities.

Plus--another big treat (it is the holiday season, after all!)--this week's Friday interview will feature Casey McCormick from Literary Rambles. She is a fantastic person and writer. Stop by to check it out!

So, are you thinking about the holidays? What are you working on this week?