The One Week Countdown to Christmas....

I must confess: I really, really, envy my writer friends who're still going strong and have not just one, but many stories in the works...in spite of the Christmas rush. So there, you know my terrible secret. I'm envious!

Maybe it's because I've been feeling so lousy for two weeks, hobbling around like an old lady, and taking enough Robaxecet to choke a horse. Maybe it's because our lives have been turned upside down this fall by the military yet again!

I just can't think of one, single, original plot line. I can come up with characters...they fall on to the page at will. But can I put them together into some kind of twisted, original, never-before-thought-of, plot line? Nope.

I have some writing talismen over my computer though - a card of a medieval maiden my MIL sent me, beside my medieval print of a damsel giving her knight a ribbon to wear before he goes off to joust. And a picture of one of my best friends and I. Her dedication to her writing inspires me.

But as we count down to Christmas Eve next Monday, I'm enormously happy that my daughter is still thrilled to make a gingerbread house with me. I love wrapping presents, and have time to actually bake cookies this year - something I've missed the last few years. I think I'll even try to bake my old-fashioned tortieres for Christmas Eve.

At church these past four weeks we've been studying "practising Christmas" throughout the year. I guess I could start by not being envious of my writer friends! Lol! And thinking of the little things that keep my family foursome happy, and taken care of, because that's my job. Christmas isn't just one day to open presents. It's a religious celebration that alot of Christians don't stand up for these days. It's a state of mind. It's the way you live with your fellow humans - kindly, friendly, helpful when others are in need.

So, to all my good writer friends who're deep in the midst of your books - I wish you all a Merry Christmas, and all the best of the publishing world in 2008. And maybe, just maybe, I'll get an idea over the holidays that'll get my blood racing at the computer again. If not, I'll have a gingerbread house to eat. :)