Life marches on and the world keeps turning, no matter what happens to you. This is a lesson Rick and I learned immediately after his father died. Rick returned to work to find out that his workplace was implementing new standards that requires massive changes not only to his day to day work, but additional certifications as well. These changes are industry wide, so he’d have to do it no matter where he worked. Still, it was a hard blow to find out that his job was changing – again – and right after losing his father. No mercy there. But at least his employer is providing and paying for these changes (some places expect the employee to do it on their own dime). To say it’s been a rough year for him is an understatement. He was ready for 2014 to be over in August, and I can see why.
Things kept rolling for me as well. Just days after the memorial service for Rick’s father, two things happened: the first book of my scifi trilogy idea hit me, and I was invited to serve on the Member Board Executive committee for the Council of Landscape Architect Registration Boards. That’s a national agency made up of all the landscape architect Boards in the U.S. and three Canadian provinces. This committee helps them keep in touch with the administrative end of the profession, and planning for the annual meetings held in September. I figured why not on both counts. So I accepted the invitation for a two year term on the committee and started writing the first book of The Earthside Trilogy, titled Fracture. I hadn’t planned to write that book for several more months, but one thing I’ve learned is that when inspiration hits, it’s best to run with it. The timing worked out alright, anyway. Nonstop to Nowhere was finished and getting prepped for publication, so there was nothing more for me to do with it; and I was finishing up Obsidian and getting it ready to send to the cover artist and proofreader.
My work sent me to the annual conference I mentioned above in late September. The conference was held in Reston, Virginia, which is about 45 minutes outside of Washington D.C. Rick went with me on this trip, and we flew up a day early so I could see D.C. for the first time. It was a great trip! I absolutely loved it, and the conference went really well. It was nice to see everybody again, especially since I had missed the annual meeting in 2013 due to schedule conflicts. The 2015 meeting will be held in New Orleans, and the committee will begin planning on that when I go back up to Reston in January. The trip was good for me and Rick too on a personal level. It did him so much good to get away for a while and just enjoy life. I have to admit that it did me some good too. It was nice to get away, to do something different, and to see someplace new. You can check out my pictures from the trip on Flickr.
When I returned from that trip, things really started to roll. I got published three times: Nonstop to Nowhere was published in The Night Life Paranormal Anthology in early October, Obsidian published in late October, and another short story titled “November” was published in the Short and Happy (or not) Anthology in early November. Plus, work was keeping me busy with end of the year meetings and license renewals. Looking back, it’s amazing that I got it all done, but by the grace of God, I did.
November and December have been low key, thankfully. Rick got the flu the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, so we were homebound for the long weekend. It was a bummer cancelling our plans, but in the end I believe it worked out for the best, because we desperately needed the rest. But then a week later, I got the flu despite having a flu shot – so the year ended much the same as it started! At least I’ve recovered and can enjoy the holidays now. And Rick did pass his Apple Software Certification Exam, which is a big accomplishment and a huge achievement. It is good to end the year on a good note, and we hope that good fortune carries over into 2015!
One thing that Rick and I have both learned over the past year is that there are times when resistance really is futile, and it’s best to work with what you’ve got. There are a great many things in life that you can’t control, and screaming and resisting them usually makes the struggle longer, harder, and worse. People kept telling us that we need to learn how to be more flexible. Well, we have, and I hope they’re happy now. But we’ve also learned to be thankful for our blessings, and that the small things in life can often be the biggest blessings. We have appreciated the prayers and support from family and friends this year.
So ends 2014. Next time, I’ll have some final ponderings on the year and hopes for 2015.
Things kept rolling for me as well. Just days after the memorial service for Rick’s father, two things happened: the first book of my scifi trilogy idea hit me, and I was invited to serve on the Member Board Executive committee for the Council of Landscape Architect Registration Boards. That’s a national agency made up of all the landscape architect Boards in the U.S. and three Canadian provinces. This committee helps them keep in touch with the administrative end of the profession, and planning for the annual meetings held in September. I figured why not on both counts. So I accepted the invitation for a two year term on the committee and started writing the first book of The Earthside Trilogy, titled Fracture. I hadn’t planned to write that book for several more months, but one thing I’ve learned is that when inspiration hits, it’s best to run with it. The timing worked out alright, anyway. Nonstop to Nowhere was finished and getting prepped for publication, so there was nothing more for me to do with it; and I was finishing up Obsidian and getting it ready to send to the cover artist and proofreader.
My work sent me to the annual conference I mentioned above in late September. The conference was held in Reston, Virginia, which is about 45 minutes outside of Washington D.C. Rick went with me on this trip, and we flew up a day early so I could see D.C. for the first time. It was a great trip! I absolutely loved it, and the conference went really well. It was nice to see everybody again, especially since I had missed the annual meeting in 2013 due to schedule conflicts. The 2015 meeting will be held in New Orleans, and the committee will begin planning on that when I go back up to Reston in January. The trip was good for me and Rick too on a personal level. It did him so much good to get away for a while and just enjoy life. I have to admit that it did me some good too. It was nice to get away, to do something different, and to see someplace new. You can check out my pictures from the trip on Flickr.
When I returned from that trip, things really started to roll. I got published three times: Nonstop to Nowhere was published in The Night Life Paranormal Anthology in early October, Obsidian published in late October, and another short story titled “November” was published in the Short and Happy (or not) Anthology in early November. Plus, work was keeping me busy with end of the year meetings and license renewals. Looking back, it’s amazing that I got it all done, but by the grace of God, I did.
November and December have been low key, thankfully. Rick got the flu the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, so we were homebound for the long weekend. It was a bummer cancelling our plans, but in the end I believe it worked out for the best, because we desperately needed the rest. But then a week later, I got the flu despite having a flu shot – so the year ended much the same as it started! At least I’ve recovered and can enjoy the holidays now. And Rick did pass his Apple Software Certification Exam, which is a big accomplishment and a huge achievement. It is good to end the year on a good note, and we hope that good fortune carries over into 2015!
One thing that Rick and I have both learned over the past year is that there are times when resistance really is futile, and it’s best to work with what you’ve got. There are a great many things in life that you can’t control, and screaming and resisting them usually makes the struggle longer, harder, and worse. People kept telling us that we need to learn how to be more flexible. Well, we have, and I hope they’re happy now. But we’ve also learned to be thankful for our blessings, and that the small things in life can often be the biggest blessings. We have appreciated the prayers and support from family and friends this year.
So ends 2014. Next time, I’ll have some final ponderings on the year and hopes for 2015.
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