Every year ends. I always get to this part of December and have a moment of panic. Christmas Eve is in one week. Twenty years ago that meant I'd be preparing for our annual open house, but the world shifted, friends scattered and drifted away, and now, for us, Christmas Eve is a quiet evening.
It's not a bad thing. We're older now, and the spousal unit is ten years older than me, so he appreciates a quiet evening more than I do. We may take Deuce for a little ride to check out some Christmas lights, but we won't be joining with other people. It's our choice.
I'm currently working on putting together my retrospective for 2023, which will publish on January 2, 2024. That's a look back and today I'm looking forward, down a road that has a few twists and turns on the horizon. There are no wrong turns, only choices to make.
Do I want to try to maintain a website or hire someone? I'd like to do it myself, but can I learn new software right now?
Do I want to continue to keep Holly Tree Manor as a separate blog, or post everything here? If I post everything here, I can still post over there and send people this way. I don't monetize my blogs so does it matter which way I go? And do I want to incorporate more videos on the blog and also post them on Facebook?
I admit to allowing things in my writing realm to slide while I prepared for and settled into retirement. I look around on social media and the girls I "came up with" seem to be gone. I suspect a lot of them didn't want to go indie when so many of the epubs closed. I don't blame them. I miss the camaraderie of being in a group and exchanging ideas that actually work.
A lot of what I do will be a continuation of what I've always done. If it's not broken, don't fix it. If you enjoy doing it, why stop?
I've set a deadline of December 31st for myself to decide which road to take. It's likely I'll look to the words of Robert Frost for counsel: "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."
One can only hope I recognize it when I get to it, and I'm brave enough to take that first step out of my comfort zone.
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