A Merry Christmas to All (Pat)

I promised last week to offer more writing quotes today, and I always try to keep my promises, but I just realized this is my last blog before Christmas. I wanted to do a little Christmas stuff, so more quotes will come next week.

What I can’t figure is how Christmas came so fast. Usually Christmas doesn’t sneak up on me like it is doing this week. I thought I had a couple of weeks, then, bang, it’s here. Less than a week left.

No Christmas tree yet. I’ll do that on Sunday, but today I’ve been putting out my miniature Santas and Christmas houses. I’ve added a few other items but most of them will go up Sunday or Monday. Where did the hours go, I groan.

And I’m writing this on Thursday night. Tomorrow morning (Friday) I’m heading to Nashville for my great niece’s graduation from Belmont College. Beth would have been valedictorian if she hadn’t chosen to finish in three and a half years, and this in the honors program with double majors. The college doesn’t really want people to finish in three and a half years, and I understand that doing so precluded the top college honor.

Beth really doesn’t care. She didn’t send out graduation notices. She’s never been one for formalities or awards or honors, despite the fact she’s received a bunch of them. She would rather go out and volunteer at the local animal shelter.

She plans to get her doctorate degree but hasn’t exactly decided in what field. Something to do with science, but the problem is she has too many interests and is not sure which intrigues her the most. She’s worked in research labs and thought she would like that, then decided teaching was her direction, and now . . .

Beth is the ultimate animal lover. She’s spent many summers at the shelter, often bringing home dogs that needed special attention. To her parents’ horror, she presented them with a third dog as a Christmas present several years ago, a big, awkward mutt that probably wouldn’t otherwise have found a home. Parker is now a very loved and happy canine.

She is also a writer. She won a prize in her high school’s English Honors course for a novel she wrote. It was really good. I expressed hopes that she would look in that direction, but I’m not sure her parents think I’m that good of a role model.

But then I have ten awesome great nieces and nephews, all of whom love dogs. In five households, we have a combined fourteen dogs at last count. A love for animals is in the Potter DNA.

But as usual, I digress. So anyway two more days subtracted from Christmas fixings.

The one good thing is most of my shopping is done. I collect gifts during the year -- mostly from craft fairs and bazaars, and I put them on in a big box in my attic. A few days ago I pulled it out. I hadn’t even remembered some of gifts, and several were rather weird, but mostly I’d done well.

I’m also baking tons and tons of toasted buttered pecans. Tara has her cookies. I have my pecans. They go to my editor and agent, my critique partners, some members of my family and other very good friends. The big problem is I have to taste test each bunch. I always gain about ten pounds doing that.

But still so much to do and, woe is me, so little time to do it.

Still, I love Christmas. I love the music, and the happiness and the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at church. I love the smell of a live tree mixed with baking pecans. I love strangers saying “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays.”

It just comes too quickly.

And so I don’t completely disappoint, here’s one writing quote:

“Success is a finished book, a stack of pages each of which is filled with words. If you reach that point, you have won a victory over yourself no less impressive than sailing single-handed around the world.” Tom Clancy

MERRY CHRISTMAS All!