( 2020 goals – Depositphotos )
I know, I know, it’s only November, but it’s mid-November, and before you know it, it’s going to be January. Plus this is typically the time I start thinking about what I want to accomplish in the new year, usually because I have a goal-setting workshop in December. No goal-setting workshop this year, but it’s still time for me to look at what I did this year and try to figure out what I can realistically do in the new year. So my plan for this week, once we get through Monday and Tuesday at the day-job in our busiest week of the year, is to start by looking at my 2019 goals to see what I did right and wrong, and to start playing with a wish list of what I want for 2020.
My more immediate goal is to get through the next couple of days without succumbing to the ick that started to rear its head last night, making my sinuses throb and my throat sore. Toward that end, I have a big pot of vegetable soup on the kitchen stove right now, full of garlic and ginger and other good stuff to ward off the ick. It smells really good in my house right now. An added bonus is that I made a giant slow cooker full of mac and cheese yesterday, and half of that is still here, too, so between that and the soup, I don’t have to worry about what we’ll eat this week. (For those of you wondering about the other half of the mac and cheese, well, I sent that home with the boys when they stopped in last night. They love homemade mac, and I mentioned earlier in the week that I’d be making it, because that’s a guarantee I’ll see them. Moms are smart that way.)
Now I’m about to finish my (hopefully!) last pass through my Common Elements Romance Project novella while I have some soup. While I do that, I have a little story snippet for you from that novella.
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Lucie jumped at the knock on the back door, then used her elbow to shut off the faucet, grabbing the dish towel to dry her hands on the way to the door. She turned on the light over the door, and her eyebrows rose at the sight of Nate on the steps, Hayden hanging from his back. She tugged the door open. “Hi, guys.”
“Hi, Lucie.”
She frowned at the grim expression on Nate’s face. “Are you okay?” She tossed the towel toward the counter.
“We’re fine, but my dad isn’t. The paramedic unit just landed the helicopter to take him to the mainland hospital. I hate to ask…to bother you, but I need to get my mom to the ferry to go to the hospital, and I wonder if you’d mind hanging out with Hayden for a while.”
Startled, she blinked at him. “Sure.”
“At our house?” He winced. “It’ll be bedtime soon.”
“Of course, let me grab my sweater. Come on in.” She hurried away to the living room to shut off the TV and pick up her heavy sweater from the arm of the couch. She grabbed her phone and the book she’d left on the coffee table last night. She might need some entertainment after Hayden was in bed. When she turned around, Nate stood inside the closed door, stress framing his mouth and eyes with faint lines. “Let’s go,” she said, summoning a smile.
After making sure she had the key in her pocket, she locked the door and pulled it shut. She hurried after Nate, whose long strides got him to the fence several seconds before her. She followed him across the yard and into his house, pausing in the mud room to kick off her sneakers, before emerging into a kitchen that made her want to drool–gorgeous honey-toned cabinets with pale, gold-flecked stone counters, and a serious stove that actually made her stop mid-step to gawk at the six burners and built-in griddle. Shaking her head, she dragged her gaze away from it to where Nate crouched a few feet away, unzipping Hayden’s jacket.
The little guy was in pajamas already, soft, fuzzy blue covered with cartoon characters in bright colors. He turned away from his dad to grin up at her.
“Hi, Lucie.”
She smiled back. “Hiya.” She met Nate’s eyes, and her smile faded. “We’ll be fine, Nate. What time is bedtime?”
“Eight.” He swallowed, then stuck his hand into his pocket, and she heard the faint clink of his keys. “We usually read a story first, but just one. I don’t know how long I’ll be, Lucie. Are you sure–”
“I’m positive,” she interrupted, stepping toward him to pat his arm. “We’ll be fine. I have some kid experience, I promise.” She stopped herself from hugging him. She didn’t know him well enough for that, even though he looked a little shell-shocked. “You go get your mom. Maybe leave your cell number by the phone.”
He nodded, then bent to kiss his son’s head. “You be good, buddy.”
“’Kay, Daddy.”
After another few seconds’ hesitation, he took a quick breath and squared his shoulders. “I really appreciate it, Lucie.”
“No problem,” she said lightly. “I’ll see you later.” She watched him scribble on a note pad near the kitchen phone, then lock the door behind himself on the way out. She turned to the little boy who stood a few feet away. “So, we have some time before you have to go to bed. What do you usually do before story-time?”
A sly smile curved his mouth. “We could have a snack.”
She laughed and dropped to her knees in front of him. “Let me see your teeth.”
His smile vanished. Busted. “How’d you know I already brushed?”
“I wasn’t kidding when I said I had some kid experience, buddy.” She tweaked his chin, and he smiled again.
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Is anyone else thinking yet about goals for the new year? Just me?