It’s two days after Christmas and I’m thinking about 2024. I’m also thinking about this past year. I’m in that middle place where I’d like to begin formulating my list of goals for 2024, but kinda still musing about how this past year went. I’d like to say I’m gonna kick ass in the new year, but as I do that, it morphs into how I kicked ass this past year so I’m going to lean a little into both.

For starters, I did indeed make 2023 my bitch. And if I’ve learned anything this year it’s that celebrating success is an important ingredient when curating a good mood.

Now I know I’m trying hard to separate my self worth and esteem from how much writing I’m able to get accepted and out into the wild world, but I’m gonna take stock of it anyhow, for the sake of this year-end wrap up.

I had 11 poems and one creative nonfiction essay published in different online and print journals and anthologies. That’s pretty bomb. More exciting than that, however, is that two of those poems are in a journal, Door is a Jar, that’s distributed to a hundred plus bookstores and newsstands across the US, including our Barnes and Noble here in Omaha. I was able to go there and find the book and I don’t think I’ve ever had more people react to a Facebook post in my life. Good golly! 

And unlike last year, I’m going into the new year with six poems forthcoming early in the year. It feels really great to have these things to look forward to. I think I owe this success in part to my effort researching and submitting to so many places this year. In 2023 I sent work to over 400 publications and that’s a crap ton. 

The work I put into each and every one is not nothing. I always make sure I follow the guidelines and more important than that, I’ve read what they publish so I know that my writing fits with their aesthetic, at least as far as I can tell. 

The best part about the forthcoming poems is that they are all at more reputable places which means that my writing is getting better and that I’m gonna have more “street cred” going forward. I’m definitely not going to try for 400+ subs in 2024, but will definitely keep sending to higher caliber publishers. I’m also planning on putting more focus on the books (think unpublished collections of poems) I’ve compiled, which is a lot more work than sending individual poems. 

I guess that’s two loosely defined goals, but what else? This past quarter of the year I’ve backed away from events and public appearances and maybe I’ll start creeping back into the sunlight. Maybe not. I kinda dig it here in the shadows. 

As plans go, I do have a full dance card of trips starting late January. I’ll be flying to two different destinations and driving to a third in the span of a couple months. It’s winter here and the cold is settling in as of late — there’s no better time to get away than winter in Nebraska. Then, as March hits, I’ll be ready to be home and starting my garden (inside again this year). 

No trips on the books yet for the remainder of the year but there will be time for more planning in spring. My daughter is graduating college (good gravy!) and I’ve promised her a trip to celebrate. Anywhere in the world she wants to go, I said, so we’ll see where that takes us. 😊 I also promised my dad we’d go to Paris someday and after he’s recovered from the big knife in his chest in January, maybe we’ll get more serious about that too. 

I’m trying to think of other plans and goals but my brain is stuck on writing, I hate declaring writing goals because then I always feel a failure when I can’t live up to my own lofty expectations. I did promise my friend Kate we’d exchange writing once a month, so I’d best get to writing some new shit. I’m a little nervous about that commitment cuz Kate’s a big deal and she’s got multiple books published AND a novel coming out in spring. It’s good to have like-minded friends to push you forward, so I’ll be leaning into that accountability. 

If I try and think about other goals, my mind turns to health — eating, exercise, mindfulness, and sleep. I’ve been good on most those fronts this past year (and enjoyed lots of improvement) but would always love to shed a few more pounds. I’m 5 up from my ideal goal weight, and if I put some New Years Resolution magic on it, maybe I can get there by the first of those winter trips. Probably not though. I like sweets too much.

Now I’m thinking about the cinnamon rolls I made on Christmas Day that are quickly going stale in our broken-ass refrigerator. Now I’m thinking I need to finish cleaning that out, and get to researching a new one. One thing is for certain — replacing anything in this cursed castle is expensive. Nothing but the best, the Castle says. And our hands always seem to be tied when we try to argue.

Perhaps that’s the first real goal on the books for 2024: Get a new refrigerator. As for the rest, I’m going to keep thinking on it.

I definitely don’t want to make any more real declarations until I’m sure what I really want from 2024. I suppose this is it for now, then.

Peace and love for what’s left of 2023,

~Miss SugarCookie