New updates as the holidays approach

With the holidays around the corner, I felt it would be interesting to post something here on the diary that I have been grossly neglecting. I still can’t believe we’re less than a month away from 2023. This year just seemed to fly right by and while I am sorry for not being here as much as I wanted to be I can provide you with some very interesting updates. 

First off, I’m happy to let you know that last month’s NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) was another complete success!

I crossed the 50K word finish line with time to spare and while the book I was working on isn’t finished yet, it’s off to a very good start thanks to the month long writing marathon. My plan is to finish the novel this month, spend all of January doing edits and revisions and then release the new book on Valentine’s day next year. Ambitious I know, but I’m determined to release this new novel sooner rather than later.

Now that Nano is over, that means Christmas is right around the corner. I have the boys for the holidays this year, which I am very thankful for as this will be my first parentless holiday. I’m not used to having no parents anymore, despite that it’s something I’ve technically been dealing with for a while. When I turned 19, I moved out of the province and never looked back. I’m the only kid in my family that never moved back in with my parents. I’ve been 100% on my own ever since. My parents moved to Tennessee shortly after I moved to Newfoundland, so going back was never an option for me.

It’s not like I don’t have regrets after my father passed away, because I do. I made my peace with the possibility that the old man would pass away before we mended fences, and I was prepared for that. I accept my own responsibility for my part in torching that bridge, but I did for good reason and that is not what I regret. My Dad pretty much denied himself of something amazing; that being the chance to meet and spend time with his new granddaughters. He let his own ego get in the way of him spending time with the newest members of his family and that’s on him. I was ready to bury the hatchet, and reached out to him through my brother many times to make peace for the kids, but our olive branches were rejected every time. Even when Dad was on his death bed, he refused to see me. So, I don’t feel too bad about it because I made the effort, and it’s easier to move on that way.

Now at this point, I’m wondering how many of you caught or noticed a certain word in the last paragraph.

I said Granddaughters… as in plural.

That wasn’t a typo.

There is another baby in my family tree.

    

This is Emma Rosalind. Born five months ago on June 21st, 2022.

Emma was born seven weeks premature and was less than two and a half pounds when she hatched. It was a little scary at first but the hospital she was at kept her in the NICU for over a month, and took exceptional care of her. I plan to make donations to that unit whenever I can to show my appreciation for how awesome they were taking care of our little Emma. She’s been gaining weight very well, and is not up to a robust ten pounds but she has some more work to do.

Dealing with a premature baby is quite a new experience. There are a lot of new rules both mom and I had to follow to keep the baby safe. Because her lungs are underdeveloped, mom has asked me and the other kids to avoid large crowds just to be safe. Going to shows and events isn’t worth the risk, so I’ve been isolating for good reason as I can wait until she’s doing better and her lungs are further developed. No complaints here either, as my girls are both worth the effort.

Katherine really likes having a new sister, and she’s not jealous of Emma at all as they appear to get along.

So, this is one of many reasons why I choose to be grateful for what I have rather than gripe about what I don’t have. My kids have always been my saviors, and this Christmas without my parents will be no different. Their love is all I will ever need and I walk into 2023 quite content and happy.

As I head into the holidays this year there will be enough cheer, smiles, and happy kids to make everything alright.

What more could a man want for Christmas?

I’ll try to update again later in the month, but until then… happy holidays!

Peter