Word of the Year—2021

 

Every year for more than a decade I've talked about giving up New Year's Resolutions and instead coming up with a Word of the Year. My Word of the year for 2020 was Patience. I feel very prophetic about it because 2020 was definitely a year that required a lot of patience. I tend to try to view the world as a glass half full sort of place, but frankly this year has been required a lot of work to maintain that view. So many people are hurting and suffering.  1 out of every 1,000 Americans has succumbed to Covid. Even while I find the beauty in the world—whether it's the minions, my family, a new studio, a new book, the cottage—I see the beauty but it's tinged with the sorrow that we've all felt.  Patience. It's taken a lot of work and patience.

Most years I simply share my Word of the Year. This year, I'm going to walk you through how I pick one. (If you've watched Trippin' with Holly and Susan videos, you've seen my weird, circular thought process in some of them.)

I've tried to make a difference where I can. I've tried to spread glee. I've...I've patiently tried to make the world just a little brighter.

So now I need to pick a Word for 2021. My first inclination was HOPE. I'm hopeful that before the end of '21 things will be better. Not necessarily back to normal, but better. HOPE feels like a good choice even though I've used it as a Word of the Year in the past. I don't think anyone can ever have too much hope.

And yet, I also think this coming year is going to rely on SCIENCE. For a decade scientist worked on a new way of developing vaccines. They worked, they tested their mRNA technology and when this horrible virus came along, they'd laid the groundwork for preparing an effective inoculation in record time. My family is filled with frontline workers and I'm so proud and THANKFUL for the work they do. And I'm so THANKFUL for that science as they've begun getting inoculations that will protect them. So THANKFUL. That's another great idea for a Word for '21. I'm THANKFUL for my brave and amazing family. I'm THANKFUL to the scientists who've worked so hard for a decade and put us in a place where we could confront this pandemic in a timely way. 

I'm Hopeful and Thankful. Both words encompass science. So now I've narrowed my word to one of those two. Those Trippin' videos will also show you that I have no problem twisting things to suit my purpose...I could just pick two words. And yet...I love having one word to focus on.

I'm hopeful that scientist continue to work hard and think of new ways to save lives. I'm thankful for all they've done and are doing. If you've ever read How to Catch a Groom, you know of my inherent fondness for science and I feel this year has proven that fondness out.

I'm thankful for all our frontline workers and hopeful their jobs will become just a bit easier in '21.

I'm hopeful that our country will find a way to come together and work together for the good of all of us...the good of the least of us. I'm thankful for all the people who've spent their lives working for the least of us.

I still haven't decided. So I plugged the both those words into Google to see what popped up. I found:

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” Gilbert Keith Chesterton

You all know that glee is a word I use a lot. I strive for finding that glee everywhere in everything.

This seems like a sign.

So while I'm full of hope for '21 my word of the year is THANKFUL.

I'm thankful for scientists. Thankful for frontline workers who've faced so much this year. I'm thankful for Himself. I'm thankful for my family and friends. I am thankful for my writing and my pottery. I'm thankful for Tallulah. I'm thankful that despite the troubles this year, the new year brings with it hope for something better.

I am thankful. 

I've had words like Patience, Stretch, Step, Glee, Hope, Time, Chapter, Stop...

THANKFUL. It's a good word to add to my list and a good word to center the new year around.

When I wrote Same Time Next Summer, I investigated TBIs (traumatic brain injuries) and discovered that recovery from a TBI isn't sudden. It's slow and difficult process. I suspect 2021 is going to be like that. Things will be better, but not all of a sudden. Slowly, with hard work, we're going to get back to normal or a new normal. And I am going to try to be thankful for each step in the process. 

Wishing you all a hopeful, thankful new year!

Holly

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And check out Hometown Hearts:

Crib Notes: Hometown Hearts #1

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A Special Kind of Different: Hometown Hearts #2

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Homecoming: Hometown Hearts #3
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Suddenly a Father: Hometown Hearts #4

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Something Borrowed: Hometown Hearts #5
PREORDER. Available 1/21
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PREORDER. Available 3/21
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Magic Hearts

 I met a cousin a while back and he introduced me to an aunt this week. Well I met her on the phone. We talked for two hours. She told me about a grandmother I never knew and a great-grandmother I never knew. She shared family stories and gave me a connection to people I've only known by their names on my family tree. It was amazing.

If you read my books (and I hope you read my books) you know that idea of what makes a family is something I write about a lot. My family is at the center of everything I do. And discovering the family from my broken family tree...the family I never knew has given me such joy. I think that comes through in my stories. 

Carry Her Heart was a story about a mother who gave a baby up for adoption.
Hold Her Heart was the story of that baby—all grown up—coming home and finding her mother. She had to grapple with the question (my question) of what makes a family. 

Hold Her Heart:

Those two books really comes at the idea of family from two different directions that end up in the same place. I explored the idea of family from an entirely new space when I talked about adoption through the Keller family in my Hometown Hearts series. In Crib Notes, Cessy wrote a paper about it for school:

Yes, I've explored the idea of family—of what makes a family—over and over. That's the beauty of being a writer. Those book taught me what I'd already learned—every time I think my heart is as full as a heart can be, I realize there's more room. Hearts are magic...they can never be full.

Family.

I so lucky to have Himself and the family we've built. They fill my heart. But meeting new family...well, hearts can expand exponentially. There's always more room.

Christmas is next week and we will all miss parts of our family we can't be with. But that's the other thing about magic hearts...no amount of distance can really separate us from those we love. 

So Happy HOLLYdays, everyone! May your hearts be overflowing and please stay safe!

Holly

PS Books and Pottery

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Christmas in Cupid Falls and Everything But a Christmas Eve are both on sale for $.99 for Christmas!

And check out Hometown Hearts:

Crib Notes: Hometown Hearts #1

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A Special Kind of Different: Hometown Hearts #2

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Homecoming: Hometown Hearts #3
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Suddenly a Father: Hometown Hearts #4

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Something Borrowed: Hometown Hearts #5
PREORDER. Available 1/21
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Family

 

In my last blogpost I mentioned being a part of family members' lives even when we're physically on they're not in town. They're a part of me...so it doesn't matter how far apart we...we're never far apart.

Yep, I've had family on my mind.

I've been working on my family tree and discovering more stories. There are so many stories waiting to be discovered. I was reading a book—Memoirs of Grassy Creek—about the county part of my family was from—Ashe County, NC. The author used my family surname and a first name I recognized. I have the same name and the right birthdate in my family tree. But honestly, that side of my family reproduced like rabbits and the recycle so many of the names over and over. LOL So he might be a direct relative, or he's a shirttail cousin. Either way, it was cool to see his name. 

I fell back down the rabbit hole and started research. I found United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet and more mention of my family mentioned in the 112 page report. 

"Settlers to the county came south from Virginia or west from the Catawba and Yadkin valleys. Most were of British or Scots-Irish descent, but German and Swiss ancestry were also common. One of the earliest settlers was Martin Gambill, who was born in Culpepper, Virginia, to parents who had also been born in Virginia. Gambill came to Wilkes County in 1768 and settled on the South Fork in 1778. In July 1780, Gambill, played a prominent role in the Battle of Big Glades at Old Fields, where local troops defeated a detachment of ISO Loyalists. The incident was part of the larger regional contest settled at Kings Mountain in October 1780. In the days leading up to the battle, Gambill made a famous 100-mile ride to Seven Mile Ford, Virginia to deliver a message to Colonel William Campbell. The message alerted the American commander to move his men to Kings Mountain. Gambill was seriously wounded at Kings Mountain, but recovered to become Ashe County's first tax collector and in 1806, as well as the county's' first sheriff. In 1810, Gambill was elected as the first State Senator from Ashe and held that position until his death in 1812."

I'd heard about Martin before. As a matter of fact, I have a print of his ride hanging in my house. His is one of the stories I love.

Stories. 

I think that's what I love so much about the research. Some of the stories are amazing. An Irish doctor marries the daughter of a British aristocrat. They move to the US settle around DC. Two generations later his grandson was a sharecropper. I wonder what happened in the family. And I marvel that their house still stands outside DC. I found a family member who was one of the founders of Brown University. Another one who was one of the original founders of Penn State. I've found immigrants. Politicians. Soldiers. Doctors. Train engineers. Farmers.

Stories.

I found that one relative was one of the first settlers in the area around camp. As I dug through information about the family, I realized that a road I drive on to get to the cottage was named after them...my family. Then I found his homestead listed and realized it was the corner of my road and the family's named road. I've passed it thousands of times. I could walk there from our place.

So more than stories, connections. Realizing I'm connected to all these people. If they hadn't done what they'd done, lived the lives that they led, then I wouldn't be here. That's amazing to realize. Just how many puzzle pieces had to fall into place to build my life. The life I love.

Stories. They're what I do and they're where I come from! I hope you'll check out some of my Hometown Hearts series. Something Borrowed will be out in January and three more are coming in 2021. Plus two Christmas books are on sale at Amazon right now! Hopefully those stories will make you smile this very strange holiday season!

Stay safe!

Holly

If you haven't visited yet, come see what HollysWoods Studio has to offer.

Christmas in Cupid Falls and Everything But a Christmas Eve are both on sale for $.99 for Christmas!

And check out Hometown Hearts:

Crib Notes: Hometown Hearts #1

Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iBook

A Special Kind of Different: Hometown Hearts #2

Kindle, iBook, Kobo, Nook

Homecoming: Hometown Hearts #3
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Suddenly a Father: Hometown Hearts #4

Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iBooks

Something Borrowed: Hometown Hearts #5
PREORDER. Available 1/21
Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iBooks

As the weather turns cooler...

 As the weather turns cooler, my thoughts turn to the holidays. The adults in my family don't give gifts anymore for Christmas. We concentrate on family time instead and make a big family donation to some charity. This year we're giving to the food bank because so many families are in need.

The kids...that's where the magic is.  I think one of my favorite gifts of the year will be for our little girl minion. She's getting an American Girl doll. My kids got them when they were young and they were such amazing gifts. Their grandfather and Himself made them boxes to store their doll's belongings in and a doll bed. Himself is doing the same for girl-minion. And their grandmother made my kids a bunch of doll clothes. I'm on that part for GM (girl minion). I've made her a few skirts and headbands. But my favorite thing is the quilt I made her. I used some of my MIL's scrap hearts and some buttons from my grandmother's button box. 

Yes, of course I made her doll masks to go with the outfits. They'll be a reminder of what year she got the doll! And she's addicted to pink. I think the box will hit the mark! Yes, my Christmas will be filled with glee! And though we got the other minions all very cool gifts, her Christmas is going to be the winner. I think she's going to be so excited!

Ahhh, the holidays. This is going to be a strange one. There's uncertainty about whether families will be able to be together. But being together physically is secondary to being part of one another. Two of my kids live out of town, but I speak to them often. We Facetime and chat a lot. That connection—that being together—is still strong. So whatever this holiday season brings, I don't doubt that we'll all be together, even if we're apart. 

I hope you are finding glee this holiday...even if it's going to be a different one! I'll keep you posted on how the doll gifts go!

Holly

If you haven't visited yet, come see what HollysWoods Studio has to offer.

Christmas in Cupid Falls and Everything But a Christmas Eve are both on sale for $.99 for Christmas!

And check out Hometown Hearts:

Crib Notes: Hometown Hearts #1

Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iBook

A Special Kind of Different: Hometown Hearts #2

Kindle, iBook, Kobo, Nook

Homecoming: Hometown Hearts #3
Kindle, Kobo, IBooks, Nook

 

Suddenly a Father: Hometown Hearts #4

Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iBooks

Something Borrowed: Hometown Hearts #5
PREORDER. Available 1/21
Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iBooks