I love January. It’s one of my favorite months. Yes, it’s cold and usually snowy here in Ohio. The days are short, and the nights are long. Despite the frosty temperatures and the darkness, January is full of promise because it signifies a New Year and my birthday month. I love new beginnings so to start a new calendar year and a year of my life within the same month, feels just right. As an author, I love a fresh and brand new story with all sorts of wonderful possibilities. I also love a fresh and brand new year for the same reasons.
And I love my birthday. There, I said it. I know some adults make light of their birthdays and say it’s just another day, but I don’t feel that way at all. I love celebrating my birthday. I’m not one for big parties but a nice dinner, some birthday cake, and few thoughtful gifts from those I love most is all I need for the perfect birthday. It’s probably the one day of the year I let myself do whatever I want and don’t feel the least bit guilty about it. It’s also when I make my new wishes for the year to come. Yes, I will be thirty-six years old on my next birthday and will make a wish when I blow out the candles on my birthday cake. When I make those wishes, I have wished for big things and small things, events to change my life and miracles to save other lives. As a child, I wished for toys. As a young adult, I wished for a job, and as an unpublished author, I wished someone would give me a chance. Some wishes came true, others did not, but I never stopped wishing.
Some may ask how I can make wishes as Christian. There is no Fairy God Mother to grant wishes. That’s all from the world of make believe. True, but isn’t a wish just a prayer with hope in it? And hope is the most precious gift because without it, why would we pray or wish at all?
What will I be wishing for this year? Well, I can’t tell you that because then it won’t come true…
Amanda Flower, a three time Agatha-nominated mystery author, started her writing career in elementary school when she read a story she wrote to her sixth grade class and had the class in stitches with her description of being stuck on the top of a Ferris wheel. She knew at that moment she’d found her calling of making people laugh with her words. Amanda is a librarian in Northeast Ohio. She also writes as USA Today Bestselling Author Isabella Alan. Her next release it CRIME AND POETRY coming April 5, 2016. www.amandaflower.com
One thought on “January, New Beginnings By Amanda Flower”
Happy birthday Amanda. By all means, enjoy your birthday in all the ways that make you happy. I think this is a sweet way of looking at life and anticipating and hoping for our prayers to come true. Or just simply to enjoy our birthday with our family.
Do whatever you want on that day…or if you wish, don’t do anything! 🙂