Changes Are Made

"Out with the old and in with the new"; the old saying is right for the entire month of January.

Change is never easy for us anal retentive types, and the older I get, the less I want to make the changes the world leaves on my doorstep. Abandoning the landline phone was not much of a challenge, but letting go of my irreplaceable Mrs. Tea when she wore out was like saying goodbye to an old friend. When faced with changes like cleaning a closet or a file cabinet, I flounder at what to toss and what to save. I will admit to having eliminated things occasionally that I later wish I had back. However, over all, I never miss most of the cluttering minutia I have tossed out.


Seeing the magazines and newspapers I known forever reduce in size, change format, or even cease publication is a distressing change. But I am part of the problem when I have to cancel my own subscriptions due to budget changes in my own life. The last year’s economy and forced retirement at this house felt like strangulation at times. The changes it brought on were many, and like stinging shots whizzing from a Gatling gun, they came fast and furiously. I have to make tighter choices now on what publications I keep coming to my mailbox for the next year and which ones were not necessary to my reading and writing life.


I have always paid the price for an up to date Writer’s Market, a fat tome on my bookshelf. It was always worth the pricey cost, but the last few years that price just got too steep for me. Today I decided to subscribe to Hope Clark’s TOTAL FundsforWriter’s, www.fundsforwriters.com/total.htm, a paid subscription for markets. She is running a special during the month of January at $9 for the year of biweekly markets delivered to your email box. I figured $9 was a bargain for the year and will give it a shot. I don’t remember how I found Hope, but I do subscribe to her free weekly newsletter now, which also includes a few markets each week. Her motivational essays and writing tips help inspire writers. Her newsletters are a bright spot and welcome sight when they appear, especially on a stark winter’s day.


I never meant for anything online to replace any book in my life, but this is one of the changes I am forced to make. I read more and more online, getting tangled in the wonderful world of blogs and websites. Each one introduces me to another, and if I am not careful, I follow each one like a strand of fiber into a snarled knot of yarn. I have met interesting people and outstanding ideas online; it is a temptation to spend too much time there. So I remind myself to accept the change of reading online, but not to squander too much time there. Today my order for Hope’s markets is made, and now back to my own work of laundry, writing, cooking, writing, cleaning, writing…..


Happily, some things never change!