Out with the old..

It's been a tumultuous year. (Note to self: check for spelling of tumultuous)

Full of change in my home, in the organizations I volunteer with, in the industry I write about. Some changes have been good and some bad. Before I write my resolutions (or 'aspirations' as I've heard them called), I feel I must look over 2006 to see just what has gone right and what has gone wrong in my writing career.

1. Right: Signed with my agent.
2. Right: Worked on my proposal with my agent and sold my book to the publisher.
3. Right: Gave birth in the middle of doing #2.
4: Right: Increased my income by 10%, right on plan.

1. Wrong: Didn't take enough time to write That Editorial that got me in so much trouble, just a sentence or two to explain one point MAY have saved me some headache.
2. Wrong: Let myself be bothered by the pettiness of others.

So the rights are winning, two to one. This is ok. More good has come of 2006 than bad. I think that next year I'll try to be less opinionated. Not to avoid controversy, but because I really don't care as much about the politics in the industry anymore.

I want to focus on the people that love the industry, the new people coming in with their squeaky clean, brand new enthusiasm. The people who give back to the industry, the ones who love the horses and not just the sport.

On one of my lists someone made a very good comment: People involved in some sports are so passionate about the sport because it's all they have. It's like their religion.

That made a pile of sense. People who can become so nasty when involved in the politics are to be pitied - that they have lost the ability to see past the commandments of the political arena. Thou shalt not break bread with those you disagree with. Thou shalt not listen to any opinion other than those that support your own.

I vow not to be this person.

I learned this year that you can be unbiased, but if you appear to be biased then you are biased. People who perceive you as biased will always do so.

I have learned a great deal from the husband: Major Man. He's helped me see that sometimes people will dislike me just because I do my job. He's helped me to understand my own biases and helped me to overcome them.

It was a good year. Here's to a new year with all the love of last and less of the heartache.