This weekend is my 20th high school reunion. I have to be honest with you - I was a little apprehensive about it. In some ways, high school seems like yesterday, and in other ways, it feels like a lifetime ago. Tonight is the dinner, which I opted not to attend. But I went to the football game last night, and really enjoyed myself. I touched base with a few people ahead of time - Denise, Lisa, Laura and Donna. It was great to see some people. I almost didn't recognize Tim, and flat out didn't recognize Shanon. It was good to see Shane - I always knew he'd do well in life. I chatted with Harvey, Don, Patty, Sandy, Michelle, Regina, Scott, and a few others. The ones I enjoyed the most were Denise and Laura, and, thankfully, they both live close enough that we can keep in touch, and do. We went to Pizza Hut w/ Brian & Denise and the kids after the game. I finally met Laura's husband, who seemed really nice. Hopefully we can work things out to get together with them sometime - maybe meet for dinner or something.

Anyway, the reunion and seeing all those familiar faces stirred up thoughts of the past. When Terri and I were younger, we used to joke about what it would be like to go to our 20th reunion. We used to say that we were going to rent a fancy car and hire an escort, and pretend we had led fabulous lives - and then the movie about Romy & Michelle came out and I could have kicked myself for not writing that when Terri and I joked about it! For years, I had been afraid that I would show up at the reunion and be considered a failure, but I felt great last night. I look back on the past 20 years and wonder, what have I accomplished?  A heck of a lot - I am married to a wonderful man, have a daughter that is the light of my life, our furbabies add a lot to our lives, I earned my bachelor's degree, I have a job that I enjoy and am successful in (which reminds me, did I tell you I have een selected as the editor of the Gavel? It's the newsletter for the Mid-Missouri Paralegal Association! Woo-hoo!), my first book has been published, I am active in my local writing group, have won National Novel Writing Month twice, we moved into a nice home last summer, I have two Mustangs titled in my name ('69 and '96! a dream come true), and I am a scrapbook instructor for Leaving Prints (which is my baby step towards owning my own scrapbooking business). Yes, there have been some obstacles along my path, but I have overcome them and am very happy with my life right now. 

And now I am looking forward and thinking about my goals. I have some goals that I have set for 2006, which are:

1.  To finish drafting Tangled Innocence.
2.  To edit Queen's Revenge.
3.  To send out 20 queries to agents.
4.  To work my way through The Artist's Way, and lead a cluster.
5.  To create a writing space.

Where do I want to be in a year? I want to be an agented writer, and I want to be an active scrapbooking instructor.

Where do I want to be in three years? I want to be in the stable of a well-known publisher, and I want to be a recognized scrapbooking instructor.

Where do I want to be in five years? I want to be able to make a comfortable living writing and scrapping, so that I can work part-time (or . . . dare I admit it? . . . not at all).

Take a look at your life. Look back at your accomplishments. Now look ahead and think about your goals. Share them with me if you would like, or simply write them down where you will see them. And find a way every single day to take a baby step towards making those dreams come true.

Happy goal setting,
Elle