Four in 2024! 💻

Jan 27, 2024

5 min read

As I approach my 53rd (looks weird even writing it) birthday, I can’t help but ponder on what I want my 53rd year on this planet to look like. Yes, yes, I know one can only hope to see things come into fruition and not necessarily expect things to turn out that way.

After all, we humans — like all species — will die. Maybe sooner rather than later. Maybe after a long, long life, but no one can ever truly know when that time will come.

That’s why I try not to look too far into the future. But, nevertheless, into the future I do look towards. And this year, my another-blessed-to-still-be-here-year I hope to accomplish some good stuff.

One of of those “stuff” I know that is not grammatically correct, but hey, let’s roll with it. 😉 One of those things is that better? I think it is because I used to teach English as a second language and I’d like to think I was an alright teacher. 🙃 Ok, so one of those things would be writing four books in 2024.

You might think that’s quite ambitious of me. I’d say, not so much ambitious as ABOUT TIME! Seriously, I have been working on at least three books for some time now. One of which, I started back in 2017. The others maybe was two or three years ago. So, it’s time.

I try not to be hard on myself as life has thrown me some curve balls or hard, very hard balls in that many things have happened in the last five years.

From my dad passing away around my birthday in 2019. Then getting cancer that same year. Then, one of my two cats (loved my Monkey so much 😢) dying in 2020. Then getting cancer again, having surgery to remove the cancer, and my mom (my best friend) passing away from covid — all in 2020, mind you. To then, going through six not so fun months of not so fun times two chemotherapy. While also getting shingles due to my immune system being weekend due to said chemotherapy. Then my favorite uncle passed away. To one of my two step sisters dying. To lastly, my stepdad being diagnosed with a rare form of thyroid cancer and dying in less than a month from diagnosis. And doing my best, thanks be to God, to not let it all overwhelm me. I’m happy to report that I really did manage to stay positive despite all the negative things that happened. And that, my friends, is only more proof that God exists. Because having being a hot mess with such things happening one after another is a miracle, in my opinion. For my siblings as well. For we all felt the blow of so much heartache.

Suffice it to say, all of that didn’t make for wanting to write a whole lot. The desire was there — just not much of it. I’d sit down and start writing, but then I’d stop, and I’d not get back to it. I know no one would blame me for not having the energy to write. While at the same time for someone who doesn’t like to make excuses, I feel I should have written more. Found a way to do so. But then again, it is what it is. And that’s the past. Can’t go back and change it.

What I can is move forward and do more with getting serious about writing in a way I have done since I wrote HOPE through cancer , which was back in 2014. I wrote that book in 1.5 years. Yes, in less than two years! And maybe it’s because I was in Saudi Arabia and there weren’t as many distractions? Maybe because I was just in a better place with recovery from the first bout of cancer? Maybe because God knew that that book was good for me to write, in a cathartic way, as well as me believing (still believe) that sharing my story can help others?

Maybe.

I really can’t say for sure. I just feel that it all makes sense. I mean, if one isn’t in the right state of mind, it can be hard to do a lot of things, let alone write books based on my life. I’m not trying to make excuses. I think what has happened these past five years are legitimate reasons why I haven’t had the energy, the motivation, the desire to sit down, and write much of anything. Heck, I haven’t even done much blogging, and I used to love it. I used to do a lot more blogging back in the day. And it has nothing to do with living a bit more quiet life today than compared to before.

Sure, I’m not in Saudi and getting to experience all the great changes that are being made there. I’m not going to new places to explore across the globe right now, either. But one thing about me is I can write about anything, anywhere. I had a best friend in the Army who used to be amazed at how much I could write when we would write back home. She said it took a lot to write one page where I would write five or six pages. She said, “How are you able to write so much when we do the same things?”

I just like to write. I include so much when I write. It’s not hard for me to put it down on paper (back when we used to write actual letters) or to type it out. I just love writing.

That is why I hope to get back to it. In a much more serious yet enjoyable way. That is why I am hoping to complete the books, the memoirs if you will, that I have already started. And four of them in this year. As a way to celebrate my year of turning 53 and getting to still be here twelve years after first being diagnosed with late stage ovarian cancer.

What an accomplishment that would be. What an accomplishment it will be!

It’s up to me. Yes, I am praying that God will help me with inspiration and motivation as I know God can. But God won’t write it for me. God won’t force me to do it. It will be me finding the time or rather making the time to do. Just as I am making the time to write this blog.

So, here’s to turning 53 years young. And here’s to continuing to be grateful to be alive (even if sometimes I think the world has gone bonkers — but I digress). And here’s to, cheers to, four in 2024!