Guest Blog + Giveaway: Embrace The Things You’re Thankful For By Patricia Bates
This year is a bit bittersweet for me and mine. After an intense year, with several not so good parts, things are starting to get back on track. It’s been a hard sell for me to want to take part in the holidays, but the innocence and joy that comes from having a child boosts even the most stalwart of spirits.
After much contemplation, it occurred to me this year I should embrace the things I can be thankful for. Having my husband home and alive is a big one after his recent heart attack. Seeing my son embrace his latest year of school, his abilities to learn growing with each day. Family and friends I adore and cherish close at hand. Minor points in a world that’s gone crazy for me but at least they’re things I can cling to.
So with my family nearby, I’ve decided this holiday season will be about embracing the joy of memories. Living life to the fullest and seeking the next step in attaining my dreams. I’m certainly not jumping into the deep end—though if you were to ask my husband he’d say I was—I’m planning, dreaming, embracing life and its joys.
One thing different this year than any other will be the lighting of a candle on Christmas Eve in memory of my late mother-in-law who we lost this past February. The holidays will have a hollow ring to them without her, but she’d want us to carry on. So we’re as a family going to embrace the turkey, the presents, the 4AM wake up call, the tinsel and paper tossed about. Family, friends, and the joys of living will be our greatest gift to ourselves and to the memory of the loved ones who aren’t with us this year.
Happy Holidays—may they be as blessed for you as they are for me and my family!
BLOG TOUR GIVEAWAY:
Beachwalk Press will be sponsoring giveaways at the end of this blog tour. Everyone who comments on the post will have their name placed in a drawing (be sure to include an email address so we have a way to contact you). On Monday, December 19th we will randomly choose four people who will win a Beachwalk Press eBook of their choice from any of the authors who participated on the tour. The more blogs you comment on, the more times you are entered to win! For a list of all the blogs we will be visiting on this tour, click here: http://www.beachwalkpress.com/2011/11/beachwalk-press-holiday-blog-tour
BEACHWALK PRESS HOLIDAY SCAVENGER HUNT:
During the month of December, Beachwalk Press will be hosting a Holiday Scavenger Hunt. There will be multiple winners, and the prizes will include gift certificates, Godiva chocolates, and a Kindle Fire! Visit our website for more information. http://www.beachwalkpress.com
Synopsis: A sexy cowboy to unwrap…what more could a girl want?
For Holly Walker Christmas is about more than just flashing lights, it’s about having some sexy time with her husband. This year, however, she’s got a secret that could destroy everything…or save their future.
About The Author:
Reading has been a large part of Patricia’s life. She cut her literary teeth on such authors as Louis L’Amour, Nora Roberts, and Janet Dailey. For her it wasn’t such a jump from reading the wonderful tales these authors spun to imagining her own.
Soon she was writing poetry, short stories, and by junior high she’d written her first full length romance novel. Since then she’s taken her love of history and her passion for writing and combined them into what she hopes will continue to prove a successful career.
You can find Patricia on the web at the following places:
Website: http://www.patbatesromances.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PatriciaBatesauthor
Twitter: http://twitter.com/PatBAuthor
Discussion (6) ¬
The holidays imediately after losing a loved one are the hardest. This year will be the 3rd without one aunt & a cousin on my dad’s side. We lost them both within days of each other, my aunt to cancer & the night before that aunt’s funeral, my cousin Scotts heart stopped in the middle of the night. Scotts family, however insists on hosting our family get together on Christmas Eve, because that annual gathering meant so much to him & it is one of the ways we can honor his memory.
Patricia, gather your loved ones close & celebrate getting to spend another holiday with them, because you never know when it’s going to be the last one that someone attends.
drainbamaged.gyzmo at gmail.com
Holidays can be hard snd takinf time to think about why the holidays have meaning can bring the focus where it need to be, on family and loved ones.
linze_e at hotmail.com
The holidays can be tough after you’ve lost someone special. Just keep the memories close.
A huge thanks to all the sites who hosted us on our Holiday Blog Tour and to the readers who participated. We really appreciate it!
For a list of the blog tour winners, visit: http://beachwalkpress.com/2011/12/holiday-blog-tour-prize-winners/
Happy holidays!
Pamela Tyner
Publisher, Beachwalk Press, Inc.
Welcome always. It’s a pleasure. Congratulations to all the winners.