Friday, August 17, 2007

On Turning 80

by Christie Kelley
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I really don’t think it’s fair that I have to follow Sabrina Jeffries, especially when I was so busy yesterday with my regular job I couldn’t even post a hello to one of my favorite authors. Oh well, this post will be short because of the same reason--the paying job.

I returned from upstate New York on Sunday after spending a few days up there to visit my mom. She turned 80 years old so we had a little party for her. Well, nothing in my family is ever little. With seven of her nine children there, plus spouses and fifteen out of twenty-three grandchildren, it was quite a little party. And my mom loved every minute of it. She’s looks and acts far more like she’s turning 70 than 80.

My mom always told me she wanted a big family. So here she is now surrounded by her large family and loving it.

But it got me thinking about what I want to be known for when I turn 80. My goal for the past seven years has been getting a book published. Come February I’ll have reached that goal.

So what’s next?

For me it has to be getting my name out there, establishing a reader base and most importantly, not being known as a one hit wonder. When I’m 80, I want to know that I did something. I made people happy, gave them a few moments of escapism, made them think about things in a different way.

So what’s important to you? What do you want to be known for? Fess up!

13 comments:

Caren Crane said...

Do we have to pick just one? *g* I would like to be widely known and adored.

First, I would love to be known for my funny, heartwarming stories that people treasure and have lovingly placed on their "keeper shelf".

Second, I would love to be remembered for the work I have done at my church. I run the Alpha course there and it really changes lives.

Third, I would love it if the girls in my Girl Scout troop remember me as someone who made a difference in their life. Got them to do new things, express their ideas, take on leadership roles and dream big.

Any - but preferably all - of those things would be very satisfying for me. I hope to leave a large, positive footprint in the world.

Joan said...

Caren,

YOu are adored!

As far as professional I'm with Caren. I want to be remembered as someone who wrote gripping romance fiction with well crafted characters and fantastic HEA's.

As to personal I always thought I'd like to be known as someone who never gave up. Who believed in hope (and NOT because it took her till age 101 to get published LOL)and who made a difference no matter how small.

Suzanne Ferrell said...

Hmm. Chirstine, first happy birthday to your mom.

I'm in the same group as both Caren and Joan. I'd love to be known for stories that made people laugh and cry, go ahhh at the end and want to be the heroine seduced by the hero.

For the real life, I'd love to be known as someone who made a difference in a few lives, held someone's hand in their time of need, gave a shoulder to cry on and helped a new nurse or two do their job better.

For family, I'd like to be the strong person they can count on, the level headed person who gave good advice, and the mom that loved them well. Not to mention the person whose house everyone wants to come eat at!

For my spouse, the one who completes him and loves him.

Friends, the person who could keep a secret, the one to laugh with over very irreverent things and again, the shoulder to cry on.

Yep, that's all!

Anna Campbell said...

Christie, happy birthday to your mum! So happy you got to have such a lovely family get-together with her.

With my writing, I'd like to be remembered as that woman on a lot of keeper shelves! ;-)

Unknown said...

Caren,

I agree with Joan, you are adored. Especially by me for fixing my posts with some pretty jpegs and bolding my last line. With work as crazy as it's been for the past two months, I just didn't have the time this morning.

Unknown said...

Joan,

I'm with you. Never give up!

Unknown said...

Suzanne! I love your post! It is everything I'd like to be too. Only you expressed it so much better than I could.

Unknown said...

Anna,

Being on anyone's keeper list would be a dream come true.

An author friend of mine told me someone came up to her and gushed that her books helped her overcome illiteracy. The mentor she had used romance books to help women learn how to read. Now that was something!

Caren Crane said...

Christie, you outed me! I knew you didn't have time for all the rigamarole, so I was trying to be a post pixie for you. You know I would do it any time! *g*

Caren Crane said...

Anna C, you're on my keeper shelf already. May you grace many more!

And Joan, I adore you and your Romans!

Suz, I'm sure you have helped many patients and many a new nurse.

You're all fabulous!

Helen said...

I would like to be known as a good mother and friend and someone who really cares and a fun person to be with, that is what I aim for I like to help people and be there for them when needed. Happy Birthday to you Mum Christie must have been a great day with all the family together.
Have Fun
Helen

Christine Wells said...

I was disappointed to miss Sabrina, too, Christie! My server was down and I couldn't get the internet all day.

How wonderful to have such a large family, Christie. It sounds like you had a great get-together and happy 80th to your mum!

I'd like to be known as a loving wife, mother and possibly grandmother and of course, I'd love to have my books still in print and on keeper shelves. If it's physically possible, I'll still be writing at 80, so that's almost 50 years' worth of books!

Thanks for your post.

Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy said...

Okay, confession time...
Aunty lives in FEAR of being ordinary! Love me, hate me, but DO NOT IGNORE ME! That is why I cultivate my image of being eccentric. I want to be known as "that eccentric Aunty C!" How am I doing so far?

Oh, and OF COURSE I'd love to think that decades from now, someone somewhere will still have a copy of one of my books, or discover a copy of one of my books and read it with great enjoyment.

AC