🎄🎅🏻🎁 Holiday Grab Bag 🎁🎅🏻🎄
Big news! Festive plans. Stress dreams! And a merry poem.
You know those people who are like, “Dude, listen to this crazy dream I had last night”? And then they subject you to a never-ending stream of fascinating dull details containing no narrative interest whatsoever? I’m about to do that to you.
This was my dream last night, or more accurately, right before I woke up this morning:
I was supposed to meet someone on Zoom. This person - a networking contact passed on by a mutual acquaintance - had stood me up the last two times we’d scheduled to meet. This time, it was 9 minutes past the hour, and I was about to give up when suddenly they joined the call. However, instead of meeting with me one-on-one, they just dialed me into their team-meeting-in-progress. No intro, no explanation. I was so confused.
Then, I was suddenly transported into the actual room where they were meeting! I kept trying to politely leave the meeting and finally managed to escape. However, I’d been carrying 3 bags and realized after I’d left that I’d forgotten one of them in the room. Shit. I’d have to go back later and get it.
But for now, I had to call my friend Rachel whom I hadn’t talked to in a while. I walked and talked to Rachel on the phone until I arrived at my friend Lindsey’s apartment. “I just need to pop in and say hi”, I told Rachel. “I’ll call you back in just a few minutes.”
I walked into the apartment, which contained mostly strangers and a very distracted Lindsey. No one seemed particularly enthusiastic about my presence, so I once again tried to plan my exit.
However, a large L-shaped bridge appeared between me and the door of the apartment, and it was crowded with throngs of people! I stepped onto the bridge and tried to push through the crowd, which was difficult enough, but also the bridge kept moving like the staircases in Harry Potter!
I finally crossed the bridge and exited the apartment and found myself attending a large conference. (Dang it, I forgot to call Rachel back like I’d promised.)
As I sat in the audience at the conference, a man in a suit approached me and said he wanted to talk to me about a potential work opportunity after the upcoming presentation ended.
During the presentation, I asked the person next to me for the time. They said it was 3:03, and CRAP, I remembered I’m supposed to be on a call at 3pm! I would have to rush out to my car to take the call from there.
As I fled the conference room, I thought, “That guy in the suit – I didn’t even get his business card. He’s going to think I flaked.”
While walking through the conference center, I tried to email my 3:00 person to let them know I was running late. But when I looked at my calendar, I didn’t recognize their name (wracking my brain: Who is DaisyJim, and why I am I meeting with her – or him?), and I couldn’t find their email address, and also, I really needed to pee.
I stopped in the bathroom and then remembered I needed to go back and find my third bag from the team meeting room earlier! Now I’d be even later for my call with DaisyJim. F*!% it all.
And then I woke up.
And then I realized that, after all of the above, I now had to go to work.
And that, my friends, is what we call a stress dream.
(It’s also, for the record, a spot-on Enneagram 3 dream. I have so much to do! I’m letting everyone down! I am an abject failure! Why is this bridge moving?)
In case you skipped reading the dream (I don’t blame you) the TLDR is: I clearly need a holiday break right about now.
Good thing today is my last day in the office before I depart for said holiday break. But before I go…
….I’ve got a Holiday Grab Bag for you!
The dream was treat #1. (Just what you wanted, right?)
Keep on rifling through this goodie bag – see what you find!
I have some truly amazing news to share!
I've signed with a literary agent: the fabulous
at The Bindery!!!
And here’s the meet-cute story of how it all unfolded: I posted my first-ever rejection from an agent on LinkedIn a few weeks back. Morgan saw the post and commented on it asking to see my book proposal! The rest is recent history.
A couple of fun facts about Morgan that bring me so much joy: (1) She built a fascinating first career in sports media before pursuing her dream of a second career in publishing, (2) She's a fellow Swiftie, and (3) She already knows her Enneagram type. I think I've met my match. 😍
(Pssst. Morgan’s also got a brand new Substack for authors, both current and aspiring:
. Subscribe if that sounds intriguing!)So what happens next? Morgan will identify an optimal list of publishers for our first round of submissions in Q1. This means my book proposal will go out to several publishers at once, and we'll get rejections and/or one or more offers.
If we only get rejections...we will revise the proposal based on feedback and go out for another round of submissions, and another, etc.
I don't have a book deal yet. But the possibility of landing one feels a lot less far-fetched than it did a few weeks back. Crossing all my fingers and toes.
The gift I’m most excited to give this Christmas is this art piece for my daughter, Mabel.
I found this art print in a cute little gift shop in Grand Marais, MN (one of my favorite places on earth), and I knew it had Mabel’s name on it.
She’s been obsessed with bunnies since she could speak. And mama’s girl loves to read. 🥲 (In fact: here’s a pic I snapped of her this week…she was supposed to be going upstairs to go to bed but got distracted.)
We’re hosting Christmas Day, and thankfully, this year’s potluck plans mean I don’t have all that much cooking to do. But I am excited to bake a yet-to-be determined dessert.
My son Amos has requested cherry pie. For a holiday twist, I’m thinking of trying this recipe: Mulled Cherry Pie – with flavors of cinnamon and red wine. (Don’t tell Amos about the wine.)
What’s something you’ll be cooking (or just eating) over the holidays? I’d love any favorite recipes in the comments!
Over the break, I’m looking forward to lazy time with a handful of our extended family members – both at home and at our family cabin for New Years.
Puzzles. Hot tea. Bonfire in the snow. Children temporarily not-bored (thank you, Santa). Books.
Here’s what’s on my holiday To Read list:
Absolution by Alice McDermott (the cover has gold foil on it that shines in the light, a sensory delight!)
The Baby on the Fire Escape: Creativity, Motherhood, and the Mind-Baby Problem by Julie Phillips
Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey
And finally, I’m looking forward to my annual Solitude Retreat.
For over a decade, I’ve spent two days and two nights alone in a little hermitage cabin over the holidays. During this time, I completely unplug. No tech. Not even a clock. I eat when I’m hungry, I sleep when I’m sleepy. I go inward, reflect, take wintry hikes, direct dial God, read, write poetry… I can’t express just how eagerly I look forward to it, because I know I will leave so refreshed, renewed, and ready for the year ahead.
What are you looking forward to about your holiday break, if you’re taking one? (I hope you’re taking one? Even a teeny one?)
Speaking of writing poetry, I wrote some for you. Here’s a little ode to holiday dining, just for merriment’s sake.
Jingle bells. Zinfandels.
Prime Rib Roast galore.
Monkey bread and sausage balls.
Pants that fit no more.
Bye, now.
I hope your holidays are filled with whatever will truly fill your cup. And I’m not (only) talking about Zinfandel.
See you in 2025.
Fantastic news, Claire! Very promising!
Huge congrats on a literary agent! Look at you doing the damn thing. 👏🏼 and I just did Pacem for the first time earlier this summer. Hope it’s such a sweet and restorative time for you.