The Twelve Days of Thanksgiving: Day Eight
Eight days ago, longer than some people think it took God to make the whole entire world, I decided to give Thanksgiving its due and not get all Christmassy until I was done with 12 days of giving thanks for cool stuff at Bright Sky Press.
Easier said than done. My head is turned so fast by a pretty strand of lights. I spent today making advent wreaths, decorating gingerbread houses and getting bushels of Christmas story books out of my attic.
The big red bows on the buildings in Highland Village look so darling, the red and white peppermint mocha ads all over Starbucks seem appropriate and I got teary rather than irritated when I heard The Little Drummer Boy on Sunny 99.1
But, just because I look at another holiday, it does not mean that I have given up on giving thanks. In fact, quite the contrary. This warm seasonal glow makes me more appreciative than ever of the wonderful gifts my work bestows on me. I've told you about many of our authors, and I plan to fill you in on quite a few more Good Things around here before I close the books on this Thanksgiving, but today, when I think about sticking to being thankful--or anything--I realize that what I am most thankful for on the job is my friend Ellen.
Ellen Cregan means alot of things to alot of people. She's a great wife and mother, a dedicated and talented designer, and she's won more awards than I can count on two hands. She's one of my partners at Bright Sky, and mainly, she's my friend. She has been since eighth grade. And I wasn't always so easy to be friends with back then, so I appreciate her stick-to-itiveness both personally and professionally.
Ellen works hard, she is not easily distracted, she is loyal, kind and true. And she is funny. Funny is very important in my book, and there has been many a long hour spent working on books, being lost in the desert, or hanging out at monasteries when Ellen has made me laugh. Hard. At things that just might not seem funny to anybody else.
Publishing is not an easy business these days: if it's not Kindle, it's the death of reading. If it's not the death of reading, it's the futility of old school publicity. If it's not this, it's that or the other, and it is imperative that not only do we cover all the bases the way they've always been covered, but that we also shout it out in 140 clever characters. it's not enough to catch up on the Times book page in the subway, we have to devour an entire feed reader in order to be current. We're light years from the era when the Times sufficed, anyway, even if we had a subway here.
At times, this sturm and change can seem overwhelming. But, as in everything, it helps to have a friend. Especially a hardworking, talented friend who can make you laugh. We are on an excellent adventure together, down this rabbit hole, and I am not just thankful, I am eternally grateful to have Ellen by my side. Not just at Thanksgiving--or whatever holiday season the merchants are currently calling it--but winter, spring, summer and fall.
All I've got to do is buzz.
Thanksgiving Tip #8 Books make great gifts. For any holiday, really.
Give me one friend, just one, who meets the needs of all my varying moods.
~ Esther M. Clark
