Waiting Is The Best Part

'Anticipation' is the word Pooh was looking for, and it’s been on my mind recently. Something as simple as a cup of coffee — ah, the bliss of inhaling the aroma of freshly ground coffee. Yet, when the coffee is made and I take my first sip...well, I do enjoy a cup of coffee, but drinking it is never, ever as good as the anticipation.

Much, much more thrilling is the anticipation of reading a book that I’ve been looking forward to for some time. I love the joyful tingles of anticipation when I know that I’m about to open a book by a favourite author. Every year my son buys me a novel by the same author for my birthday. He knows that I’ll never complain because I love her books. I know the book’s coming and I start to anticipate reading the story well in advance. My birthday is two months away and already I’m looking forward to the book with excitement. Reading the book is great, but the anticipation is even better.

"Never forget that anticipation is an important part of life. Work's important, family's important, but without excitement, you have nothing. You're cheating yourself if you refuse to enjoy what's coming." - Nicholas Sparks, Three Weeks With My Brother

I believe that having something to look forward to is a great way to give yourself an instant boost of happiness, whether it’s as large as an overseas trip or as small as a mid-afternoon latte. Sometimes it’s good to slow down and allow yourself to wait for things, to daydream about them, plan for them and let yourself get excited about them, because the anticipation can make you happier than the event itself.

Do you agree? Do you make the most of situations that allow you to indulge in anticipation? Do you think that waiting is the best part?

The anticipation is KILLING me!

I'm full of anticipation for my latest release on Monday. I'm excited because this is my first book for a whole new imprint, anxious because I'm wondering how my existing readers will like this different direction, and head-over-heels delighted that this book is finally about to be let out into the big wide world.

Want a peek? Here's the cover and blurb.

A wife he needs. The woman he desires.

Cy Hathaway needs a wife, fast, to win custody of his son, Jonty. He returns home to discover the childhood sweetheart he once left behind has become a vibrant, beautiful woman. Even though wanting to sweep her off her feet wasn’t part of the plan…

For Ellie, Cy’s sudden reappearance awakens a flood of memories—and resentments for the way he’d abandoned her all those years ago. But she has a life now, a career. She can’t simply drop everything and get hitched, even if the sight of him still makes her heart race.

But after Ellie meets his little boy, she can’t refuse. Certain she has a grip on her old feelings for Cy, she agrees to marry her first love until he gains custody. But when did helping out a friend become something with the capacity to hijack her heart?

This feeling like I'm holding my breath, watching the clock as the big day draws near, reminds me of another time in my life when the big day couldn't come quick enough...

We always went to my Grandparents farm for Christmas. Tradition was inherent in everything we did, from the way we hung the Christmas lights to the time we were allowed up on Christmas morning.

We have a rule for my four kids that they can't come in to us before 6 on Christmas morning, but many a time we've been worn down by the pleading looks and the loud whispers about what Santa might have brought them. Anticipation seems to be contagious!

So, what are you looking forward to this holiday season?