I read yesterday Ann Perry’s A Christmas Guest.  (Context: Flying home from New York to Kentucky.  Yeah! . . . Oops!  Yes, Dad, I still love you!)

Meet Mariah Ellison, one grumpy, snobby, English grandmamma who no one really likes but who is nevertheless lovingly cared for. An unexpected turn of events transforms self-focused Grandmama into a detective looking to find the murderer—?—of her new-found friend.  In the process, a wonderful thing happens.  Grandmama finds a new lease on life.  Almost by accident she discovers that this moment is the perfect time to start life over: to re-create who she is; to choose to find joy and wonder and excitement in the simple pleasures of living. (Of course, she solves the murder mystery, too, but that’s another story!)

I’m intrigued. If I were to sit down and intentionally create a “new self,” who would I be? What do I want to value most? How do I translate these values into everyday living?

jlt