Kris Calvert: 2016

Saturday, December 31, 2016

"Your life will not go unnoticed, because I will notice it."

There’s a line in one of my favorite movies, Shall We Dance, when Susan Sarandon explains why she thinks people get married. It’s a wonderful sentiment, and not just for married people. The line is, “We all need a witness to our life…your life will not go unnoticed, because I will notice it.”

I couldn’t think of a better way to cap off 2016 than with those very words.

This past year has seen its fair share of online rants and jabs. I’ve seen folks duke it out in a social media thread and threaten to cut ties with others because of different ideas and ideals. But I’ve also watched children grow and graduate. I’ve seen achievements, engagements, weddings and honeymoons, vacations, promotions, new jobs, new cars, new boyfriends/girlfriends and even the sharing of sorrows or watching hardships unfold. This brings me back to the line from the movie. Your life will not go unnoticed. I, and others like me, have noticed.

So as this year comes to a close and I look at what’s on the horizon in 2017, I wanted to say, thank you. Thank you for the priviledge of sharing your life with me and allowing me to share mine with you. If you commented on one of my posts, be it my professional or private life, read and reviewed one of my books, sent me a text or email, shared a new release, asked me about my husband or children, a new project or upcoming story, made it a point to find me at a book signing, chatted with me at a convention, or just called to say, hello, you’ve witnessed my life in 2016. I’m honored you allowed me to witnessed yours.

No one can say what might be in store in the coming year, but prehaps we can all agree on one thing moving forward: it’s important and powerful to be a witness to life—your own and those around you.

Happy New Year. Best wishes for 2017. Be a Witness.

*Kris Calvert is an author of Romantic Suspense, Paranormal Suspense, Horror and Contemporary Romance.

See her books here: Kris Calvert Website
Buy her books on Amazon here: Kris Calvert on Amazon
Join her mailing list here: Kris Calvert Mailing List

Join her Facebook Group here: Kris Calvert's Books & Bits

Monday, February 22, 2016

What Could You Do With One More Day?

This February you will find an extra day in on your calendar. That’s because 2016 is a Leap Year.

I spent some time asking people—old and young—if they had an extra day in 2016, what they would do with it? Only one person knew I was referring to Leap Year. The others took it as a philosophical question. But when I explained that there were twenty-nine days in February, their answers stayed the same. These were the top two:

• Sleep

• Catch up on XYZ (work, laundry etc.).

It struck me as odd that given an entire extra twenty-four hours this year, the majority of people wanted to do more of what we all do every day—work and sleep.

Then while at the airport, I posed the question to an older gentleman. His answer changed everything for me. He didn’t understand the question exactly the way I posed it—mostly because my Southern twang didn’t necessarily translate seamlessly with his Brooklyn accent, but it didn't matter. He understood something more important.

“If I had an extra day, I’d spend it with my wife. She’s been gone seven years now and I still miss her like crazy every day. She loved when I did little surprises just for her, for no reason at all. You know? I’d leave a note for her or bring her a cannoli from her favorite bakery. It would make her really happy. I’d do that. Just to see her smile. Yeah, that’s what I’d do for sure.”

So here is my challenge: on Monday, February 29^th, the day we get once every four years, what if we all used our extra day to do a little surprise for someone—for no reason at all?

I’ve heard it said that love is giving and expecting nothing in return. Most of us do this everyday—but love is sometimes an inward emotion. We think the people around us should intrinsically understand our feelings toward them. But what if we spent Leap Day 2016 showing love outwardly?

• Call an old friend.

• Mend a long-standing grudge.

• Send a card or visit someone who’s unable to go out into the world.

• Bake someone a treat.

• Bring someone you’ve been thinking about flowers.

• Tell someone you love how thankful you are they’re in your life.

• Bake some cookies and drop them by your local fire or police station.

• Draw a picture for someone (even if it's stick people).

• Tell a co-worker how much you appreciate them.

• Or, commit a random act of kindness for someone you don’t even know.

You don’t have to spend money to give people a piece of your love—a piece of your heart. Time is precious, so when we’re given an extra day, perhaps it’s smart to use it just as my friend from Brooklyn suggested: to make someone else happy—just to see them smile.