Yesterday I had the privilege of viewing the floats from the Rose Bowl Parade.  I have watched this parade for years so I was thrilled when I learned you can go and view the floats the afternoon of January 1 or all day on January 2.    The floats were all beautiful and even better than seeing them on television.   (If you want to see pictures I posted them on my facebook page).  Since I am a writer I always view things from the perspective of writer.  One of my thoughts yesterday was that the floats were even more spectacular in person.  Sometimes when we get up close to something we tend to see the flaws or we may even realize that it wasn’t as great as we wanted it to be.  So it is with memoir…sometimes I think we don’t want to get in too close or too personal to our life because of what we may find.  Let me tell you and encourage you that nothing could be further from the truth.  As you begin to look at yourself deeply and at your relationships you will begin to see a common theme of your life.  You will begin to understand yourself a little more clearly and maybe be a little more gentle with yourself.  Let me encourage you to start today by getting up close and personal.