Gratitude Week Three

Sunday December 12 Coming Home. It is simple thing, really. You fly away for the weekend and you come home. Your animals wriggle and twirl. Your child smiles and hugs you. You are welcomed. You are home. I feel blessed to have a home to come to.

Monday December 13 My critique group. Every six weeks, I am fortunate to join three women around a table and we open our hearts and minds in the form of our most recent manuscripts. We say what works. We say what confuses us. We think together. We share the frailties of being writers. We cheer one another on. And on. And on.

Tuesday December 14 This Crazy World of Publishing. It is a sad thing when a publisher lets your book go out of stock. You have to get all official and request your rights back. Today, the rights to Snuggle Mountain came back to me. It is no longer languishing in a nether world. Because the publishing world is upside down with e-readers and iphone apps, I feel lucky and happy that Snuggle Mountain has a chance at a second life and being in the hands of more kids. Which is the whole point.

Wednesday December 15 Christmas cards. I love snail mail cards. I love seeing how the faces in the pictures change and the kids have grown. I love how we reach out to each other and share our love and our families. I am so grateful to receive each card and be a part of this tradition.

Thursday, December 16 Anticipation. “There was a moment just before Pooh began to eat honey which was better than when he was but he didn’t know quite what to call it.” A.A. Milne I love the day before a big event. I love wrapping the presents, thinking about giving them, thinking about what I am going to say. I love the moment right before I begin to eat the honey.

Friday, December 17 Motherhood. I watched my daughter and her friends twirl on the ice today. I watched them clump up and talk and giggle and then whirl away across the ice. I remember when I had to lean at the edge to see them on the ice. Now I sit in a chair bundled up watching each tall strong frame glide and wobble, glide and turn. I feel so lucky to be a mother and to witness my child turn another year older.

Saturday, December 18 The Day After A Big Event. I love the ebb after the frothy wave of a big day has crashed around me. I love how the space opens up and we remember each moment cresting in our minds. I love the simple act of sweeping the kitchen floor and reliving each moment of the special day before. The toasts. The smiles. The laughter. The weaving of another year of family and friendship.