I give thanks for...

1-My family, both immediate and extended. Family means I am not alone unless I choose to be. Family means I have ready ears, absorbent shoulders, built in lunch and shopping partners, a steady stream of family gossip, and more birthday parties than I can shake a stick at. Oh...and a high cellphone bill. :D I love them all, and can't imagine my life without them being a part of the journey. God forbid I should ever have to. I thank them all for their contributions to my complexity.

2-My friends, both close and far, past and present. Having friends means I have yet more shopping and lunch partners, more ready ears, additional absorbent shoulders, and yet more gossip and birthday dates to remember. Oh...and a high cellphone bill. :D My life would be way-boring without them. My friends, both past and present, helped define who I was, who I am, and who I will be tomorrow. They are the family I choose.

3-The wolf-mutt, Vartha. AKA: white hurricane, miss nose, goober dog, fuzzy face. I thank her for giving me unconditional love, plenty of laughs, and a walking partner. She never complains when I wake her up and she is always overjoyed to see me, even when I’m in a bad mood. Watching her run and play and chase birds and squirrels never fails to lighten an otherwise dismal day.

4-My husband is employed with a good company. Which means I have money to pay bills, keep the roof over our heads, food on our table, and clothes on our backs, and have just a tiny bit left over to buy a few luxuries or give to those who have much less.

5-My encouragers, readers, critique-ers, and butt-kickers. My writing endeavors wouldn’t be the same without you, and I probably would be further behind the eight-ball in my writing career without the encouragement to keep going, and the steady stream of butt-kickings when the demons of self-doubt swarm the battlements. I am grateful for your many and varied contributions, whether I like them or not.

Well, since its been a month since the last post, I thought I would give an update on what is going on in my life.

I have completed the online class from Margie Lawson, Defeating Self-Defeating Behaviors.  Great class.  I learned a lot about myself, and why I sometimes self-distruct.  I now have some tools for overcoming those behaviors, most of which I have utilized at some point in the past.  I will probably have to re-read the lectures and redo the assignments eventually, but for now, I think I am doing ok.  I write most every day, which makes the day go better, and I have learned to think more positively. 

In fact, I have overcome my fears enough to enter my current WIP into the Pacific Northwest Writer's Association Literary Contest.  I edited (and edited, and edited) the first 23 pages of the manuscript (MS), and created a five page synopsis for the contest.  My poor critique partners were tasked with reading it over and over while I polished it.  I was a neurotic mess when I sent it off yesterday, but I feel much better now.  According to my critique partners, it will be a strong contender.  I'm crossing my fingers.  If I final, I will have to go to the PNWA conference July 30-Aug 2, 2009.  I will likely go anyway, even if I don't final.  I need to get out and network more with other writers, agents, and editors.  I can't write in a vacuum anymore, not if I want to be published.

 

Also, in the past month, I took a trip to California to attend the funeral of my cousin, Doug.  Doug had spent the last 35 years as a quadriplegic, and had been in decline for the last year.  He accomplished so much in his brief time here on earth: lawyer, husband, adoptive father.  He found ways to overcome his disabiltiy, and gave others hope, inspiration, and direction.  I celebrate his new freedom; may he now have wings.