Lately, the lawyering has presented a few challenges. I can’t seem to get enough rest, the family has contributed some stress, and the IRS doesn’t seem to realize I did, indeed, pay my 2013 taxes and have the documents to prove it. In the middle of all this I’ve put the contemporary novella, Kiss and Tell, up for pre-orders–my first attempt at pre-orders of one of my own titles.
I’m also coordinating with three other authors to get “Christmas In the Duke’s Arms,” a novella anthology, on sale by October 15, and I have copy edits, galleys, and revisions breathing down my neck for publications through next April. Oh, and I’m writing another historical trilogy, and a Scottish contemporary novella.
Sometimes, if feels like I live life clinging to the rotating blade of a high flying helicopter. When that feeling tries to choke off all joy, I take a step back, and look at what I LOVE about my life, which is a nearly endless list.
I love to write. I simply, plainly, unrelentingly do. Blog posts, books, workshop materials, emails. I’m happy with my hands on a keyboard.
I love where I live–rural, but not that remote. I have big trees, a freshwater stream right down the middle of my property, a lovely bank barn, tons of yard to landscape when I get the urge to plant flowers. I’ve lived here nearly 25 years, and I love this little property.
I love being in charge of my own businesses–the writing and the law office. I’ve worked for three different Fortune 100 firms, and gadzooks, was that ever NOT for me!
I love my companion animals, love that I can afford to look after them. They are great company, and far more comfort than they are obligation. I hope they feel the same way about me.
I love my bed–well, I do. Growing up, I slept on a narrow sort of daybed/cot. Now I have a nice, big bed that I love. Much reading happens there, and dreaming. Love my beddy-bye!
I love that I rarely have to set an alarm. I get up when I’m done sleeping much of the time.
Needs a few cats…
I love that I’m an author at a time when interacting with readers is so easy. My readers are the BEST, and hearing from them and getting to know them is not something authors could do as effortlessly even ten years ago.
I love that I can do my writer job swilling tea, toddling on the treadmill, or with a cat curled in my lap. This is luxury at its finest.
I love wearing socks, barefeet, or slides 90 percent of the time.
I love how supportive and collegial the romance writing community is. It’s an entirely different model from most business communities I’ve participated in, and for me, far more healthy, agile, innovative, and resilient.
There’s tons to love about my life, even if I have to spend 45 minutes on hold with the IRS. Compared to all the blessings, gifts, and joy I have, that irritation shrinks to the mere nuisance that it is.
Your turn: Why is it GREAT to be you? Because in some regards–probably not all–but in some regard, it is!
To one commenter, I’ll send a $25 American Express gift card.
Oh, this is an easy one Grace! With a lot of your questions, I have to dig deep down inside myself for answers. But my blessings are always bubbling near the top of my consciousness so they are easy to reach.
Love my family and friends. Love that I’m retired. Love that my health is as good as it is. Love my house – even if it is a money pit – it’s my money pit. Love my housemates – my two kitty cats. Love to sit on my porch and observe the humming birds, butterflies and bees that love my plants. I even love the changes in seasons. Winter is coming but it makes me appreciate Spring all the more.
And I love having the time to read as much as I want to. During the last of my working years, if I opened a book, I fell asleep before I finished the first paragraph.
And I’m so glad that you love writing, because you are one of my favorite writers. Just finished THE LAIRD and I loved it too!
Mary T, we could write a song, about porches, books, birds…. My experience has been that every decade of life has improved over the happiness of the previous one, and a lot of it has been a simply shift in awareness. May the trend continue!
I am honest, dependable and loyal. I love my family, friends and church. I enjoy reading and gardening. Thanks for an interesting post, Grace.
Having people to love is so important. Being loved is important too, but I think we can subsist through times when we don’t feel special to others if somebody is special to us. Maybe this is the magic of motherhood, and the hard part about the empty next. We need to find new people who are special to us?
I’m blessed with a job that I love, a fabulous husband, and I have lots of opportunity to read (partly due to the wonderful husband!). There are plenty of down things in my life, but on the whole, I am very lucky. And I appreciate it!
I think if we let the bad stuff get hold of our focus, then the bad stuff seems to expand. I’m watching a friend deal with the post double mastectomy/chemo/radiation challenges, and she can still appreciate a pretty day. That focus–on what’s right, on what’s waiting for her after this trial–is to me the best sign of life going.
This is a fun blog.
I love my house, too. Love to watch the sunrise and sunset on the front porch. Love that there are no street lights in my neighborhood. I can look out my front door and see the stars at night. So,peaceful.
Love my corgis–all of them! They are such loyal companions. Glad that I spent my vacation week at home. Spent time with my older dog Irish. Enjoyed her company while I read , wrote reviews or watched tv. Irish has been a blessing to our little family.
Love my husband, daughter and family. Glad that we got house projects out of the way this year. Happy that my daughter is pursuing her dream to study abroad next semester.
Am so happy that I started a book/audio review blog with two friends. So much fun and such a great experience.
Am looking forward to your new contemporary series. Love the posted chapters!!
Sue, one of my best friends these days is Sarge. He’s an old black pound dog, but if I knew where to get more dogs like him, I’d have ten of ’em. He’s SUCH a good fellow, so perceptive and attentive. I’ll have to pattern a hero after him, I can see this. Older, smarter, with more heart…
Grace–please consider writing a love story with older characters. A novella?
I enjoy reading about people who are younger than I but, would love to read a story about characters in my age bracket!! 🙂
Retired; Learning to paint, what fun; Reading time; Golfing time; Loving family and a special Grandson (16 yrs old) who will actually skype me on his own, we talk about BOOKS 🙂 – A wonderful,supportive and loving Husband; Health is as good as it gets as a survior of this October Pink stuff… I am blessed – I am So looking forward to the newest 3 lonely lords! Can’t wait for Thomas….
Georgie, remind me, and I’ll put you on the beta reader list. Thomas ought to be coming out ’round May, so betas needed February-ish. (Goes for all you rowdy bloggin’ buddies.)
The Pink Stuff. I’ve been reading lately about why Survivors aren’t so keen on October. Hats off to you for loading up your life with loveliness–the best medicine.
Thanks Grace, I’ll try to remember to holler about end of Jan for Thomas… I loved the snipet…G
I love this post so much! I hope things straighten out for you soon.
I am blessed with 2 amazing children, when I thought it was going to be impossible. I have a roof over my head, even if it isn’t ideal. I have family and friends that I can count on. It isn’t a fancy life or an easy one but it is a blessed one.
I suspect fancy and easy are over-rated, and I KNOW my best books come from the years that weren’t easy. Easy doesn’t teach us much about loving or being loved, and I’m convinced that’s the Big Lesson.
Though the occasional easy–who wouldn’t love that, too?
It’s great to be me because I have two of the most awesome kids. There is a lot of changes I wish I could go back and make, but I could never change having my kids.
I have only the one, but she’s the very best kid for me, and a magnificent human being. Now if only we could convince her of that…
I love being retired and able to schedule my days for my enjoyment, whether it be reading, crocheting or running to the store to just chill out for awhile….whatever it is, I can do it when I want. I love being around my family and having grandsons come stay with gramma every weekend. I also love being able to travel back to New York to visit our other kids and grandkids whenever I want. Guess what I’m saying is that I love my life and being able to do pretty much what I want when I want. Please keep writing those great books so my life can continue being joyous.
Sharon, isn’t that ability to structure your own time just delightful? I tend to write in the morning, lawyer in the afternoon and early evening (many of my clients are in school during the day), and then writer again at night.
Works so well for me, but wouldn’t be possible with a corporate job.
The number one thing I like about my life is family(of course). We are always there for each other and that is such a great feeling, to know that there is always someone out there that will always have your back. I love that finally at 52 years old that I can say NO (most of the time) when I don’t want to do something or go someplace. At 52 I am perfectly ok with me, I have no desire to try to be different so people will like me. I love that I am a grandma and I am also a grandma that is very active in their little lives. I had one of the best grandmas and I want to be the same to my grandchildren. I also LOVE my bed Grace! I never thought about why I love my bed so much, but you saying it had to do with your childhood made me think about it and there were four of us girls and we all had to sleep in the same bed for far to long, so maybe that’s why. Lol. Reading of course is one of my favorite things about myself. I just can’t imagine being me without books (lots of books). Well I think that’s enough for today! Lol
Part of what made the cot so crowded was that ALL of my stuffed animals had to share it with me. Now I have books stashed under the pillows and along the wall.
I’m glad you didn’t ask what isn’t great to be you lol. My cats and two grown daughters are the biggest joys in my life – and reading!!! I too love my bed at night for reading although last night our house was way too cold so I need to get that electric blanket out and yay that I have one!! Having enough books to read keeps me sane and I love being able to interact with authors on the internet and other readers. I find that the stories I love the most are usually written by the authors I enjoy the most too! And friends and family.
There’s some sorting process that goes on between readers and authors. I’ve met a reader who gets my books whom I didn’t like. Not once. We can have radically different politics, economic situations, parenting philosophies, and goals in life, but something about the story-wavelength is shared, despite all those differences.
I don’t here authors outside the romance genre express the same sentiments toward their readers, which strikes me as too bad for everybody.
Grace – the once exception I know of from out of the romance genre is Daniel Silva. That’s because his protagonist is so unique and he has more women readers than men I think – so unusual for the spy/thriller genre. His readers span the spectrum from ultra conservative to ultra liberal – ahh, the power of a good story…Speaking of which, I’m so anxious to read your contemporary romance. That’s not usually my thing, but in your hands I’m sure it’ll be grand!
I am grateful for my family and my husband of 32 years (where did the time go?). I love living in the Southwest and cannot imagine having to move again. I love working in the yard of our new house. We just finished planting citrus trees and I finished digging holes for new bushes. I can’t wait until everything starts to look like it has been there for a while. Relaxing in the evening with my Kindle in hand and my 2 Boston Terriers on my lap is next to heaven.
There was a maple sapling in my yard when I moved in. Twenty five year’s later, that little dude is a tree, affording shade and leaf mulch. I love that I’ve been here long enough to see that, but then I look around at all I haven’t done with this place… one more move sometimes has a LOT of appeal.
Well, Grace, at this season of my life I have become an activist for social justice. I have always had the creative personality type which used to be called manic/depressive (although I cringe at the term bipolar!). I can get very sad and mad about unfairness and cruelty in our world. And it is an extremely stressful time in my profession and my chosen application, urban teaching. It’s difficult to watch events unfold make one believe the apocalypse is right around the corner! But I am more at peace even during trying, trying times because I am finding the courage to become involved in grass roots organizing and actions. I still carry on pretty much as usual in teaching children to read, hanging out with friends, loving art & music, watching stupid TV shows, but every day I interact on social media, donate to campaigns, have run (and won!) to represent teachers in our union, subtly advocate and build relationships with others. So that’s what is going on in Mary’s world. It’s a good thing.
Mary R, hats off to you, and literacy is one of the most radical gifts you can impart to the disempowered, another is modeling the belief that constructive change is possible. One of the things they teach in conflict studies is that HOPE is necessary for sustained change. We need examples of people who’s persistence and courage has made a difference if we’re to persist honorably in our own situations.
You’re providing that example. Even if your goals aren’t attained on your time schedule, in that example, you fuel the engine of positive change.
If I had read other comments before I posted mine, I would have noticed that there was another Mary R who had just posted! What are the chances? There are a lot of Marys who are GB fans! Don’t know how to edit to change my Mary R to Mary M R so that you know we’re not the same person!
I can see your email addies on the back side of the blog, so I know when two different commenters end up with the same blog handle.
I love the fact that I’ve almost gotten to 75 without any major illnesses. I’ve got a caring husband still. I’ve got nice grown children who have given me five precious grandchildren.I live in a comfortable house,have friends since high school that I eat lunch with once a week,can read as much as I want every day. I couldn’t ask for more.
WOW. I couldn’t ask for more than that either. I do wonder if there’s a story idea in that “friends since high school” gathering. Nancy Naigle and Kelsey Browning are doing VERY well with a cozy mystery series titled, “The Granny Series.” VERY. WEll. That the authors are collaborating, and the characters collaborating is part of the series’ resonance, and it’s just plain fun, too!
http://www.amazon.com/PENNY-Granny-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00FM0VDY0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1412527801&sr=1-1&keywords=nancy+naigle+the+granny+series
Like you, I feel very blessed that I now have a life that allows me plenty of “day dream” time to play my harp, compose and arrange pieces, write and perform shows. I liked many aspects of my former life as a French teacher and still receive wonderful surprise notes from former students thanking me for the influence I had on their lives, which I must admit I didn’t even realize at the time! But the stresses of teaching – creating 4 great, inspiring classes every day, problem solving, conflict management – were more destructive to my ability to create music than I ever realized. Now that those stresses are gone, the creative well, which often ran dry in those days, is full to overflowing again, for which I’m very grateful. I have also finally learned to appreciate that the talent I have for making music is unique and special – something I didn’t realize until a short while ago. It has finally allowed me to Like myself and be content with my life in a way I never had before! So lucky and thankful to have reached this point of Liking at last in my life!
Oh, you said a mouthful! Every time I go into the law office, and the baloney starts–the judge had a bad day, a foster parent is on the rampage, two kids have run off (possibly together because they might have have conceived a child they cannot possibly support?–something in me shudders. I can’t practice law without guarding my heart, and I can’t write romances without letting my heart free. The change of gears is hard, and I look forward to the day when I no longer have to.
It is great to be me because I get to live where it is warm and I get to swim whenever I want, and I want a lot. I live where there is a bounty of fresh food and I get to cook delicious meals for those I love. I live where help is just a shout away if I need it. I live where I can be in touch with those I love who are far away. And to top it off I get to read all of Grace Burrowes’ books whenever I feel like it,and I feel like it a lot. Yup it is good to be me.
One of my lawyer buddies is a swimmer. She’s formed many long-term, lovely relationships among the early morning gang at the Y, and I think that as much as the exercise keeps her coming back. She’s in her 70s and still practicing, so maybe there’s magic in those pools!
As I’ve found myself drowning in bad juju at work, this could not have come at a better. Instead of being dragged down by the negativity, this is a good reminder to think of all the positives in my life.
I love my friends and family, even when they drive me crazy
Gwen, I’m sorry the job is being difficult now, and wish you lots of de-compression time. At writer’s conferences I’ll sometimes inadvertently find myself among people who are determined to kvetch and criticize, and while there’s a place for venting, I think there’s also a time to say, “These people are miserable. Get me outta here.”
If you’re stuck in that scenario, then I hope the opportunity for change is sneaking up on you, getting ready to shower you with better work days.
I should also add that one of the things I’ve enjoyed most this summer was spending time with my mom and the dog hiking. I’m grateful for all the adventures we had, and that we were financially able to do this!
Oddly enough, Mom and the Dog are probably thinking the exact, same thing!
Wow, Grace! On a day when you realize your mom would rather spend her last days of visiting with her other daughters…I was reminded not only by you but also by our Lord…”What I Like About Me?” I truly am grateful that He heal by body so many years ago, that He sent me to Florida to find husband Harry…that I feel Harry and I are one and yet not! I love my fabric collection, each is a piece of art…I love our bed too, it’s been a very long time since I have had a bed frame usually our mattress sits on top of boxes…One day I will purchase a mattress and box spring!…My books, what can I say!…What I don’t understand is why those family members continue to tell you get rid of that stuff, you know the stuff you love, that’s been a part of you or what you do…like growing flowers and purchasing planters to grow more or all those books, why do you keep them after you have read them…and I love my furniture pieces, I do have many but the pieces I do have represent a memory…I was telling Harry this morning that I love sleeping on top of a quilt, it’s a comfort feeling…I like research, even finding recipes for Harry…There are a lot of things I don’t like about myself but, let’s save that for another day.
Juanita, sorry you mom is going out on a sour note, but I suspect your sisters need those visits more than you do. Do they have a Harry? No, they do not. Alas for them.
As for the parts of ourselves we’re not so proud of, time has been a help to me there. I see in my younger self somebody who tried hard, even when she wasn’t particularly wise. My parents assure me that my fifties are still just getting started in life, and there’s plenty of room to grow. Wish everybody had parents to offer such comforting perspectives.
Many years ago I bought at a craft fair a picture with the saying, “I love the old lady I am growing into being.” When my daughter turned 50 this past Valentine’s Day, I gave it to her saying that it is important to love oneself during all phases of our lives. I hope she takes it to heart; she’s a maniac depressive and is very hard on herself.
Anne, I wonder about my own daughter, who has impossible standards for herself, and is often her own worst enemy. Maybe the saying for me is, “I love the mom I’m growing into being,” because my job as chief moral support and cheerleader appears to be a permanent one.
OH my gosh, this is the easiest question ever.
I also try to remember these things often, every day, many times a day.
I love my house as well. I love being home. I will always choose time there when given the choice.
I love crafting and sewing. There is never enough time for all the things I want to make or try. And I love that. It will always be endless. And my room will always get fuller.
I love taking pictures. I love looking at pictures. Mine and other peoples. I don’t have to know the folks to appreciate their pictures.
I love going to the movies. I like going by myself some of the time. And I have wonderful friends and family that are fun to go with sometimes. When it looks even pretty good. They don’t always have to be great. Sadly, Hollywood never puts out enough good movies.
Of course, I love reading.
My family. And the best of husbands. My granddaughter.
Oh I could go on. But thanks for giving me a place to put some of them down today, Grace Burrowes. You are wonderful!!
OK, the party’s at Lisa House. Everybody bring a covered dish and a story!
I like that I am able to work from home (for a Lighting Company, adding Products tot their web-site) so I can be there for my children, 5 and 8 years old. I like that my Hubby understands that I do have a full 8 hour a day job, and I need help around the house with stuff. I love that my kids can come to me when they have questions with their homework and I am able to help them. I like that I can put a nice homemade meal on the table for them every night, except the twice a month we have pizza or Panda Express!
Wow, Caryn, that does sound like a life in balance and moving forward–and I love the nights out! Well done to you and your family.
Grace the things I love most are my family: my daughter, son-law-in, and five grandchildren who now live less than a five minute walk from me; my son who lives in Tennessee; and my sister who lives in Lubbock.
I’m thankful for my good health even though I’m battling RA, OA, and Osteoporosis. Just went to the rheumatologist on Friday, I actually got to see three doctors though two of them are still in training, and she didn’t find anything wrong with me.
I’m loving my retirement as I’m getting plenty of reading time. I’ve got more cats than I know what to do with but will hopefully find homes for about half of them.
because I like to help people
I am healthy and able to spend time with my husband, son and houserabbit. I sing in the choir at church and in a community chorus. I enjoy making and sharing music with others.
Having unconditional love in my life. Without that, all the rest is just things or going thru motions. I get up in the mornings because I am loved and wanted. I get thru the hard things with that love.
I love that more than a decade ago I was able to move back home to the family ranch where my family has lived more than 150 years. I love that my husband and I could personally design our dream house with an architect friend.
I love cooking in my over-sized kitchen and eating in my dining room with big windows to view the west or north. When the weather allows, I love eating on the big wrap-around porch and watching the wildlife and amazing sunsets.
That porch is wonderful. It’s a place to sit and read. It’s my photo blind for birds and all the other wildlife. Then, when I’m in my office processing photos or working, I have a huge picture window to keep watching the birds, deer, wild turkey, and other wildlife. I just really love being able to SEE the ranch from almost everywhere. As my brother says, I found “a bird’s nest on the ground” when I found a job that lets me work from home in that office with a view, with my camera within reach.
In the winter, I love sitting in front of the fireplace and reading with my 3 cats keeping me company. I do love these 3 big, affectionate Maine coon cats. Even when I have 30 pounds of cats crowding me out of my bed, I love them.
I love that I can walk a quarter mile past the old barn and smokehouse to visit my parents, who are still going strong in their 80s. I love seeing that big old live oak in their front yard that was my reading spot growing up because Texas summers without air conditioning made staying in the house torture! I love my brothers and all their kids and that we are all still close. It feels good to know that I can walk to one of their houses about a mile away if I want.
And right now I’m TRULY loving that retirement is about 18 months away so soon I’ll have more time for my photography, reading and cooking.
Next weekend I’m taking my two boys to Texas to visit my Grandmother, a 99-year-old lady. And we’ll be staying with family–my aunt and uncle and cousins. And I love that I just had my house cleaned yesterday, which is an incredible indulgence that I should always make priority, but don’t because it seems so decadent. But I reached my two-months personal goal with my marketing agency business this last week, three days into the second month. So I’m feeling strong and powerful and successful this week. And I have a clean house and am about to travel. So the world looks really really good right now.
I love that I’ve reached almost retirement age and am still healthy and mobile. That I can take a vacation when I want to and visit my family and friends, and see new things too. That I finally found a fantastic job that I love, it’s a pleasure to go to work every day. And that I never run out of wonderful books to read. 😀
It’s great to be me because even though the RA is progressing, the pace has slowed down considerably in the last year due to a good treatment plan.
It’s great to be me because even with RA I can still manage to knit (albeit slowly) a hat for my 7-month-old nephew.
It’s great to be me because even with a chronic illness I can still get up every morning, go to work, and earn a living to independently support myself.
It’s great to be me because tomorrow is my 2 year anniversary at a job I LOVE!
It’s great to be me because I’m really happy most days!
It is hard to focus on the positive sometimes, so thanks for bringing us around to that! I love my husband & my kids. My 15 year old daughter has brought me a lot of joy, with her stories about situations & kids in school, and her participation in a few musical groups. I love my own private library, filled with only books that I love! (spare bedroom – lol) I am thankful to be healthy!
When I sit back and think about it, I am so happy that I never have to work again! Not saying that I am independently wealthy because nothing could be further from the truth. It’s just that my work life in this state was so stressful that it caused me to become disabled. I have managed to keep a roof over my head and food on my table. So while I sometimes bemoan my fate, I know it could be so much worse.
I’m lucky to have a great family (where there is love & respect) and wonderful friends (that accept me as I am, quirks and all) 🙂
I’m grateful because joy shows in good fiction, don’t you think? I am going back to my real-world job tomorrow after recovering from cancer surgery. I am grateful it was caught, I had a supportive surgeon, I didn’t have to do chemo or radiation and I have great insurance. I am grateful I wasn’t on the major painkillers that I was on recovering from my shoulder surgery last year (when I was out for THREE months!) so I could do some serious writing, notes organizing and editing. I am grateful I have friends and a terrific husband to help and two cranky tabbies who will be very angry when I’m not home to scratch their bellies on demand tomorrow. I am applying for my first passport tomorrow, as a gesture of optimism for my continued health. Ain’t life grand? Thanks!
Love that I will retire by next May at the latest. Love that the ex cashed out the part of my retirement he got in the divorce, which allowed me to buy it back! Love that I can take both my dogs to agility classes and that they enjoy it. Love to be able to read as much as I do.
We have a super stressful business that I’ve been frantically trying to finish taxes for-grrr to the IRS. However, the hubby and I love it. I don’t think we could go back working for others. No, I know we could not. I love that I get to sleep to 9am if I want and then stay up to finish my work. I love seeing the strategic business moves my husband is able to pull off, and I love getting feedback that what we are doing in the local food movement matters to others. I love that my kid goes to the neighbor’s house rather than a traditional daycare and then most days she’s with me. I love that I get to have pajama Thursdays and watch morning cartoons with my little rascal. I love that we live out in the country on a farm, and that we are truly being masters of our own destiny.
Ahh, the IRS gotta love them — or try to convince yourself they aren’t that bad. Three and half years later and we’re still dealing with fallout from my mother not filing taxes for 10 years as a form of civil disobedience. I have a feeling it is going to take some time.
What do I LOVE about my life? I love that I was lucky enough to marry a wonderful man (who actually likes numbers and didn’t mind filling out 10 years of back taxes using the paperwork we were able to dig up so I did not have to). I love him for so many reasons.
I love that we have to amazing children, whom I also love. I love that they get along enough to make the weekly call home together so we can talk as a family via speaker phone. Did I mention that I love the fact they attend the same university that is only 2 hours away from home?
I love modern technology that makes the weekly calls home possible and make communicating with people around the world simple. I love that the internet makes it possible to discover authors like you, Grace who write amazing books. I also love that I can carry an entire library with my on my phone. But, I still love paper books more.
I love my house critters and I love being able to feed them the best food (a side benefit of my job – which I love some days) and give them great medical care when needed. I love that my cats want attention even if they don’t understand how hard it is to type with a cat on the keyboard and another on your arm. 😉
I love living in Texas. I am not a cold weather person, so I love the mild winters in my part of the state. I love both spring and fall and the wildflowers that bloom (yes at both times of the year). I even love the heat of the summer, as long as I have my air conditioning which I also love when the heat is to intense.
I love sitting on the front porch after a brief but heavy rain watching the lightning storm move away.
Such an easy question this week, Grace! The biggest problem was finding time to type out some of the things I love. Thanks for the reminder to count our blessings!
Oh Grace, I know how you feel. For years I taught high school English. Tons of essays always sat in my bag putting guilt into my spine every time I did something…like taking a walk in the autumn air. Now I retired. Amazing lift of a giant weight.
Bless you in your work ad play. We love your every word.
I am fifty years old. I have been in the same job for 12 years.
I am currently taking a class in hopes it will help me with my application to graduate school. I work full-time, taking a class, married, and have two spoiled cats. I appreciate that my boos allowed me to take this class. It is a traditional class during the day, two days a week for a semester.
Sorry didn’t finish my post of this morning. Okay, so my boss has graciously allowed me to take a traditional class during the day. I am working a different schedule this semester, to make sure I get in my 40 hours each week. I am really enjoying this class. I have a good professor. I am enjoying my class mates. I got to dress up as Marie Antoinette. No, I don’t know how to download the pictures. I feel like my brain has been turned on, for the first time, in a long time. My husband has been quite supportive. So a crazy time, but a good time.
Great post! I love feeling appreciation for myself and those around me; that’s one of the things I treasure in myself — I will always find a silver lining, a high point, a blessing. And the more I look for them, the more I feel fully myself and happily alive.
This week, I’m looking after my grandson while his parents on are holiday. We’re having a fabulous time together and he’s a little delight. This morning, my husband and I were talking about your topic while sipping coffee at Starbucks and watching all the people scurrying to work. I am SO HAPPY to not be employed in today’s business world. Sure, I’d love to be earning more (some) money but I’m not at all interested in the cut-throat, uncaring, employees are expendable, world I hear about. I love setting my own schedule and being available for things like grandbaby sitting. YES YES !!!!
I meet some of your criteria, too.
It is great to be me because there is no one else on earth like me! NOT there IS someone that is really, really like me. I have a twin sister and we are really alike in our looks, our thoughts, our abilities and skills. yeah I have gone throughout life with 2 of me’s..
Making gratitude lists is a practice which has pulled me out of pouts and snits and even griefs for many, many years. Now I am old, connected to an oxygen condenser and unable to do much except read and mess with my computer. I find myself looking forward to the release of your next new book. You are on my gratitude list. Thank you.
I love your books Grace. Started off with the Dukes series. When will Kiss and tell be release and will it be available in Canada
Grace going back to your first series. The Dukes oldest son ( Bart ) was killed off. What brought on that story line. Wondering since the second son became ” The Heir “