Gratitude for September 10 and 11:FamilyFriendsAll the people in the country who serve the publicAn enjoyable beer-30 with our lake pals last nightThe LakeI am able to workWritingWriting Retreat is just four days awayGoing to see Grandboy tonightFaith that our house is coming…

Okay, one brother–mine. He’s turning 64 today and I’ve already texted him a greeting, to which he responded, “Next birthday is 64A. Love you.” I love him, too, of course, and I am intrigued at the idea of switching to letters for birthdays. All in all, it sounds like a good system to me. Thoughts? It’s a rainy day here at the lake–chilly and a little gloomy, but I’m working anyway, so who cares? I’m beginning to think that we may be done with swimming for this season and that makes me sad. I love to lake swim and right now, I don’t belong to a gym because we are…

I often forget to be grateful for having work I love–the writing is work and I consider being a novelist my career, but I am also an editor pretty much full time, too. I love being an editor, polishing other writers’ books is incredibly rewarding. When I used to be strictly a nonfiction editor, my fellow general reference book editors and I joked that our job was to make the authors of the books sound as smart as they probably were. Sometimes it was a challenge, but wow, did I ever learn a lot of interesting stuff from working on those books. Editing fiction is a whole different ballgame, but…

So, I missed a day. Expect that to happen, okay? Life just gets in the way sometimes. I’m trying very hard to take each day as it comes. To stay in the here-and-now, as my mom used to preach. It’s hard. I’m worrying about everything, which is pointless, really, because none of it is anything I can control. So…onward to gratitude because that’s how we make it through the days of feeling completely untethered, right? Gratitude (you get 10 because of the whole missing-a-day thing):The lake, which has become too cold to swim in due to cooler temps, but is still perfectCool temps that make deck sitting and sleeping a…

It’s a beautiful day here at the lake–lots of sun and fluffy clouds and lovely temperatures in the 70s. It’s quiet in the trailerhood since it’s Wednesday and the weekenders aren’t here. I’m enjoying a lovely breeze through the window and the scent of fall is kind of in the air. I took my itchy, sore left eye to an eye doctor in town this morning and she diagnosed it with severe inflammation due to allergies, prescribed steroid eye drops and no contact lenses for a week. One drop and my eye already feels better, so win for me. I started on Brendan’s story yesterday and I think I’m liking…

I love my kid–he is my heart and I’ve always maintained that if I am still breathing then he’s okay. Even if he’s not great, he’s okay, and we can handle whatever comes along. Sometimes “okay” is all a parent has to hold onto. Son is brilliant–like the scary kind of brilliant where his brain is so full that you believe his head must ache at times. He is pure engineer, always thinking, solving problems, analyzing issues, which makes him fabulous at his chosen career as a national security analyst. He is also a caretaker and feels a heavy responsibility to me and Husband–as an only child, that’s natural. The…

Look at me! Getting into my blog two days in a row! I’ve committed to putting up a gratitude list each day until we find a house. I’m praying with all my might that will be very soon because I so don’t want to go through the winter without a house of our own. So keep sending that good house-finding energy and I’ll remain grateful for all the blessings in my life. Today, I’m thankful for:A lovely day at the lake with our kidsAn impromptu game night with DIL and friend Moe last nightGrandboy’s sweet frecklesFinally having a title for book 3 in the Four Irish Brothers Winery series, which…