Pause, Breathe, and Take Stock

It’s another Gratitude Monday.  Of course, the Cubs win, The World Series, 108 years of Billy Goat curse laid to rest, of course that’s top on my list.  Oh so much fun, it’s difficult to wait until next season.  I went to Michigan to visit Mom last week, and made a Cubs convert of her.  (Maybe only for the 2016 post-season, but a convert nonetheless.)  Loved-One, a life long fan, read me excerpts from the paper: “And on the 39,466th day, God smiled and said, “Oh, what the hell.”” (Rick Morrissey) I wipe tears from his eyes.  My eyes leaked a little, too.  I’ve only been a fan for 28 years; just a beginner.

Here’s what else is on my list this week, in no particular order:

• Jena at JenaBooks.com.  She’s an author from Chicago. She writes fun fiction about post-retirement adventures. Jena’s from Ohio, so we had a friendly wager.  If the Cubs hadn’t been playing, I’d root for the Indians.  They’ve had a long drought, too.  What a final game! What a series!  What a season!  What worthy opponents.  Jena’s giving people a few more days to tweet #jenabooksblacktortoise. She’s giving a book away as part of her wager with me.
• The rustle of dry leaves.  Love-One and I raked all weekend, and the drive is filled with leaves again.  I love scuffing through them and I love the satisfaction of a huge leaf pile.
• Sandhill cranes making their way south for the winter.  Such a distinctive bugle they have, and they fly so high.  I crane my neck to see them, so far up there in their perfect V.  Team work.
• Positive book reviews on Amazon.  Five so far on my way to a goal of 50!  Beautifully written. My heart fills.
• Election day parties and neighbors who want to share the celebration, or possibly, commiserate together.
• Road rally with friends.  Yes, that was me dressed as Hillary and Loved-One as Ken Bone.  Okay, yes, we do really wear those clothes. We had so much fun driving all over, looking for clues, and answering questions, and taking pictures.  You know it’s a great game, when the process is more fun than a victory.
• A new photo app, SnapSeed.  I’m just getting started and it seems so easy.  The app has some easy-peasy three step tutorials to get prescribed effects and lost of ways to customize.  It’s so fun.
• Yoga with Christine and meeting Jan who, surprise, read A Ship of Pearl, and loves it.  She said she loves the words and just wants to savor the sentences.  Okay, now I’m wiping a tear from my eye.  Thank you Jan.
• Library book-signings.  My first one is Thursday.  A little nervous. Yay!
• I started my second novel, and joined NaMoWriMo.  I committed to 1,000 words a day, and have 3,000 written.  I know this will sound like a funny thing to be grateful for, but here goes.  I am happy I can forgive myself for missing several days already.  I have confidence I’ll make up the words. I have faith in myself.
• What’s on your Gratitude List this week?  [tweetthis] I love how readers remind me of all the beauty in our world.[/tweetthis]  Please leave a comment.