Don't worry, the months did not slide by in a whirlpool. It's not Thanksgiving yet. I got to thinking about the many things in my writing/reading life that make me grateful. January is often a time of assessment and goal setting, so how about also scoping in on those things we are thankful for?
My Reading Life
I will be eternally thankful for the many influential people in my childhood years who fostered a love of reading in me. Among them are my mother who introduced me to the public library at age 5, the librarian who took time to give me a one-on-one tour of the Children's Department, the English teachers who made sure I read many classics and the thousands of writers who have given me knowledge and entertainment and soothed my soul with the books they've written. I had the good fortune of knowing other girls who loaned me books to read. At one point in my life, every girl I knew devoured each new Nancy Drew mystery novel she could find. We traded them back and forth like boys did baseball cards.
My Writing Life
In the twenty years that I have called myself writer, I have honed that ability little by little. I'm grateful for the opportunity to develop a new skill as a mature adult. I'm thankful for the chance to reach out and touch the lives of others with what I've written. I've met dozens of people in the writing world whose paths would never have crossed mine had we not pursued the same goals. Wonderful men and women whom I admire more than can be measured. I've forged close friendships with some of them and I have writing to thank for being able to do so. I give thanks for all those relationships. The more I write, the greater is my inspiration to continue doing so. Writers Block has not been a problem for me, and I give thanks for that.
What about you? What are you thankful for on this January day, which just happens to be Kansas Day--the day we celebrate our state's entry into the Union. Count the pluses in your life. Somehow, it makes the minuses less important.
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