An Interview With Myself

 Today is my birthday so I decided to do something a bit different here. I am going to interview myself. Have you ever tried it? I haven't so I'm wondering what will come of this.

Q:  Nancy, are birthdays important to you?
A:  Very much so. My mother always made sure the day was special for me and my siblings. We got to select the dinner menu and looked forward to the gifts received after we ate. It was hard waiting all day to open the gifts. They weren't expensive or amazing gifts, but they meant a lot to me and to my brothers when it was their turn. For one day a year, I was the center of attention and I enjoyed it. As a result, I've always looked forward to my birthday.

Q: Do you consider yourself to have lived a good life?
A: Oh yes, I have had a wonderful life including a family who loved me and raised me with a set of values that have served me to this day. I've had a strong and loving marriage, raised two beautiful children and am grandmother to four amazing kids. Besides that, I have a strong support group of friends. The icing on the cake of life has been my writing journey these past 23 years.

Q: If you had one thing to do differently in your life, what would it be?
A. I would have started writing many, many years earlier. The desire was there but I let life get in the way.

Q:  Has your writing journey been satisfactory?
A:  I have never had a book published. I have not been published in high-paying magazines. Even so, my writing journey has been most satisfactory. I've been published in many anthologies, magazines, newspapers, ezines and newsletters. I've won in several contests and have received awards for some of my stories. I've started and maintained a blog to help other writers for six years. So, yes, I am very satisfied.

Q: What benefits have you received in your writing life?
A:  One of the big benefits is the wonderful writers I have met and consider friends. Another is the opportunity to gather at conferences with other writers--that common bond we have is a strong one. Another is knowing that I've touched the lives of others through my writing in some way.

Q:  What more do you want to accomplish in your writing journey?
A:  I would like to publish an ebook. I would like to write a memoir book. I want to remain a part of my online writing group as they are the best help and inspiration ever. I hope to continue the blog.

Q: How long do you plan to continue writing?
A: As long as my mind holds up, I will write. My passion for doing so has never flagged a bit. I hope it will always be so. Writers do not reach a certain age and announce that they will write no more. To stop writing, for me, would be to stop living.

Q: How will you celebrate your birthday?
A: My husband is taking me to a favorite fine dining restaurant tonight. I'm looking forward to that.

A Celebration of My Blessings

My post today is not going to center on writing. This is my birthday, my special day of the year, one I look forward to. Not for the presents and cake so much as the many greeting cards and email or facebook messages, and the phone calls. 

It's not because I seek attention, although that is always rather nice. Instead, each year I am reminded by all the greetings I receive that I am blessed with so many friends and a wonderful family. You can't wrap friendship in a box and tie it with a pink ribbon but it's a treasured gift to be valued each and every day of the year. When my birthday arrives every May 29th, it is a reminder of what all these people mean to me now and for years past. You can't put family in a gift box either but they are priceless in value.

When the mailman delivers those many envelopes that hold birthday cards, I open them to read both the verse and the personal note or letter that comes with many of them. Each signature says Love and a name of someone I care about. Every time I see the name on one of the cards, I'm reminded of so many good times with the person or about some wonderful words they had for me when I needed them most. I think of the support given to me when I ventured into the writing world. And so much more.

I can group these people into high school friends, college friends, teaching days friends, those whose friendship develped in the different communites we've lived in during our marriage, bridge player friends, church friends, P.E.O. friends, writer friends and more. I consider each one of those people a blessing in my life. They have all added to my world in ways they may never realize. As have my family--including my husband, children, grandchildren, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, my brothers, nieces and nephews. 

So, a heartfelt thank you to all of you who have been a part of my life for these ____ years! (Didn't think I was gonna tell you the number did you?) A special thanks to my blog readers, as well. You, too, have given me something special in my writing world.