Rumors of my Demise...

... have been greatly exaggerated. [Stolen from Mark Twain.] But it's true that I haven't written anything, anything toward my new novel, since I released An Untold Want. Done a lot of research, yes, but no writing.

I guess today, Thanksgiving Day, is a good day to talk about why.  I have a good friends, a wonderful family, a secure job, and heath care.  So if I want to take a month off from writing and just hang out with my friends or watch movies or read books, or go to Portland or some other such place. I have that option. And I am thankful for that.

I am going to take a page out of my friend Sherry's book [her blog post, actually] and list some of the things I'm also thankful for.

I am also thankful that...

• I have the writing gene, so I can express myself without it being all about me. [Even though it is.]
• I have a writing community, of both close friends and acquaintances whom I've never met in person.
• I have my vision [with the aid of glasses these days] and my hearing.
• I have good health in general.
• I am intelligent.  [Okay, stroking my own ego, but it's true.]
• I don't have to work outdoors in extreme temperatures.
• I am no longer too skinny because of the Williamson poverty diet that was a staple in college. In fact, at this point, a little less food would be better for my health.
• I am not afraid ...
•  of losing my job, not because it's secure, but because I know that I will work at whatever job I have to, no matter how menial, in order to support myself.  
• of people disliking me because I realized a long time ago, that no matter what I do, not everyone is going to want to be my friend. I try very hard to let everyone carry their own baggage, and not make it about me.
• of expressing my opinion, for much the same reason; I know that not everyone is going to agree with me, and I'm okay with that.  
• in turn, of keeping my own counsel, of keeping my opinions to myself, mostly because I don't like arguing just for the sake of arguing.
• of being different.
• I  can live without TV. I gave up cable TV about a year ago, and haven't missed it.  It has become the opiate of the masses.
• I can afford to eat out when I want to.
• I make a good salary, almost cushy, and certainly better than most of the people in the world these days.
  

• I am not allergic to dogs or cats.  I love pets, and a life without one seems incomplete.
• I love to read.  As with a lack of pets, a world without stories, without books, would be a poor life indeed.
• I have been able to travel to foreign countries, to see the world, and yet, to appreciate what it right outside my door.

And there are so many more. 

Finally, because I can't write something without throwing in some snark, some sarcasm, I'm really thankful that I finished the memory quilt.  I will never put that much pressure on myself again, trying to finish something that complex in less than a year.  

I am especially thankful that my friend, Kim, gave up a weekend and helped me put all the blocks together.

With that said, I hope you'll take time to count your blessings too.