There's nothing quite like celebrating life's milestones to make you feel grateful. My husband marked a big birthday this weekend. The family gathered. We shared a couple of good meals. Some stories. Some laughs. Getting together is always nice, but something about birthdays, maybe it's putting a number on things, always makes me feel grateful for all the years we've had together. Oh, and there was cake: my husband's favorite black forest cake. By the time I thought about taking a picture to include in this post, we had already enjoyed it. But believe me, it was a thing of beauty. (I'm not bragging. I didn't make it. I happily gave that up several years ago when we found a bakery version that we loved just as much.)
When I was part of a local writing group, we became quite good at celebrating. It was a great group of people who genuinely encouraged one another through the lows and cheered each other on through the highs. After that group broke up, a friend and I would mark triumphs on our writing journey with a version of Julia Cameron's Artist Dates, by visiting local galleries, doing something to enrich our creative souls.
I'm so thankful to be part of such a wonderful online group. I treasure each of my critique partners. And so I was thrilled that so many stopped by the blog here to help celebrate the release of
Patricia Bailey's middle-grade debut,
The Tragically True Adventures of Kit Donovan. Many thanks to all who commented. And the winner of a signed ARC is ...
Mirka Breen!
Congratulations, Mirka! I know you'll love it.
What have you celebrated lately? Do you do something to mark the steps in your writing journey?
