Monday, October 12, 2020

Giving Thanks For You

 

My friend Ethel sent me this quote this morning; she said it made her think of me and no wonder! I love it. It's from acclaimed Italian actress Eleonora Duse (1858-1924): 
If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy,
if a blade of grass springing up in the field has power to move you,
if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand,
rejoice, for your soul is alive.

Thank you, Ethel. That is perfect. And on this perfect autumn day, it's yet another reminder of why I love where I live.

And on this Thanksgiving Day,
allow me to thank you,
everyone who comes to this blog and reads these posts. 
Those of you who have been here since this blog launched in 2011,
who discovered me after Field Notes, the book, was published in 2016,
and who found me through the column in At Home On the North Shore magazine.

Thank you for reading the ideas and the stories I share. 

In the summer of 2019, I decided to give up writing. I’d finish the books I was working on,
but I wouldn’t write anymore unless any of them sold. I worked away on them, then the pandemic shut everything down and I kept writing – what else was I going to do? 

(I did submit them. There are three books on submission right now, but I have no idea when, or even if I'll ever hear back about any one of them, let alone three.)

Thank you for being part of my writing life. 
The focus of my living and my writing is shifting. I’m sure how but I can feel it shifting. It may result in a sharpening of focus of my writing, but it could also mean a letting go of the writing; getting a full-time job is becoming more of a draw as I grow weary of the constant hustle and financial instability of three freelance jobs. 
For now, I’m carrying on with the words. As I said, what else am I going to do?

Well, later this week, I'm going to reveal what else: my "Super Secret Summer Sanity Saver Project" that has kept discouragement and despair at bay because it gave me a reason to sit down at my desk and open up a file full of stories… 


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