It is days like this...

...that I worried about when I retired.

I complain about being busy, about not having down-time or enough time with Duane or time for this or that. But the truth is I don't want down-time and I love being busy and one reason Duane and I enjoy being together is that we're not necessarily breathing the same air all the time even though we're always within cellphone or intercom reach.

And today I'm not busy. I have no appointments, no one to meet for lunch, no shift at the hospital. I could (and should) go to the gym, but I need some days away from that. I could (and should) bake for Christmas or run the vacuum cleaner or dust or finish wrapping presents.

I am never bored and can't imagine being bored, but it is days like this I am afraid it will happen.

Do you have any of those?

On a brighter note...

The Gingerbread Heart is available in print! I am so happy to see it. I'm still waiting to receive my copies. The whole A Heartwarming Christmas experience has been one of the best I've ever had. I hope you've enjoyed the reading.

If you missed Wedding at Turkey Run, it's still available on Wattpad (which is a whole new thing for me).

For now, I'm wishing you a merry, merry Christmas!

THANKSGIVING Book Tour!

Second day of gratitude

On my second day of gratitude, I’m grateful for dark, silent mornings with something hot to drink and a laptop. In that order. I admit, I wish "they" would leave mornings alone instead of doing a changeup on them twice a year, but I enjoy them no matter what time they get here.

And just a reminder: 

30 Days of Gratitude - Day One

The first of the annual 30 days of Gratitude. Today I’m thankful for second chances. We all need them from time to time—I hope I’m as good at giving them as I am at taking them.

So how does it feel?

Okay, no one has asked me that since the news came out yesterday and we started broadcasting it far and wide like farmers on the prairie. A Heartwarming Christmas is on the USA Today Bestsellers list this week. Duane has made jokes about different avenues we can take to accommodate my enlarged head, but no one's really said, How does it feel?

I'm sure I could, if I worked at it, be very blase about the whole thing. I could throw out the caveats and say it's a boxed set, there are 12 authors involved, the book was inexpensive. Yes, I could do that.

But I won't. Because it is one of those wonderful things that you put in the keeper pocket in your heart and have forever. Not that you'll stay on the list or that it will bring world peace or change anything. There are still dishes to wash, laundry to do, and here in the Midwest, ladybugs to sweep up. I am no different this morning than I was last night. I'm still going to help with weekend meal backpacks for kids this morning and volunteer at the hospital this afternoon. I will still look awful in my pink jacket.

But I'll always have the keeper pocket and it's a little fuller now. I hope yours is, too. Have a great day!