Phwew! That was heavy...

Do you remember that phrase from Back to the Future? It was supposed to be all cool and futuristic. And now that movie is so old, most of my target audience for my books (YA) probably have never even seen it.

Anyway, the point is.... wow, that post yesterday was heavy. And yet you guys completely and totally lifted me up. THANK YOU so much for every comment and email. I can't begin to tell you how much it meant to me. Hugs for everyone! Unless you don't like hugs. Or if you're shorter than me and then that awkward moment happens when your face is in an inopportune location and I have to kind of shlump down and it's just totally lame. Let's just throw out cupcakes instead. CAKE FOR EVERYONE!

And you know what? I was sick to my stomach about posting that yesterday morning, but by the afternoon, I was so much happier. And then last night, as I was driving my three amazing kids home from SonA's baseball tournament (the last sporting event for two months until soccer starts up again!! YAY!!), we had the windows rolled down, Muse (Best. Music. EVER.) was blasting, and we were all rocking out. It was a perfect moment. We were laughing, dancing, singing. The wind was blowing through the car, the sun was setting, it was amazing.

So you know what? Yes, sometimes life is hard. Sometimes things don't go how we hope. Sometimes I'm not as kind as I want to be, and sometimes others are not kind to me. BUT. Life is beautiful. There is joy to be found in the journey every day.

I am grateful for how sad I was when I wrote that post yesterday morning, because it made the joy of driving home with my family that much sweeter last night.

Monday Motivation

"There are two types of people: those who come into a room and say, 'Well, here I am!' and those who come in and say, 'Ah, there you are.'" - Frederick L. Collins

Today, I am grateful for friends and family who are the second type of people; those who care about others rather than trying to seek attention and praise for themselves. I am grateful for critique partners and friends in this crazy writing world who say, "you are not alone"--even though sometimes this business can feel lonely.

I hope I have been, and can continue to be, that type of person to others as well. Wouldn't this world be a happier place if more people were like that?

Who has been there for you in your life or in your writing career that you are grateful for today?

**Also, for those of you who have been following Josh and Megan's story... he has been moved up to have an immediate bone marrow transplant to try and save his life. Out of his family, only one person matched him--his sister. But the miracle is that she is a PERFECT match. He is going in to the transplant room for 14 days to have his immune system obliterated and then when he hits zero, he will have the transplant and a new "birthday" because he will be like a newborn. He is going to have to rebuild his immune system from scratch, even repeating immunizations and everything. If you could please keep him in thoughts and prayers, I know they would appreciate it.