November. I blinked and it’s gone. This was a month of so much. Some days too much to be honest! But I can’t let the month slip away without acknowledging all the good.
My family has been under one roof this whole month! Due to his college shut down, my son has been home for 30 consecutive days. I’m grateful for my family and our home ~ that my daughter still likes living here… and the bonus time we’re all getting together.
Our whole extended family has managed to stay healthy and COVID-free. In times of a pandemic, that’s something to be very grateful for! I know many families have not been so fortunate. If you’re one of those families, my heart goes out to you.
I launched my 3rd book in November! It’s not lost on me how many people would give anything to be able to say that. I was one of them! It’s still unbelievable to me that I’ve reached this point. I’m so grateful to the countless number of people involved in turning Pop the Bronze Balloon into a book and the countless number of people who’ve cheered me on and read my books along the way.
I started running again. I’m agonizingly slow and nowhere near my goal yet but I’ve been running consistently and so grateful that I can still do it! It’s been a great stress reliever in a month that was pretty overwhelming.
I hosted my first Thanksgiving dinner! It was small, just the four of us plus my daughter’s boyfriend and my in-laws, but it was special and the turkey was pretty good too!
I finished writing a new book in November! I started this one last December 1st and finished my fifth round of revisions on it last week. That’s one full year to write a book. It’s my fastest ever (by far!), and I think my strongest one too. I’m thankful I still know how to write a novel after all this time and that in this crazy year of 2020, I was able to create something I’m proud of.
Most of all, I’m reminded this month how grateful I am for people. It may sound cliché but it’s true, especially when we need to stay so isolated right now. My husband, my kids, my parents, my siblings, my in-laws, my aunts & uncles, my cousins, my nieces & nephews, my daughter’s boyfriend and his family, my son’s new girlfriend & hers, my friends, my kids’ friends, the writing community… I would be nowhere without them. Or at least a lot less happy. I’ve been blessed and this month has really reminded me how fortunate I am. Even though we can’t all physically be together, it’s nice to know they’re all here. It’s nice to know you guys are here too in my little corner of the internet. I’m grateful for you also ~ and not just in November!
In case you’re curious, my family and I did manage to put together a small launch party for POP THE BRONZE BALLOON, complete with bronze balloons and adorable cupcakes. I’ll share pictures soon but like I kind of mentioned, November has been a whirlwind. Hopefully I’ll manage to blog about it in December.
I hope you’re all staying safe & well and had a wonderful month. If you participated in NaNoWriMo, congratulations–whether you won it or not! And if you didn’t and merely got 50 words down on the page this month, that’s great too. We all work at our own paces. Just remember that dreams are born to become dreams come true. That’s what Seraphina says anyway in Pop the Bronze Balloon!
Cheers to the end of one month & the beginning of another! I hope it’s all you dream of… and more!
swirl and spark 