I Am Blessed

        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!

        Happy Sunday morning (though by the time you read this, it will be Wednesday)! I realized, after I posted last week, that I am a week behind so this week’s post will put me back on schedule. Not quite sure how that happened. My only excuse is that my brain is full and there’s too much going on. I think I need a rest! We’ll see if that happens!

        It’s been a lovely weekend so far. I did my Saturday and Sunday chores (yes, I have to break up the chores between two days because I’m not a spring chicken anymore). I’ll let you in on a little secret…I hate to clean, but I like a clean house so it’s a necessary evil. Still, I love it when the house smells like Mr. Clean. And yes, I know living in Arizona there will always be dust, but for a few minutes anyway, everything is dust free.

        So, back to the title of this blog. “I Am Blessed”. And I truly am. I have everything I need (and no, I’m not bragging, but for some reason, it all hit home to me and the realization filled me with such happiness, I didn’t know how to contain it).

        What am I talking about? Friendship.

        This feeling of being blessed hit me Friday, when my critique partner and I hung up from our Zoom call (yes, we talk every Friday and believe me, it’s the highlight of my week). We don’t just talk about our works in progress. No, ma’am. We talk about everything. There is no subject that is taboo.

        Then, on Saturday morning, I talked to my daughter-in-law. She, too, has become a dear friend (more than just my daughter-in-law. I’d love her even if she wasn’t married to my son). She is absolutely beautiful, inside and out and I am thrilled she is in my life.  

        I met some friends for lunch on Saturday afternoon and as always, it was lovely. I’ve known these women for over forty years. That’s a long time and we’ve been through it all but we’re always there for each other both when life is hard and when it isn’t.

        Which brings me to my neighbors. I must admit, I have been especially blessed in that regard. My neighbors are wonderful (both past and present). The current ones are younger than I am, but that doesn’t seem to matter. Not in the slightest. It’s amazing to me how close we got so quickly. They are taking the DH and I out to dinner tonight to celebrate Mother’s Day which is so kind, so sweet, so thoughtful (we’re going to a Mexican restaurant that had the most amazing food. If you haven’t tried a Fundido, you should. Absolutely fabulous!)

        So now you know what I’m talking about. I have been blessed. There are people in my life who are more than friends. We’ve become family and I love each and every one of them (there are more examples—people I don’t see much because they’re moved away but we still talk—by phone, by zoom, by email and text). There are those I miss because they’ve passed but I still ‘talk’ to them, especially when I remember the past and the good (and sometimes bad) times we’ve shared.

        When I’m writing my stories, my hero and heroine both have the kind of friends that offer advice, offer comfort, and are always there when needed and I hope that comes through.

        And on that note, I should get back to writing. Wife Unexpected is not going to write itself (and neither will the other three books I’m contracted for).   

        Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie