This is the entry for the 21st, but I am backdating it from the 22nd. I was thankful for a lot yesterday, though. I had a quiet, contemplative day. I thought about Jerry a lot. I thought about other loved ones that are no longer here. I prayed more than normal and spent time reminiscing.

I don’t have a job. Not a normal job, anyway. I consider myself a writer, even though none of my novels have been published. I’m a homeschool educator, but that is just an extension of “mom” for me, so it doesn’t feel like a job. I also started writing for the newspaper again recently, and I appreciate that work. It is nice to do that kind of thing without having to be too entrenched in the journalism world.

Anyway, I guess I am most grateful for the creative writing job. I am thankful for all the friends I have made on the path to publication. I’m thankful for all I’ve learned and all I’m still learning. I catch myself getting down about it, sometimes, but I know that if I’m not published yet, that’s how it’s supposed to be. And I can be grateful for that, too. I am glad that my writing is a way to express myself, and I’m thankful that I am somehow naturally good at writing. A lot of people have to really work at grammar and storytelling, but it seems innate to me. My writing has helped me process a lot of things, which is good because I barely understand myself.

So that’s what we’re going with today.