In these troubling, confusing, and sometimes scary times, it’s important to find reasons to celebrate.
My husband (a reason to celebrate) and I walk Charley every morning that it’s not raining. Occasionally, we are delighted to spy a deer or two. When this happenes, we call that, “a very deery morning.”
On these walks, I celebrate getting about 2500 steps on my way toward reaching my 10 thousand step goal. Before Covid, I routinely got more than that, but now I don’t walk at the mall or at Walmart. This summer when it was beastly hot, I discovered making the loop in my house. One loop earns me about 100 steps. A couple of times, due to weather, I’ve been forced to get as many as 5000 by walking in my house. Not nearly as fun as outside or at the mall but you do what you have to do. And I celebrate I haven’t missed reaching this goal in months and months.
Saturday, I celebrated with my writing chapter on Zoom which we’ve done since Covid. One of the presenters talked about goal setting. I loved it. The presenter was a list maker. I am, too. If it doesn’t get on my list, it doesn’t get done. If I have lots of stops to make, I list the stops in the most logical order to get them done, so I don’t back track. (Perhaps a bit anal, I confess. LOL) I celebrate my phone, and that I’ve learned to use the Notes to make my lists. My handwriting is pretty much illegible these days; typing is my friend.
I celebrate writing groups like this one. I celebrate that by working together we were able to re-invent ourselves. Everyone needs to do that at some time in their life. Sometimes more than once. I celebrate the Isn’t it Romantic Book Club and the Giveaway that several of us participated in last week. I celebrate getting to meet new people.
Sometimes our celebrations are little, and that’s okay. Sometimes they lead to something big. I’m celebrating the release yesterday of my 8th published book TAINTED. There were lots of little celebrations along the way to the birth of this book. To begin with that my family and I over lots of years have been fortunate enough to visit Red River, NM, a beautiful small town in the valley between mountains. I love this little town, and this book is in celebration of Red River and all the good times we’ve had there.
KOBO https://bit.ly/35JuSys
B & N https://bit.ly/3kkPXmD
Amazon https://amzn.to/35WaLgq
Don’t get me wrong. This is a Seasoned Romantic Suspense with the H & H being 50 years old. Bad stuff has happened to this woman and continues to until she gets her second chance at love and her HEA. Would you expect anything else? It’s a romance. 🙂 So I celebrate not only the release of this book, but that I get to share my stories with wonderful readers who are touched by my words. I hope some of you will choose to read TAINTED and write a review. Reviews are super important to readers. I hope too, that my book (and all the books by the authors of WBW) will offer you an escape from what can sometimes be a challenging day and that we offer you encouragement and inspiration.
I wrote this post while I was at my daughter’s house on Monday morning. Both she and her husband had conflicts, and I stayed there while my granddaughter did Virtual School. She had on this shirt and I thought, Yes! The word we definitely need to hear now.
Remember it’s important to celebrate small things, too. Kathryn Jane does a Gratitude post daily on FB. Those posts are forms of celebrations and always uplifting. Do you have things to celebrate? Please share and practice kindness. I’d love to hear from you.
You can contact me at marsha@marsharwest.com or through my web site https://authormarsharwest.wordpress.com/ where you can also sign up for my NEWSLETTER , Blog, or check out any of my social media sites. https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn http://www.twitter.com/Marsharwest @marsharwest https://wordbyword.net/category/blog/ https://www.pinterest.com/marsharwest/ https://www.instagram.com/marsharwest
Word by Word 
Thought-provoking post…thanks for sharing, Marsha. Congrats on the release of Tainted! 🙂
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Hey, Joanne. Thanks for commenting and for sharing. 🙂
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Good morning, Marsha, and happy book release day–certainly a reason to celebrate. I love making lists and *scratch* a line through a completed one. Like right now, I need to make a doctor appt! Hugs, vb
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Hey, Vicki. Thanks. Yes, I get a visceral thrill when I check off one of the items on my todo list. And yes, I’ve got those things on my list that I hate to do, but eventually I get to them. Good luck with your doctor. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
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Congrats on your new release, Marsha, it’s on my Kindle waiting to be read 😊
You’re right, we need to find reasons to celebrate even more now with the way the world is becoming. I love your granddaughter‘s shirt- that says it all. ❤️
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Thanks for the mention of my Gratitude posts, Marsha. They truly are my way of celebrating the little and big things in my life.
I love how you are able to get your steps in, and the deer beautiful!
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Hey, Kathryn. You’re welcome. I always feel better after reading your Gratitude Posts and I love the pics you share. I even got them in yesterday, and I suspected after writing that on the blog, it wasn’t going to happen. Like I was jinxing myself, but I got’em. It’s almost like something on my list, I get satisfaction from checking off. Thanks so much for stopping by. 🙂
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I like your granddaughter’s t-shirt. Sometimes the most straightforward messages are the best. Congratulations on your new book. Counting your steps in the house—you are dedicated. Do trips to the refrigerator count?😎 Since I can’t get to the gym yet, I try to walk every day, too. It’s not quite the same, but so good for my mental health.
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Hey, Pete. Thanks. And yes, I think walking helps with mental health. Steps to the refrigerator count if you keep on walking and don’t stop. LOL Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
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WTG with achieving your 10000 steps goal for months!! And such dedication to do 5000 in your home loop. I celebrate quietly. Celebrations don’t have to have cake and balloons. High 5 for me when I bake something that comes out delicious, when I finish a chapter or rewrite a few lines that are a great improvement over the others, when our daughter started her new job, and so many more. I think COVID has taught me to appreciate the small things that we take for granted. Congrats on #8!! Now that demands balloons and cake!!
JQ Rose
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Hey, JQ. I think you’ve got the right idea with celebrating those little things. But I would always choose cake as part of any celebration. Though now that I think of it. I missed the cake when my book released. I guess wine kind of counts. LOL Thanks so much for stopping by. 🙂
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I have your book downloaded now and plan on reading it next.
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Hey, Pat. Aren’t you nice. Thanks so much. Hope you enjoy it. 🙂
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I totally agree with the idea of celebrating the small things. Especially now, when so many things are different and so many are struggling, it’s so important to remind ourselves of our blessings. And since celebrating is another way of being grateful, it’s more important now than ever before. 🙂
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Hey, Sharon. Yes, you’re right. It’s really the little things that make up the sum total of our days. Especially, now, we need to celebrate every little single thing. Thanks so much for stopping by. 🙂
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