It’s been an excellent week. So much so that I’m afraid someone will pinch me and I’ll wake up to find it’s a dream. In fact, if I were a character in one of my books, something horrible would have to happen to ratchet up the conflict and tension. (Plotting at all times is a side effect of the job.)
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| Sunset on Pensacola Beach |
My wonderful week began with a trip to the beach for an early birthday celebration with my family. The condo overlooked the emerald green water of the Gulf of Mexico. The weather was iffy at times (cool, foggy, and a little rainy), but turned out to be gorgeous when it needed to be.
On Friday morning, I received the email with a contract from Soul Mate Publishing. I cried. I paced. I hyperventilated. I jumped up and down. And, I danced to no music (although this happens more frequently than I’d like to admit). All of this was done between text messages, emails, and phone calls to family and friends.
I made the big announcement on Monday, January 13, 2014 and have been overwhelmed by the support, encouragement and congratulations from everyone. Thank y’all.
The same day the contract came, I got shot (in a good way). My talented cousin/photographer took hundreds of pictures while her sister made me laugh. I can’t wait to see how those turned out.
Can you guess which cousin made me laugh? Though this is more like a grimace.
After a cool down period from the morning high, I received an email congratulating me on my BODYFLOW certification. This is a yoga style class I recently began teaching. I sent in an assessment video as the final step for certification. When I got the good news, I danced again before I forwarded the email to my Group Fitness Manager. She sent out a group text to our fabulous team with the announcement and I was inundated with congratulatory messages. Thank y’all.
On Saturday, my family arrived. We enjoyed a sunny day on the balcony and free entertainment. A couple of inebriated young women put on a dance contest on the beach. I’m pretty sure they didn’t know they had an audience. When they left, we declared our section on the beach a Twerk-free Zone. The people of Sans Souci can thank me later.
After a nice seafood dinner, we had cake. One cake had giant wax number candles (you know you’ve crossed a threshold when they have to use these) and was for the gluten tolerant among us. The other was mine, all mine- a Rice Krispy Treat Birthday Cake. But, I did share a little of it (greedy guts get stomach aches). I opened gifts and cards wishing me well. Thank y’all.
Even though I’m about to turn an age I feared when I was younger, I’m so blessed. It’s a miracle I’ve made it after some of the things I did in my youth. God saved me for something and I’m feeling His love through my blood family, my writing family, my fitness family, and my friends who are like family. I hope I can share the love and pass it on through my writing, my classes, and everything I do.
Sunrise on Pensacola Beach
Have you ever had an excellent day, week, year? Please leave a comment, I’d love to hear about it.