Feeling thankful...

Image courtesy of The Gutenberg Project

About a year ago I shared a post about some of the things I was thankful for, all related to books and writing.  I am still very grateful for the items on that list, many of which are summed up in this quote:

"The love of learning, 

the sequestered nooks,

And all the sweet 

serenity of books."

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

This year, I am also thankful for:

• More time to write, now that all three of my kids are in school for six hours every day.
• Dictionaries and thesauruses
• My kids' creative imaginations and their love of writing.  Emmalie has written many stories over the years (some quite long).  Nick enjoys writing nonfiction pieces about animals.  And, just recently, Ben began writing his first "book".  He is currently on Chapter 7 (each chapter is only 3-5 sentences long) and he is so excited about it! Every day he looks forward to writing something new and then sharing it with everyone in the family. :)
• Discovering some blogs that inspire me every time I read them, including The Poem Farm, Laura Salas: Writing the World for Kids, and No Water River: The Picture Book and Poetry Place.
• This blog, which motivates me daily to keep reading, writing, learning, and dreaming.
• The wonderful books I've read this year because of this blog.  As you know, I'm a BookWyrm.  I would read (and read and read!) whether I had Blue Sky, Big Dreams to write or not.  But because I do have this blog, I have sought out and then read many books that I might never have crossed paths with otherwise.
• All of my friends and readers.  Thank you so much for supporting me, back when I first launched this blog and in the seventeen months since, urging me to keep it up.  I also owe you a HUGE thank you for all the encouragement you've given me, to keep writing (and submitting!) my poems, stories, and novels. Writing can be a lonely job at times, and it's easy to get discouraged. It really helps -- and means so much to me -- knowing that I have friends out there cheering me on!

What are you thankful for this year?