January 6, 2016

• A note about the picture: I posted this pic on July 14, 2014.  The caption says, "A promise to strengthen my mind, body, and soul.  I will read and write, walk and pray, today and every day."  Repeating those words seems appropriate; it's a good reminder to take care of myself.  And these are the beads with which I pray each day. Their story will be the subject of an upcoming essay.

• ​Three gratitudes: 1.—Sleep; 2.—My “walking” playlist; 3—My grandmother's rosary
• Exercise: Finally. 45 minute walk. Evening. Cold. Peaceful.
• Meditation: Prayed a rosary with intentions for an end to terrorism.
• Random Act of Kindness email: A phone call.
• Journal about one positive experience in the past 24 hours:

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I've known all day what this journal topic would be, and here it is:
I passed out last night at 8:00 p.m.  That's rare because I'm a late night person.  My family let me sleep.  I woke up at 4:30 a.m. feeling disoriented but awake and refreshed.  After washing my face and brushing my teeth, I checked my emails.  "Thank you for submitting your poems to The Write City Magazine..."  Wait a minute.  I had to reread the message three times.  "I'm happy to say that..."  Yay!  Two of my poems will be published this Sunday!  I'm overjoyed to say the least.  Both works are in the madrigal format, a form I knew nothing about until a Writer's Digest challenge in April, 2014.  I've been experimenting with it ever since, and I'm thrilled that I'm finally nailing it.  Stay tuned for Sunday's blog post!