Gratitude Journal #23

I had thought that maybe I would have a chance to write last week’s Gratitude Journal yesterday afternoon. That was when I thought the conference I was attending this weekend was going to end around 4p, and since my flight home was not until 8p, I would have a couple of hours to write. But the programming for the conference went all the way until 6:15p. I actually left an hour earlier to make sure I made it to the airport on time. But basically, it resulted in no time to write yesterday.

Normally I try to make the Gratitude Journal about the little things in my life – Starbucks being open at 6am so I can get a chai on the way into work, bunnies and ducks being out and about on my way into work, etc. I have done this to help focus myself on the little things that are good in life, because trust me, I know about the big things. But this week’s Gratitude Journal is about bigger things, because they were things that do not happen on a regular basis.

Gratitude Entry #53 – Visiting Friends
One of the reasons I wanted to go to the conference I went to this weekend was its location. I have friends who live in the area, neither of whom I had seen in roughly three years. One of those friends is also a writer and joined me at the writing conference. The other met me for dinner on Saturday night.
These are two people who I adore. I wish that I got to spend more in person time with them. I mean, I love Facebook and other online forums for the ability to stay connected with my friends even when they live two time zones away, but really, there is nothing better than sitting down to a meal with a good friend and just talking. Getting a chance to hang out with these two different people turned an already great weekend into an amazing weekend.

Gratitude Entry #54 – Meeting a Favorite Author
The conference I went to, Narrativity, was put on by one of my favorite authors, Steven Brust. Let me be honest, I went to this conference based on pure fangirl-ness. It was a chance to meet an author whose work I have been reading for over 25 years, whose books I will buy in hardback the moment they come out. And then, it was also a conference about writing and storytelling at a time when I am trying to get myself back into the habit of writing, and especially back to my fiction writing.
I came away from the conference having not just met Brust, but having basically spent the entire weekend in the same room as him. He signed two books for me.
But I also got to meet some other, absolutely amazing people, and come away inspired.
I will do a larger write up on the conference later this week. But attending it, and getting to meet Brust was definitely something to be grateful for.