}Wistful Wednesday{An Attitude of Gratitude

Each year, as we head into the holiday season, we are often encouraged to take stock of what we are grateful for. It is a good opportunity for us to do an emotional house cleaning and put some things in perspective. Although this is a grand tradition, personally, I believe we shouldn't relegate this to one day of the year - or even one month. I think this is something we should do on a daily basis. Each night, before we go to bed, we should take a little time to express our gratitude for the blessings we received that day.

The blessings may be small - such as having a sick-free day - or the blessings may be grand - such as getting a raise or a new car. Or they may be something somewhere in between. Whatever they are, the blessings are there, making each day bearable, a prelude to the next. With all of the strife that is facing our country now, all of the added burdens we deal with every day, it so much more important than ever to have an attitude of gratitude.

So what am I grateful for?

1. I am grateful for the fact that, despite my own health issues, I am still well enough to take care of my family. I'm still there for my mother, who has no other means to run her own errands and get to her doctors' appointments. I am there for my younger daughter, who has her own issues and needs to see a variety of professionals to help her with them. I am there for my older daughter, who needs me to go get her from college as she doesn't have her own car yet, and who sometimes, just needs to talk to Mom. And I am there for my siblings, who sometimes just need to talk to someone about their own issues.

2. I am grateful for the fact that I have a roof over my head and the means to keep it there. Whenever I watch the news and see reports of people losing their homes, I remember a time when I was in that position and wondered when - or if - I would ever have a place to call my own again.

3. I am grateful for the fact that I have such a loving and supportive family, and that if I need them, they are only a phone call away.

4. And I'm grateful for the fact that I have a great network of friends, especially my Moonlight ladies, Carrie and Gracen, who make me smile, get me to think, and support me as I pursue this crazy thing called writing. I am so grateful that I can send them an email about anything at any time and they will always have a response for me. They are always there to make me feel better when I face disappointment, encourage me when I try something new - and take me to task when I keep them waiting on a writing resolution. (Yeah, I know I've probably said all of this before in another post, but it bears repeating.) My life has just been so much better for knowing them, so much richer. Everyone should have friends like these ladies.

5. Of course, it goes without saying that I am grateful for every person who takes the time to read this blog, guest blogs I have done, and stories I have written, but I will say it anyway. I am grateful for my readers.

So as you get ready for work today and for the holiday next week, take a moment to remember what you are grateful for. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude and it will make life so much easier to bear. I know it does for me. ~ Margay

In the Moonlight with Pat Bertram, Author of Daughter Am I

Grateful to be an Author

by Pat Bertram

It seems a bit paltry to have a single holiday to give thanks when I have so much for which to be grateful. I am grateful for my online friends and for my fans. (Odd to think I actually have fans!) I am grateful for the readers of my blog, who never fail to offer support and suggestions. I am especially grateful for my publisher, who understands my books better than I do. But I am most grateful for being the author of my novels rather than being a character in them.

It’s an author’s responsibility to put her characters through as many traumas as possible. Readers want to worry about characters, they want to see how characters act when faced with horrendous conditions and dilemmas, and they want the characters to go bravely where they themselves would never go. As an author, I might give readers what they want, but frankly, I would never choose to be in any of the situations my characters encounter. And, although I am trying to be bold and brave in my own life, I will never be as bold as my characters. Nor do I want to be.

When Mary Stuart, the hero of Daughter Am I discovers she inherited a farm from recently murdered grandparents she never knew she had, she becomes so obsessed with finding out who they were, why someone wanted them dead, and why her father claimed they had died before she was born, that she ends up driving halfway across the country with strangers. That these strangers are all in their eighties might have put her at ease, but when she finds out about their less than lawful pasts, it still doesn’t deter her from her goal. In fact, she heads for Leavenworth, hoping to talk to Iron Sam AKA Butcher Boy AKA Samuel Bornstein, a hit man for the mob who might have known her grandfather.

Um, yeah. Like that’s something I would do! I am grateful that I have never had to deal with such a situation. When Mary discovers that one of the aged crooks is carrying an illegal weapon, she confiscates it and tucks it in her purse. Forgetting for the moment that I don’t carry a purse, having a gun tucked away in a handbag where it might accidentally go off is not high on my list of priorities. (Though I would be interested in firing a gun just once to see how it would feel. Strictly for research purposes, you understand.)

Sneaking onto the property of a connected guy to dig for stolen gold . . . hmmm. Perhaps I might do that, but I’m grateful I don’t know of any such treasure in real life that would put me to the test.

And that’s just one of my books. When I consider all of them, my gratitude is unending. I am grateful I never had to twice attend my mother’s funeral as poor Bob Stark did in More Deaths Than One. I’m grateful I have not yet had to deal with an epidemic so severe that the entire state of Colorado needs to be quarantined as described in A Spark of Heavenly Fire. I am grateful that I am not being held captive in an underground installation run by a quasi-government agency as are my heroes in Light Bringer, which will be released in the spring of 2010.

I am also grateful to Margay Leah Justice for inviting me to be a guest here on Moonlight, Lace, and Mayhem.

So, what are you grateful for!

Pat, thank you so much for the shout out. It is my pleasure to have you here on our blog today!

Pat Bertram is a native of Colorado and a lifelong resident. When the traditional publishers stopped publishing her favorite type of book — character and story driven novels that can’t easily be slotted into a genre — she decided to write her own. Daughter Am I is Bertram’s third novel to be published by Second Wind Publishing, LLC. Also available are More Deaths Than One and A Spark of Heavenly Fire.