All the Positive Things

As I sit here and stress out about what is to come after my last few days of summer break during “these unprecedented times,” I feel I need something positive to focus on lest I drive myself crazy. (Of course, I may already be there; halfway around the block, at least.) So, inspired by the book One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp, I pledge to find at least three good things each day, and I will blog about them as often as I can. I’ve only just had lunch and I already have my three good things for today, so I’d say I’m off to a good start.

1.) Birds

In the age of staying at home all the time and finding new things to keep entertained, I put up a window bird feeder on our dining room window. Birds have just discovered its existence, and it’s highly entertaining to watch them ever-so-cautiously flit over to the nearest branch to scope things out and make sure it’s safe. If they see anyone in the window, they fly away, so I had to stand there quite a while to get pictures, which definitely would have turned out better if our windows were clean.

2.) Rejection

Mhmm, you read that right. Normally rejection isn’t a good thing, but I recently got a rejection letter from a literary agent that was quite nice and encouraging. Sure, it was a form rejection, and sure, it was only a few sentences, but the language in it was positive and uplifting and made me smile. So much better than a flat one-liner, or worse, no response at all. So I’ll keep trudging along and hoping for a manuscript request, but in the meantime, keep those nice rejections coming! Nice is good.

3.) Pork butt

In the slow cooker currently rests a deliciously fat and sauced up pork butt, casting its smoky barbecue aroma throughout the house like magic. This will be tonight’s dinner, and I’m purposely eating fewer snacks so I have more room for pulled-pork sandwiches tonight. Just so you know, by fewer snacks, I mean like two cookies instead of three.

So that’s it for today. I hope you’ll look out for the good things too, because Facebook and Twitter are too packed with negativity and gloom and doom.