So I did not advance to the finals in the 100-word microfiction challenge, but on the same day I received that news, I got an e-mail from a literary agent asking for the full manuscript of my novel. And that brings me to my next list of positive things:

1. Full requests

   Querying agents has been a tough experience, because like any writer, I’ve grown so attached to my story and can’t imagine a single reason why any agent would reject it. (Of course, ten minutes later I’m crying that it belongs buried at the bottom of a landfill, never to be read by a single living soul for the rest of eternity. And then ten minutes after that, I’m back to thinking that if drivel like [insert book title here] can get published, mine surely can. And on and on it goes.) Needless to say, opening rejection letter after rejection letter — and refreshing my e-mail every few minutes just to check — has been quite the cliched emotional roller coaster, and my family can attest to what this thrill ride is doing to my psyche.

   So the evening of what I will henceforth refer to as The Great Full Request Incident was a glorious, momentous occasion indeed. We were just finishing up an early dinner. At 5:25 p.m., before I had even rinsed my dinner plate, I refreshed my e-mail for most likely the 1,458th time. There in my inbox lay a single e-mail from a name I recognized as a literary agent. When I clicked it open and at first glance saw a very short note, I expected it to be another rejection, but then I saw the words “I’d be happy to take a look at your full manuscript.”

   The jumping and shouting that ensued was, quite frankly, a little embarrassing now that I look back on that moment three days, five hours, and 37 minutes ago. I mean, it’s not like I actually landed an agent or won the lottery (same odds, I think), and it’s possible this agent will still reject me. But in a sea of rejection letters, this full request is a lighthouse beacon — or at least one of those light-up jellyfish that may or may not end up stinging me.

2. IPSY

   For those who do not know, IPSY is like a BarkBox for women. Each month, I get an adorable bag with five beauty products delivered to my door. I get to choose one of the products ahead of time, and the rest of them are customized to my liking through a questionnaire on their app. The day my IPSY arrives in the mail is my favorite day of the month and sure to turn around any bad juju. If you want to join, check out https://www.ipsy.com/1d73sglq.

3. Baby turtles

   One of the red-eared slider turtles that lives in the pond behind our house laid her eggs on a little sliver of land in between our pool and pond. This kind of turtle lays and buries her eggs generally a few feet to 20 yards away from a water source. This happened about five weeks ago, and it should be almost time for the babies to hatch. From what I’ve read, when the babies hatch, they will be drawn to humidity and water, so they may dig themselves out as soon as they hatch and then hang around the pond for about a week before getting into the water. Or, if the pond is dried up (as it usually is this time of year), they will remain underground until the next rainy season. I’ve been closely watching the burial site, which is covered by a crate right now to protect the eggs from critters, and I’m excited to see what happens. But I’m not sure what we’ll do if the turtles come up and the pond is dry — we really need some rain. It’s been suggested that we take them to a permanent water source if they do come up and the pond is dry, so I’ll post updates and photos when the excitement happens.

As always, look for the positive and check on your menopausal friends.