Days of Gratitude - Joy In The Big Performance And The Big Composition

Five more days as the end of the year approaches.

These were excellent days, not to be spoiled by impending anxiety and panic.  The decision half made on one of these days is now fully made and I'm looking forward to indulging myself in the results of that.

Pressing on.  Life is good.  Sometimes autism and mental health combine to make it very difficult indeed.  But it's a wonderful life really and I plan to make it more wonderful in 2017.  This year I've made more discoveries about myself.  Pleasing discoveries.  Next year I will live them as fully as I can on each day.

Is that a brilliant plan?

6^th December

Grateful to see a certain friend for the first time in ages.

Also grateful for Snowdog memories and for them raising a quarter of a million pounds in the auction.

Blob and Winefride watched most of the auction online although Winefride did get bored near the end and wandered off.

7^th December

Grateful to learn friend will be returning very soon.

And grateful to have achieved choir in spite of major anxiety nearly scuppering the journey.

Our first little performance is on Saturday. It'll be great.

8^th December

Grateful for a decision more than half made to join the Lit & Phil and to spend time there next year writing in a pretty distraction free environment.

This may be my new second home, already home to books such as this.

9^th December

Amanda gave me a writing prompt a while back because I asked her for half a sentence. The prompt was this:

"He saw the Christmas lights had been up for months, and he thought to himself"

Grateful that I just finished writing the draft of a story from that prompt and I am shocked at how it managed to top 15,000 words.

Grateful to be writing and for my loose writing plans for next year and the fact that there is no pressure beyond writing because it's good for me, having as much fun with it as possible, and not worrying about where the process will take me.

A year ago I wouldn't have dreamed of writing as much as I've written this year and wouldn't have thought that 15,000 words could flow relatively easily.

I wonder whether they are any good!

10^th December

Grateful for an utterly awesome afternoon at the Bicycle Garden in Fenham.

I was there for a final quick rehearsal before performing with SHE Choir at the event there.

But there were also the joys of eating stunning homemade and garden cooked food, being with excellent people, and getting smoky from the fire.

An added unexpected extra: Making my first ever Christmas wreath. Several of us made a wreath, weaving our rings out of willow and adding all kinds of good things to them.

Very happy times.