Giving Thanks
Sandra and I and all our children are thankful for all of you this year.
Yes, we're thankful for you every year, and all year long rather than just in November, but now's the time when most Americans celebrate their gratitude by speaking it aloud before consuming (on the average) seven BK Whoppers' worth of calories in a show of excess that--
That's not actually what I want to talk about, though I do have around 4,000 calories of delicious consumption planned.
Here at Chez Tayler nothing is taken for granted. We recognize that your patronage, generosity, and regular reading are what put pie in the pie tin (and fuel in the car, and the car in the driveway, and a lot more things into other things and then into our reach.) This has been an especially good year. We had some unexpected household and medical expenses, we sent our eldest off to college, and yet the ends not only met, we were able to sock money into savings and invest in projects that we're excited to be pursuing.
We had a wildly successful Kickstarter in March, a book launch in July, and will be shipping calendars out next week -- and shipping them out of the warehouse that a dozen volunteers helped us move into in November. My Writing Excuses compatriots and I got to bring a Hugo Award home from the World Science Fiction Convention in San Antonio, I got paid to write words three different times, and I got to get on airplanes and go to several places where I could meet a great very many of you.
I also got some mental health stuff diagnosed and medicated, and am thankful I was never crazy enough to be dangerous. Oh, and I'm extra thankful for Sandra, who helped me manage my sometimes-sick brain for twenty years before we finally found the right blend of courage and humility and looked into professional treatment.
Also: twenty years! Sandra and I celebrated that anniversary in August.
Recently I saw the following: "Giving thanks is not a holiday. It's how happy people live." I agree, though with one caveat: if you're living happily, with a heart full of gratitude, you'll find there are more holidays on the calendar than anybody thought to actually print.
Thank you for all of them.