The things we give thanks for, at ages 50 and 80 plus, are different than what we were grateful for in our early years. Especially when we’ve been given, as mom and I have, a chance to rediscover and fine-tune a dream that may have existed when we were younger, but only late at night, when exhaustion battled with longing for the energy to do something creative.
The first item on our lists of reasons to give thanks will remain the same regardless of age: love from family and friends. But beyond that, we are grateful for the reality that:
• The hated alarm clock that used to rouse us from our beds in the morning has been replaced by the 5 a.m. “wake-up” brainstorm: “aha … I could have the villain be a tiny person who is accessing the crime scene through a doggie door!”
• High-heeled, pointy-toed shoes that rested beneath our office desks have been replaced by fuzzy pink bedroom slippers.
• Our husbands, who used to listen to our complaints about coworkers and tight deadlines and not getting paid enough, have adjusted to put up with distracted, dreamy gazing. Not getting paid enough remains in the bitching bag, but gets brought up a little less frequently.
• The sometimes unreasonable, but completely fulfilling pride we used to feel when one of our children handed us a new painting for refrigerator posting has transformed into the excitement we feel when we finish a chapter or milestone and are one step closer to publication.
• The conversations with friends we used to savor over steaming cups of coffee still begin with what’s happening with family, but end up seeking advice about plot direction instead of potty training, teenage dating or the psychological makeup of males.
• The aches and pains of young age, which centered around chasing kids and spring cleaning, now derive from forgetting to get up from the computer to take a break from our writing frenzy.
On this 2013 Thanksgiving Day, we feel blessed that our first book, Twist of Fate, is about to be released both as an ebook and a printed book. We live in an age where the process of getting published has completely evolved, and we know we were fortunate to have found Spectacle Publishing Media Group, who is helping our dream happen.
But we are especially thankful that we have our family members and so many friends that are celebrating at our side. — Genilee Swope Parente
Mom and I
swopeparente 