Thanksgiving – Ruff Drafts

My Thankful Post to Readers, Fellow Writers, Family, and Friends

Posted on November 26, 2020 by Debbie

This has been a tough year and one that’s hard to find things to be thankful for, but if you reflect on the people in your life, I’m sure you’ll find many. I’m thankful for my husband, daughter, and cats, my relatives, friends, and co-workers at the library, my church, neighbors, and community, my readers, social media followers, my publishers, and fellow authors, my doctors, dentist, and veterinarian. The authors whose books I enjoy reading, the actors whose shows I like watching, the sunrise and sunset, nature, God, and all the animals and wildlife that inhabit the Earth.

While I’m thankful for the things I have and the people I know, I’m also thankful for the things I had and the people I knew. I’m thankful for my parents who are gone but who loved, raised, and taught me how to treat and care for others and for all the pets I lost through the years who brought me so much joy while they were part of my life. I’m thankful for a friend I lost from COVID this year who inspired me by her faith.

Thanksgiving isn’t about Pilgrims and Indians dining together or stuffing yourself on turkey and sides. It’s about giving thanks for those people and things you take for granted every day or don’t realize the value of. It’s also about being the person others are thankful for knowing and doing the things that people are thankful you do.

I wish you all a very Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving. While this may not be the year you travel to relatives or have a large family gathering, it can still be a year full of giving thanks.

holidays

The First Thanksgiving After Mom

Posted on November 21, 2018November 21, 2018 by Debbie

I have a lot to be thankful for — my husband and daughter; my full-time job as a librarian and my second career as an author; my church and community; my health and successful weight loss, and much more. But, like so many people, I feel a bit depressed with the coming holidays. I recall last year when my daughter, husband, and I went out to Thanksgiving dinner with my brothers and their wives and my mother. Mom had been a resident at her nursing home for five years by then and enjoyed being taken out during the holidays. We lost her this summer to a combination of recurring infections and increasing dementia.

For those who are also missing a seat at the table this year, I know how you feel. Not only did my family lose my mother in 2018, but we also lost her cat who we’d taken in when she went into the nursing home. Oliver became a beloved part of our household, and his presence will be very missed, as well.

On the bright side, our family gained three new members this year. No, I didn’t have another child. I’m talking about pets. In addition to Stripey who’s been with us for ten years, we now have two kittens adopted from a cat cafe and shelter, Harry and Hermione. We also have a betta fish, Betta Blue. I’ve shared their stories on this blog: https://wp.me/p6m4z7-1Pe and also on Pens, Paws, and Claws: https://bit.ly/2DAySD8 So life goes on. We celebrate with heavy hearts but hope that we’ll see our loved ones again one day. For now, we make the most of each day appreciating what we have and who’s still at our table. I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving with your loved ones. May they always be in your heart if not by your side.

A Stone's Throw

Giving Thanks for Being a Loser

Posted on November 23, 2015November 23, 2015 by Debbie

I’m especially thankful this year as I just released my second novel, “A Stone’s Throw.” I am posting this to thank my followers and the awesome authors I have met from Limitless Publishing and elsewhere. I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and share some personal thoughts about this past year. This post also appeared as a guest post on Ayden K. Morgen’s blog, and I read it at a Jenny Craig open house on Thursday night.

A year ago this November, I made a decision that changed my life, and it happened in an unexpected way. A co-worker at the library where I work had lost some weight on Weight Watchers. Having been on many diets on and off all my life and gaining the weight back plus more, I was hesitant to try dieting again. But seeing this co-worker and realizing I was at my top weight, 200+ pounds that is considered obese for a woman my height, 5 feet 3, I knew I had to do something. I was more concerned with my health than my looks at this point. I’d never had high blood pressure, but I was beginning to get borderline results. I also didn’t have diabetes, but it ran in my family.

Considering what weight loss program to give another try, I was close to enrolling in Weight Watchers. But before I did, I visited my credit union to make a deposit (I rarely do this in person, but I had to make some changes on the account that required me to go into the office). When I walked through the doors, I was greeted by a woman distributing a coupon for a free-month trial of Jenny Craig. I’d tried both Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig years ago with short-term results, but I figured I had nothing to lose by trying a free month. I took the coupon and made the appointment with a counselor to start my program. Having a center close to my home made it easier to attend the weekly sessions with a very nice woman named Lauren who made me feel welcome and was very supportive.

Following the program, I lost 10 pounds the first month and really didn’t feel hungry, but I knew that initial weight loss is usually high and tends to taper off. I was also not convinced I would continue to follow the program. The cost was also a bit prohibitive. In addition to the price of the food and the monthly program fee, it made a dent in our family budget, but my husband encouraged me to continue. He said that I couldn’t put a price on my health, and we would just have to cut back in other areas.

A few months into the program, I was losing steadily between the 1 to 2 pounds that Jenny Craig indicated was the norm for dieters following the plan. I began to have more energy, my blood pressure was no longer borderline, and I found myself writing again. I had stopped after self-publishing a novel several years back and hadn’t been able to find the time or inspiration to write another. I started with short stories and even enrolled in some online writing classes offered by Gale Courses that my library offered. Then I got an idea for another romantic suspense novel. In February of 2015, three months into my Jenny Craig program, I began writing “A Stone’s Throw.” Meanwhile, my weight loss continued. As the book grew, my body shrunk. My husband and Jenny Craig counselor were very proud, and I was feeling so much better.

I find it hard to believe, when I look in the mirror, that I’ve actually lost nearly 60 pounds and 12 clothing sizes this year. I can now shop in a regular department store instead of online through the specialty “large women” shops. I’ve also added exercise to my regimen and walk a mile a day to help burn up more calories as I get closer to my goal weight.

“A Stone’s Throw” was just released by Limitless Publishing. I’m not sure if I owe its publication to the creative energy I developed as a result of my weight loss or if it’s just another sign of what you can accomplish if you are determined and have the support of others. I only know I’m thankful for having gone to my credit union that day last November, that I decided to give Jenny Craig another try, and that my husband and counselor were so supportive. In addition, the support of my fellow authors has been amazing. My Thanksreader’s Release party this past Friday was a great success with 25 authors participating and offering prizes and giveaways. There were scrumptious recipes included, and readers were actively involved in the contests and discussion. I am truly blessed and thankful to have had so many people help and support my book’s release.

Debbie’s blog/website: https://debbiedelouise.wordpress.com

Facebook Author Page: www.facebook.com/debbie.delouise.author