Too Grateful?

diggingwithdarren.com

Is it possible to be too grateful? To give too much thanks for all the good in your life? Can appreciation go wrong? Maybe.

Maybe the risk is not being sincere enough with your “thank yous.” I think the problem lies with your chompers. Your pearly whites. Yes, that’s right your teeth. Not following me?

Let me explain. When you smile, in appreciation, your grin should always reach your eyes, crinkling the corners.

No eye crinkle = no sincerity. All surface and no depth. Big hat, no cattle. You get my drift, right?

I know I’ve blogged my gratefulness before, thanking my family, my friends, my teachers – heck I even thanked my neighbourhood! I got gratitude oozing from me, I tell ya’!

The closer I get to the launch date of my book, the more people I meet who want to help see it succeed. So I now have another round of thank you’s.

Ahem, are you ready? Top up your coffee. Add a shot of bailey’s while you’re at it. (No worries, I won’t tell.)

Thank you to Drew, my husband extraordinaire, who wouldn’t allow me to quit writing when I dramatically announced, “All hope is lost. I’m burning all 243 of my writing notebooks and getting a real job - one that pays cash.”

To my friend, mentor, writer, all round amazing human being Anita Daher for convincing me Spaghetti was ready to submit to publishers. I thank you. And then listening to me moan, groan and fret over possible rejections as we jogged around the track at The Rehfit Centre. (Okay, so she fast walked and I jogged to keep up. Unimportant details.)

Many friends have given me support and encouragement but I have to tip my hat (it's large, brown, and floppy) to two incredible women. I've known them since our children were babies. There's something special about the mom friends you make when your kids are that young - a bond of friendship forms that is hard to duplicate.

Karen Kernaghan, introduced me to speech pathologist, Ramona Thompson. Ramona teaches social skills to kids with Asperger’s and was excited to hear about my book, Spaghetti is NOT a Finger Food and Other Life Lessons.

Trish Wainikka, put me in touch with her dear friend, Melissa Harju, who is a board member of Asperger Manitoba. We had an instant connection and shared our hopes and dreams for AS children.

A ginormous thank you goes to my publisher Rana DiOrio of Little Pickle Press. She took a leap of faith with me – an unpublished author from the heart of the Canadian prairies – and in doing so has opened my eyes and mind to the world of eBooks, social media, and the global possibilities for Connor’s story.

My final thank you is for Little Pickle Press’ blog book tour guru, Dani Greer of the Blood Red Pencil Blog. She has given me sage advice on blogging, the future of eBooks and how to better market myself. Our first half hour phone call extended to an hour and a half as we discussed books, the universe and everything, leading me to joyfully conclude I have found another kindred spirit.

There are so many more people I could thank, but I’ve learnt that often less blog = better blog (thank you Dani.) I’ll save my appreciation for those kind souls for another time.

Oh, wait! I almost forgot. Just one last shout out.

Thank you to the scientists who discovered the healthy benefits of chocolate.
I owe you one!