Yes, I’m coming up for air. It’s been a while and I’ve missed you!

It was a great summer, kicked off with two wedding celebrations— a reception for my son Peter and his wife, Meredith: One of the most beautiful Maid of Honor speeches is included HERE.)

And a fairytale wedding for my niece Ashley and her now husband, Alex:

With the help of family and friends, I’ve traveled safely, without incident. It was the first time I’d left my home for an out-of-state trip since 2019 and boy, did we celebrate:

My wrist is healing nicely—it’s been ten months since I injured it—but I still have to be careful. Thankfully, I can now type without the splint and have been able to resume work on my second book, “Staying on the Upside.” This book will offer readers daily inspiration, stories and quotes pulled from a lifetime of trying to live fully and faithfully in the life I didn’t plan—and always rethinking what’s possible.

I’m happy to report that out of 365 entries, I have drafts of 334.

But I need your help!

From notebooks to file folders to wall calendars to spreadsheets, I’ve tried to manage the growing number of entries. But now, we are down to sticky notes and I’d love your help in filling them in:

Please let me know your favorite quotes, the ones that inspire you or make you think. Just reply to this email. I love fresh ones, classic ones, and even original ones. Whether they make it into the book or not, please know I will cherish them. Quotes are the sound bites that often give me strength to get through my toughest days.

Let’s do this! My goal is to have all 365 draft entries completed before Thanksgiving, getting the “body of work” on the table before I start the next phase of the process—editing my darlings.  

Thanks for your help.

And on we go…

P.S. Thanks also to the family and friends who honored Madison in the 12^th Annual Pathfinders for Autism Run Wild for Autism Zoo Run. You can DONATE HERE if you’d like to honor her, too.