First thing this morning, I received a rejection from a magazine. Because the submission was through SubMishMash, I know they’d been considering my poems for a while. I confess I had my hopes up. And I confess I felt jealous because friends of mine have been published by this magazine. (I confess this happens on a regular basis.)

And Kelli’s NaPoWriMo prompt for today was to write a poem about one of the seven deadly sins. I couldn’t remember all of them, but I’d written a seven-sin poem a few years ago, so I looked it up. Envy–perfect. Seven 7-syllable lines, and I felt much better.

I’m grateful for that.

I’m grateful for fair weather yesterday, when our son was bicycle racing in the park up the road.

And I’m grateful that he had a good day of racing (first place in the first race–that’s him in the middle).

I am slow and don’t ride my bike much, but I’m grateful I can enjoy the people who do, and the whir of their wheels as they ride by.

This afternoon, I met up with other writers and poets–friends–at Brouwer’s, and I’m thankful for that. For friends. For community.

Tomorrow is Monday. Another new week. If Monday isn’t the glistening jewel in the week’s crown, I still enjoy its fresh-start aspect.

Open the door. Open my heart.