A few weeks ago, I wrote about being a finalist in three writing contests.

Today, I am proud and excited to announce that The Space Between: A Memoir of Mother-Daughter Love at the End of Life WON the following awards:

2016 May Sarton Women’s Book Award for Memoir

2016/2017 Reader’s Views Reviewers Choice Award Regional Best from West Pacific, and First Place Memoir/Autobiography/Biography

(I won’t know the results of the third contest for a few more weeks)

 

Winning—being a winner—feels great.

 

At first, I said, “I’ve never won anything before.” I then began to ponder winning and realized I’ve always been a winner. Here are a few examples of how:

  • I’ve won every morning I am privileged to awaken to a new day
  • I’ve won each morning when the sound of my husband’s breath lets me know he’s still with me to share another day
  • I’ve won when Shelby, my Golden Retriever, stretches into a new morning and gifts me with a tail wagging hello
  • I’ve won every moment I continue to have the gift of sight
  • I’ve won each day I can hear, especially music or the sound of my husband’s voice telling me he loves me
  • I’ve won because my legs are able to walk and carry me wherever I’ve wanted to go
  • I’ve won because I am still curious and able to learn
  • I’ve won because I live in a home with indoor plumbing, a roof over my head, and food to eat so I never have to go hungry
  • I’ve won because I’ve survived 100% of every painful challenge life has thrown my way and managed to learn and grow from each one
  • I’ve won because I have great friends who’ve spanned every decade of my life, some for as long as sixty plus years
  • I’ve won every year the people I love have stayed alive
  • I’ve won because fear didn’t stop me from accomplishing the one thing I always said I wanted to do—write a book
  • And, of all the things I’ve won and continue to win, I’m most proud of this: I learned how to love and how to be loved.

 

Yes, today I am a winner, but I always have been and always will be as long as I remain mindful of what and who I have to be thankful for.

 

And so, in honor of winning, I invite YOU to take the time to write down all the ways you’ve won and continue to win.