1. Stay in the moment. Don't rush ahead. Don't let your worried brain spin out on possibilities that aren't happening right now.

2. Shifting directions may not be what you want to do in any given circumstance, but sometimes it leads you to a better path.

3. In writing, sometimes the author asks the question, "What's the worst thing that could happen to my character right now?" And  then we make those things happen, which keeps the tension high and the reader reading. I'm noticing that when real life starts to feel like someone's up there asking that question, it pretty much sucks. But things could always be worse (knock wood they don't go any farther) and luckily, in real life, these rough patches usually pass. Gives me more empathy for my characters!

4. People always say to not take health for granted. And yet we do. Because we're so used to it. We think we can always count on it. Then when it slips away you realize how much of life is predicated on that assumption that health will be there. Feel grateful for it every day.

5. You know that saying, "when it rains it pours?" Yeah, maybe the southwestern states could send some of their drought our way. I could sure use a little sunshine <3