What Comforts You?

I’m not gonna lie, this blog post is about me instead of the book project. Sharing personal stuff makes me cringe, but oh well.

That said, what comforts you? To put it another way, what do you typically turn to for comfort when you’re stressed, anxious or sad? Or, how do you reward yourself after accomplishing something?

For years, my “go to” things to support myself emotionally or to reward myself were, in no particular order: wine, dark chocolate, popcorn and pretty much any salty, carb-heavy snack you can imagine. Now that I think about it, maybe they were in order.

Enter 2019 and I decided to reevaluate a few things. Final result of said reevaluation is that I’m minus 35 pounds and my blood pressure dropped from 142/80 to 110/76. It wasn’t easy, but I dove into doTERRA essential oils and supplements, exercised 30 minutes a day whether I felt like it or not and quit eating processed foods. I also quit drinking wine and coffee.

Finding new ways to support myself emotionally has been a challenge. Bouquets of fresh flowers have replaced wine and chocolate. A five gallon aquarium graces my office, with a small school of Neon Tetras darting around their tiny water world. Our local food co-op stocks a water-process decaf coffee that is out of this world and Lilly makes a sugar free dark chocolate bar that is to die for. Thank God.

Speaking of God…as a Christian, my relationship with Christ has been the foundation of my life for 46 years. I wouldn’t know what to do without His presence in my life. Those of you who know me, know I’m not a “church every Sunday” kind of girl. God forbid! For me, knowing the Person of Jesus Christ is unrelated to church services.

Recent events have delivered a brand new stress I never expected and so far the only thing I’ve found to cure it (other than trusting that my Lord has a plan) is speed therapy in the Mustang. That little car has been a life saver for me. The back roads of South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa are perfect for gaining perspective at a bit higher rate of speed. (Lucy is photo bombing!)

Do share with me what comforts you. I am genuinely interested!

Oh – one note about Book #4, still (tentatively) titled Terminal Redemption. The story has reached 91,000+ words and is progressing nicely. I’ve mapped out the rest of it in my mind and know how it’s going to end, more or less. It’s just a matter doing the work of researching and writing.

See you all next month, fingers crossed that the first draft of the story will be done. Woohoo!