It is 4 am. The full moon is half-hidden by incoming rain clouds, and the hot tea I quietly brewed in the kitchen is soothing. I just updated my Writing Journal (a long-ago suggestion from Brooke Warner) with an entry about a writer girlfriend who called me on FaceTime yesterday. It was a much needed connection, and a wonderful surprise as I sat at my desk in the late afternoon trying to clear all the piles off my desk so that today—July 20th, 2016—I could once again get back to my non-fiction book. My girlfriend, after listening to my intention for today, gifted me with these words, "Write the book to honor yourself."

To honor myself includes middle-of-the-night journeys into my studio to clear daily details in order to make room for waiting words, to acknowledge in the writing journal that important and nurturing actions have indeed taken place during the last six months and a whole chapter actually written when in my noisy brain the message has been "I haven't written anything."

While the crickets hum in the dark and my dogs snore on their blankets, I'm grateful for girlfriends who are familiar with the hills and valleys of writing, the unflagging encouragement of Brooke over the years, my wise and generous editor, and the enticement of a looming deadline. Three [small] piles are waiting to disappear...time for another cup of tea. It's going to be a good writing day.