I can’t believe today is the last day of August! When I sat on the front porch this morning, I could feel the change in the air. As fall approaches, I’ve been reflecting on this COVID summer. When all my travel and book promotional events had to be cancelled, I consciously adapted my expectations and revised my goals for the season. Now, standing on the other side, I’m reviewing, assessing, and planning for the fall.

Naturally, I’ve been obsessing over the things I didn’t accomplish, like finishing my latest manuscript. I’ve never been able to produce a lot of content during the summer, but I thought this year, with no travel, I might be able to do more. Turns out, I’m still not all that productive a writer during the summer season.

Okay, so the manuscript is only half finished, but I was busy! My habit, so I don’t get too down on myself, is to review the things I did accomplish right after the list of things I did not. This summer, I worked with an amazing team of educators to prepare our school for reopening. I took on more responsibility at Inkitt, where I am the managing editor for the writer’s blog. I launched two more books in my new romantic suspense series. I read several interesting novels and interviewed a couple of fabulous authors. I started working with a team to plan RI’s Virtual Expo. I rebooked all my travel for next year.

More importantly, I also spent good quality time with my family and close friends. We barbecued, swam, laughed, and yes, drank a bit more than we should have. All in all, for a summer filled with uncertainty and challenge, I came out of it no worse for the wear, and for this, I am very grateful.

I’ll spend the rest of the week planning what I need to accomplish this fall, but for today, I am going to appreciate the crisp air, blue sky, and these last few days of summer.

“Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity...it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” -Melody Beattie