February Theme: What I Love (Stephanie Burgis)

Every day, this list changes..but here is my list of what I love right now:

• Reading Mercer Mayer's Professor Wormbog in Search for the Zipperumpazoo to my three-year-old son and listening to him laugh and laugh with pure delight, just like I laughed over it 31 years ago - and like I laugh over it now, with him;


• Reading a completely new book that utterly delights me, makes me want to skip meals and sleep and everything but reading, and reminds me why I wanted to write MG fiction in the first place;


• Talking about writing with my husband (also a writer), being challenged and inspired by his ideas;


• Fighting with a scene, being certain that I just can't get it right, feeling all the despair of realizing that I'm just not up to the task - and then finally, FINALLY finding the right turn of phrase that makes it all fall into place, and thinking: YES. I am a writer, really truly, after all;


• Getting to celebrate with a dear friend when her wonderful, wonderful new book comes out at last, after years of hard work and waiting;


• Realizing that I am part of a community, now, of writers and readers who care desperately about books - that this fact about myself doesn't make me feel weird anymore, not singular or odd or lonely - that in fact, there are SO MANY of us, and it's the best community I can imagine.

What about you guys? What do you love this week, today?