To stand on the edge of the Valles Marineris. To descend into the caldera of Olympus Mons. To explore those caves that got picked up from orbit a couple of years ago. To wave into the camera of the Opportunity rover and go “cooee!” …

I’m not quite sure what today’s challenge means so I’m reinterpreting it. Here is a picture of many letters, and they’re all rejections. After I graduated I knew I wanted a job in publishing … somehow, somewhere. And so I bought a copy of the Writer’s & Artist’s Yearbook and sprayed letters at every publisher I could find. For future inspiration and to give myself the occasional giggle, I kept the collection.

Some are actually typewritten, which is a real trip down memory lane.

Yup, drinking coffee. No but seriously.

I am getting there. I no longer feel the occasional disagreement means that the divorce court is the next inevitable step; in fact I never believed it was. I went into marriage with full knowledge of the statistics, but also the knowledge that while most people still stay married, most don’t get a book published, and I accomplished that so how much more likely is staying happily married?

Shame insecurities are not rational.