“Sometimes I feel guilty for how lucky I am,” I told a friend. “I’m not sure many people would consider you all that lucky,” she said in response. She immediately apologized for her remark, but I did not take offense. What it made me think about is this: my happiness probably won’t look like yours, but that doesn’t make it any less real.

She was reacting to some of the more depressing aspects of my life, such as the death of my father, a long period of loneliness, and disappointing news from my literary agent. I was thinking about my mid-life marriage and a new writing gig that had come my way.

Even though I didn’t find my soul-mate early, at least I’ve had six great years with him so far. Even though my father is gone, he was the first love of my life. Even though the New York Times hasn’t called, a few other publishing folks have.

Amy Lyles Wilson 

• “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”
• Meister Eckhart, German Theologian