Koala count - just one today, curled up snuggly in the fork of a tree, and sighted from the car on the way toodling around - I wasn’t even walking!

The Good - part one: Today I sent off post packages to my latest patient contest winners! Watch out for them in the next week or so, or longer, given that one of them is heading off to Egypt and I understand your customs people are extra vigilant. Here’s wishing them all loads of fairy dust to speed them on their way and to your post boxes soon

The Good - part two  and no doubt the best bit: Daughter #2 returned yesterday from a two week sojourn to Malaysia. It might have been the mutt that went ballistic at her return,  but all of us were so happy to welcome home one of our own.  I have to say, like every mother, it’s so lovely when all the tinlids are back under the roof. It was so wonderful to welcome our gorgeous traveler home!

The Bad - Last week was a bit different to most, and just why is a bit of an explanation why I couldn’t send off winner packages then. In a huge way it was a relief that it had finally happened but after a relapse of a rare form of leukemia,  my gorgeous husband was subjected to a series of chemo that saw us at the hospital 5 days in a row while he underwent treatment.  It’s done now and we’re handling the fall out knowing that while the cure seems at this stage almost worse than the disease, the prognosis is good we’re waiting for that to come true. It takes some time so all positive vibes are very welcome in the meantime.

I thought long and hard about posting about this. I couldn’t do it last week, while treatment was underway and while there were so many uncertainties. But this week, knowing my gorgeous hubby is responding all the right ways and knowing there’s probably more than one of you out there at this stage undergoing something just as serious if not a hell of a lot more so, well, it’s not like it’s something we have to cover up. Like I said a few posts ago, life happens, and this is just one more example of that.

And all of us, whatever we do and however much or how little money we have, have to deal with this kind of unwelcome event some time in our lives, and if not for ourselves, then for someone we hold close. That’s life. And I have to say, it’s half the reason I love writing romance and books that have happy endings. Because a happy ending is what I want not just for my characters, but for my family and friends. I know it isn’t always possible, I know that sometimes the worst happens, but that still doesn’t diminish the power of love. A story with a happy ending makes me feel better. 

And personally I’ve found it so valuable in the last few weeks while I’ve been sitting in waiting rooms to read stories where love conquered all, where the good guys won and where the doctor said, “The tests are clear. You’re in remission.”  Hey, that is one hell of happy ending!

The Ugly - Well, there’s a book due next week and just knowing that is a kick in the head but in the scheme of things, I have to honestly say, while I want that book to go in and be the best thing my editor has ever read, first and foremost right now comes my family. Which I know my editor understands. The deadline is there, staring me in the face, and I’ll do my best to meet it, but at times like these, family comes first. (But the book is a cracker too:-))