I read once that every day is a choice, and I believe that. I incorporated that idea into my life. Every day I get up, look in the mirror, and make a choice. I choose to live. I choose to be productive. I choose to love. I choose to not live in fear, nor to listen to those many voices telling me the world is coming to an end, that I can’t live my life, that I should store blankets in the car whenever it snows,  that I should be angry and judgemental about the lives and work or politics of others.

Every day I choose to tell my story. To love the remarkable person who has come into my life, and suffused it with light. To work hard and write well. To take photos, cherish my daughter, value my friends, bring small rays of light into the world if I can. To walk my dogs, and love them, and be loved by them. They shape much of my life. I choose every day to understand the reality of the world, appreciate the suffering and struggles of others, and to live. My choice. Every day.