Not Just On This Day

But every day, I am grateful for

the beauty of this life,

the quiet moments of awareness and peace,

the raucous moments of chaotic joy,

the love of family and friends,

the readers and listeners who allow my stories to engulf them,

the writers who have shared their words with me,

the creativity of so many artists who allow me to see and feel things anew,

the connections made possible by this modern life,

my Muse and the Mystery that compels me to write.

If we have ever shared anything:

a meal, a story, an adventure, or a conversation,

I thank you.

Published by Valya

Valya Dudycz Lupescu has been making magic with food and words for more than 20 years, incorporating folklore from her Ukrainian heritage with practices that honor the Earth. She’s a writer, content developer, instructor, and mother of three teenagers. Valya is the author of MOTHER CHRISTMAS, THE SILENCE OF TREES, and the founding editor of CONCLAVE: A Journal of Character. Along with Stephen H. Segal, she is the co-author of FORKING GOOD: An Unofficial Cookbook for Fans of The Good Place and GEEK PARENTING: What Joffrey, Jor-El, Maleficent, and the McFlys Teach Us about Raising a Family (Quirk Books), and co-founder of the Wyrd Words storytelling laboratory. Valya earned her MFA in Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and her poetry and prose have been published in anthologies and magazines that include, The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Kenyon Review, Culture, Gargoyle Magazine, Gone Lawn, Strange Horizons, Mythic Delirium. You can find her on Twitter @valya and on Mastodon.social @valya

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